Shlomie Katash
The Magner Career Center recently opened the Brooklyn College Career Partners Program in an effort to expand their services in aiding students’ job searches on campus. By enrolling in and donating to the program, companies can establish connections and a mutually beneficial relationship with students. Companies can join the program by donating a minimum of $2,500 to the Magner Center.
“As a public institution, any time we could get any support, whether it’s through employers or alumni, that is just extra resources and support that we could then provide in many different ways [to students],” Natalia Guarin-Klein, director of the Magner Center, told The Vanguard.
By branding themselves as partners of BC, the companies will be showcasing their determination in recruiting at the school. This extra step will help the Magner Center improve their ability to offer these companies’ opportunities to students who might otherwise not know of them.
“A lot of our students may be first-generation college students or their parents don’t know the system here in America just yet in terms of how they could move forward, so definitely by their presence here on campus, students are allotted more knowledge to say, ‘Wait, I could potentially do a career in this company,’” Sabine Saint-Cyr, the Magner Center’s business liaison, told The Vanguard. “Of course, they’re going to get a superb education at Brooklyn College, but one of the goals is economic mobility and that helps support one of the college’s missions, too.”
The donations will be going directly back to the Magner Center, expanding existing and future programs that the center has to get students on campus involved in determining their careers. The program’s creation came to fruition by the influx of new companies looking to recruit from campuses like Brooklyn College.
“I’ve been here a very long time, and there are a lot more employers who are looking to come recruit students, and we thought that this is a good opportunity to say that you could recruit, but if you’re part of this program, which they provide financial support to be a part of it, then you could get some extra access to students and visibility for your company,” said Guarin-Klein. “There’s a lot more employers who reached out. They want to be active, they want to be visible.”
Currently, the Career Partners Program consists of three companies, but as the program grows in the coming months and years, more employers will join in an effort to hire and invest in Brooklyn College students.
“Know that these are companies that want our students, that want you,” said Guarin-Klein. “There are so many students that don’t take advantage of what’s available to them. These are people who want to recruit here. Also, for students to believe that they could work at these great places.”