The CCPD aims to educate and empower Kalamazoo College students and alumni to discover their talents, build their professional networks, and apply their learning to meaningful lives after K. Guided by our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan, Advancing Career Readiness Through the Liberal Arts: Building a Career Ecosystem, we are working to embed career readiness throughout the K experience by expanding opportunities for students to explore, connect, and prepare for life after graduation. This Impact Report shares our progress toward that vision. 

Past Years’ Impact Reports

Impact Report: Academic Year 2024-2025

Impact Report: Academic Year 2023-2024

Impact Report Academic Year 2025-2026: Building the Ecosystem 

Career development happens in many different contexts including classrooms, residence halls, athletics, student organizations, alumni conversations, job shadows, and mentoring relationships… anywhere students learn, connect, and grow. 

We started by taking a deeper look at last year’s National Alumni Career Mobility Survey to better understand alumni career paths, how they reflect on their K experience, and where we can continue to strengthen support for future students. The findings will help inform the next phase of our strategic plan and, perhaps most importantly, remind us that the impact of a Kalamazoo education continues long after graduation. 

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Infusing Career Readiness into Every Student’s Journey

One of the central goals of the strategic plan is to ensure that career development is integrated throughout the student experience rather than concentrated on a student’s senior year. This year, our Career Readiness Curriculum provided the framework for partnering across campus to embed career readiness into key parts of the K-Plan, giving more students opportunities to explore their interests, reflect on their experiences, build professional skills and networks, and prepare for meaningful lives after K.

Supporting Students Earlier

Career readiness partnerships also continued in Senior Seminars, creating opportunities for students to reflect on their K experiences, articulate the skills developed through their liberal arts education, and prepare for the transition beyond graduation. CCPD worked with faculty to design workshops tailored to students’ fields of study, with topics ranging from graduate school and job searching to interviewing, building professional connections, and navigating life after K. 

Partnering with Faculty

Faculty partnerships continued to expand across the curriculum, with faculty collaborating with the CCPD to integrate career readiness into students’ academic experiences. Through Shared Passages courses, major-specific classes, and other collaborations, students engaged in tailored workshops, alumni conversations, and opportunities to connect their liberal arts education to future possibilities. One faculty member’s participation in a student-led trip to Lansing further demonstrated how career exploration is strengthened when faculty learn alongside students in experiential settings. Together, these collaborations demonstrate what a career ecosystem looks like in practice.

This year’s partnerships reached across academic departments, campus offices, alumni networks, and student organizations to create opportunities for students to explore, connect, and grow. Partners highlighted below represent just a few of the many colleagues who made this work possible. 

Meeting Students Where They Are

Student leadership programs also became important partners in this work. CCPD collaborated with Departmental Student Advisors, President’s Student Ambassadors, Phi Alpha Delta, and student leaders from across campus to deliver workshops, panels, networking events, and career exploration opportunities that connected students with resources through their existing communities. 

Career readiness also expanded through a growing partnership with Athletics. CCPD collaborated with coaches, staff, alumni, and student-athletes to bring career exploration and networking opportunities directly to athletic teams. Throughout the year, 390+ student-athletes participated in career programming, including resume writing workings and alumni networking events designed to help students explore career paths, build professional connections, and translate the skills developed through athletics into future opportunities. Student-athletes also played an important role in shaping new career resources by piloting CCPD’s resume module and helping refine the resume evaluation rubric that will support students across campus. 

Support for students extends beyond Commencement and into the transition after graduation. This spring, CCPD piloted Confident at Commencement, a new PE/Wellness course designed to help seniors prepare for life after K. Weekly alumni guest speakers shared practical advice on topics ranging from job searching and negotiating offers to managing personal finances, navigating workplace expectations, and embracing the uncertainty that often comes with a first job.

The commitment contiues after graduation as well. As we prepared the Class of 2026 for graduation, we also reflected on the outcomes of the previous graduating class. Throughout the year, CCPD continued supporting members of the Class of 2025 as they navigated job searches, graduate school decisions, and early career transitions. By the close of the reporting period, fewer than 4% of 2025 graduates were still seeking employment or continuing education opportunities. Sixty-seven percent were working, 29% were continuing their education, and others were participating in volunteer or service programs. These outcomes reflect not only the persistence of our graduates, but also the collective support of faculty, staff, alumni, employers, and mentors who help students navigate the transition from K to what’s next.

Partnerships By The Numbers

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Building a Robust Alumni and Employer Network 

Meaningful connections remain one of the most valuable resources available to students as they explore possibilities and prepare for life after K. This year, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Engagement, the CCPD launched KConnect, a new platform designed to help students and alumni connect for networking and career exploration. By the end of the academic year, 700+ alumni and 200+ students had joined the platform.  

Employer engagement grew as well. Thirty-seven employers representing 24 industries connected with students through Employer Connection Fairs, job shadows, our new lunch chat series, and other recruiting events. The addition of the Graduate School Fair expanded opportunities for students considering advanced degrees. One recruiter noted, “I had a high volume of very impressive students. The conversations were wonderful and the overall set-up was fantastic.”

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Expanding Access to Experiential Learning 

Experiential learning remains one of the most effective ways for students to explore career interests, build professional confidence, and connect their education to opportunities beyond the classroom. This year, CCPD focused on expanding access to these experiences by reducing barriers and creating more entry points for students to engage. 

By connecting students with professionals in authentic workplace settings, the program strengthened our career ecosystem while giving students the opportunity to explore careers, build relationships, and gain a clearer understanding of the many paths available after K.

Financial support for experiential learning remained a priority. Seventeen students received internship stipends to support unpaid summer internships, helping reduce financial barriers that can limit access to valuable professional experiences. A new partnership with the Registrar’s Office also strengthened CCPD’s ability to track student participation in summer internships, research, and other experiential learning opportunities, providing baseline data to guide future planning and assessment. 

Expanding access also means ensuring students have the support, tools, relationships, and guidance needed to pursue and thrive in experiential learning opportunities. First Gen 2 Success was offered in multiple terms, while events such as Food for the Soul provided opportunities for students to discuss internships, career preparation, and professional development in community with peers. 

Students also expanded their professional networks through K to the Golden Gate, a Hornet Trek designed to increase access to immersive career exploration experiences for first-generation students. Seven students traveled to San Francisco, where they completed job shadows and connected with professionals across industries, supported by 10 alumni and additional partners who shared their workplaces, career paths, and advice. 

Students rarely build a career through a single internship, workshop, or conversation. They build it over time, through experiences that connect to each other. That’s what we mean by a career ecosystem. Our goal is straightforward: every student at Kalamazoo College should have access to that kind of connected experience, from their first year to their last.

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Looking Ahead

Year One of the strategic plan focused on creating more opportunities for students to explore possibilities, build relationships, and gain experience. As the CCPD enters the next phase of this work, we will continue to build into this ecosystem across campus and beyond, helping students connect what they learn at K with who they are, what matters to them, and the lives they hope to lead.  

Every conversation, experience, and connection adds to a student’s understanding of themselves and the many ways they can use their education to make an impact.  By integrating career development throughout the K experience, we are preparing students for their first job while building the skills, relationships, and sense of purpose that support meaningful lives and work after K. 

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Special Thanks