For many students, landing an on-campus job isn’t just about earning a paycheck — it’s a way to build skills, gain experience and prepare for the future. For many of the 4,000-plus students employed by Binghamton University during the 2024-25 academic year, these professional development goals were top of mind for their supervisors, thanks to the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development’s Student Employment initiative.
The Fleishman Career Center’s goal for the initiative, which it hard-launched in 2023, is two-fold: create more jobs for students and design those jobs as high-impact learning experiences, providing support for supervisors and students to help them get the most out of the experience.
“We try to help students and supervisors understand that no matter what the on-campus job is, there are ways to make it a learning experience that aids in skill development,” said Kathie Boice, assistant director of student employment in the Fleishman Career Center. “Supervisors can provide opportunities to shadow somebody in the office, or provide context to basic tasks that allows students to understand what their impact is and how they contribute to the mission and vision of the office. And students can feel empowered to ask questions and request opportunities to gain experience in things they find interesting or would like to know more about.”
In the spring of 2023, 1,800 students attended the On-Campus Employment Fair, and Boice quickly realized that student demand and employment opportunities did not match up, with only 11 offices or departments taking part in the fair.
“It was very clear that there are a lot of students who are looking for these positions, and we just don’t have them available,” Boice said. “So we’re working toward trying to find ways to create more positions when we can.”
One technique was to provide a Student Employment Grant that offices on campus could apply for to fund new student employment opportunities. Since spring 2023, almost $75,000 in grants have been awarded through this fund.
The Binghamton University Office of Media and Public Relations has successfully applied for Student Employment Grants to fund new positions in social media content creation.
“Content creation is a powerful marketing tool for the University and a unique learning opportunity for our students,” said Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations. “As new platforms arise to promote Binghamton, it’s imperative to create new positions to stay competitive and bring in qualified students who can represent the brand. These new positions and funding provided by the Fleishman Career Center have proven vital in executing new strategies, while also giving students a hands-on marketing experience they can use later when building their résumés and references.”
In addition, Boice acquired funding through the University’s Road Map strategic plan to create the Introductory Practice Grant (IPG), which functions in the same way but requires that students hired with that money have not had a previous on-campus employment opportunity. This is in support of the University’s goal of 100% of graduating students having participated in at least one high-impact practice by 2026. Eighteen IPGs totaling nearly $50,000 have been awarded in the past two years.
Boice is also trying to improve students’ access to job opportunities in the local community, including select local employers in the annual student employment fair, maintaining a list of local employers who often hire students and supporting students in their job search with resources that can help. Students can meet with Fleishman Career Center staff to talk through the process and get tips on optimizing their application materials.
Boice shares evaluation software that supervisors can use with their student employees as well. It is centered on eight career readiness competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): career and self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity and inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork and technology.
“Our hope is to be able to help them identify where they stand in developing those skills and ways to further develop them,” Boice said. “We’re investing in student employment with the goal of turning out a more confident future workforce that’s ready to lead, innovate and inspire.”
The final goal of the initiative is to celebrate and recognize successful student employees. Boice facilitates campus-wide Student Employee of the Year awards for undergraduate and graduate students, and the winners are then submitted for national awards given through the National Student Employment Association. The Fleishman Career Center also hosted an annual Student Employee Appreciation event on April 18, during National Student Employment Week. This year’s event was a carnival-themed celebration featuring food, games and prizes in The Union.
