Takeaways from the Black College Expo at Medgar Evers College
The HBCU Career Center crew spent a perfect fall day at the Black College Expo on the beautiful campus of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York. We had met the organizers of the Black College Expo at the HBCU Week Conference in Washington DC earlier in September, and so while it was a hectic month for us, we wanted to participate.
We are glad we did and wanted to share our 5 take-a-ways from the event.
Medgar Evers College
Black students and parents are asking all the right questions about college. It was really a pleasure to meet so many high school juniors and seniors who were focused on a future in college. Definitely events like the Black College Expo help to raise awareness and expand the knowledge of the complicated path to college. The attendance really showed that parents and students are collecting the information that will help them make good college choices.
Colleges realize there is competition for good students and came prepared with scholarship dollars. Additionally, many colleges were accepting students right there at the Expo. Students who came prepared, left the event with college offers and scholarships.
Increasingly, black students are expressing greater curiosity about careers and professional life beyond college. These emerging adults were extremely interested in knowing how to support their career goals while in college. We got the chance to educate attendees about our career checklists that help students stay focused on career goals while in college. The HBCU Career Center has checklists for freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year in college.
The future of work is evolving faster than students can keep up with job titles. That means some students are going to be uncertain of which majors are in demand and will be in demand by the time they graduate. It has never been more important for us to educate college age students and families about how work, workers and workplaces are changing. For example, we were able to share with future lawyers and criminal justice professionals how technology, such as Artificial Intelligence is changing those professions. Those changes, as we explained, made it really important for college students to stay aware of changes and consider adding a minor in technology to their chosen major.
HBCU campuses remain a source of pride for students and families. We met HBCU legacy families and lots of students with interests in all the HBCU campuses in attendance. Our display signs, as The HBCU Career Center, attracted a lot of students who wanted to share their dreams of attending the HBCU of their choice.