Meet our partners: Suffolk University

How has U360 benefitted your students?

Hogan: One thing of the many things I like about teaching is when you see somebody come in at the beginning of the semester and see them coming out at the end of the semester as a completely different person. U360 provides those kinds of experiences. And I had other students say the exact same thing, that the skillset that they learned from interacting with small business owners was invaluable.

Another benefit is that these students are involved in thinking about environmental issues—and they’re not business majors. But, they said understanding the real challenges of small business and how they’re addressing environmental issues, and other issues like time constraints, money constraints, and all the other challenges they deal with really helped them to contextualize why environmental problems are so challenging to address.

Lazarek: It makes their major so much more relevant. It really ties in their education to real-world experiences. And, once U360 is over, many students are still in school, so it’s really helpful to have faculty involved who can help them as they continue to use that experience for the rest of their university career. They’ll absolutely continue to use their professional skills after they graduate.

What are some of the challenges you’ve dealt with in career development?

Lazarek: As a career development professional, I see students frustrated that there are not enough of those really intensive opportunities that allow them to tie it all together and see the results of all the preparation they’re doing. Many programs or courses are not always necessarily hand-in-hand with an actual professional experience.

U360 is intensive and tied into a particular experience. Students get a lot of attention and a lot of training, which then helps them to be independent and to carry those skills with them after their internship.

Why is it important to engage students with professional development programs like U360?

Hogan: It’s important for all students, but especially so for persons in the environmental field, because, as I tell my students, you’re going to be speaking to people who are in a variety of roles. One thing my students have to understand is who their audience is and how to reach that particular audience. This kind of skill is something environmental professionals need because when they’re working in their field, they have to deal with multiple audiences.

U360 impacted my students on multiple fronts and I haven’t had a single student who didn’t say it was completely valuable. I’ve been very pleased with the program.