On Nov. 10, SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley announced the “Laker Success Package” in an email to students. The package combines financial assistance as well as career development opportunities in a time of overall uncertainty.
The program has three elements to it: a $150 cash award for returning students, an “alumni/career mentor” and a virtual career development program.
The $150 cash reward or SUNY Oswego’s “own ‘stimulus’ package,” as the email described it, is only available to undergraduate students who are full-time and enrolled for the spring semester. Students who qualify can expect to receive the award just after March 1, 2021. The award is a way for SUNY Oswego to assist its students as COVID-19 has struck down the economy at the local and even global level.
“This award is meant to … encourage students to continue on with their studies,” said Scott Furlong, the provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The intent of the award was to really focus on full-time undergraduate students and incentivize their return to campus in spring 2021.”
While graduate students are not eligible for the award, SUNY Oswego recently created the “Stay and Complete” scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to students who enter a graduate program within 12 months of receiving a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego and is valued at $300.
Graduate students are also eligible for the alumni mentoring program. While SUNY Oswego has a strong alumni mentorship program via the Alumni Sharing Knowledge program, this guarantees a mentor for each student who signs up. According to the email, assigned alumni will offer tips, experiences and answer questions throughout college and into one’s professional career. SUNY Oswego has an alumni network of 89,000 members, with many of them ready to help current students wade through the tumultuous waters of their professions during such unprecedented times.
“Our alumni are very excited to help our students. It is one of the activities that engages them the most with their alma mater,” said Mary Canale, the vice president for alumni and development. “In some ways, the move to the virtual realm has enabled more of these connections between alumni and students to happen.”
Aside from economic uncertainty associated with COVID-19, personal connections have also taken a toll, considering how hard it was to meet people in person during the early stages of the pandemic. Because of this, the Alumni Sharing Knowledge program expanded to include other interests and shared experiences.
“During the pandemic, as students and alumni alike were finding themselves in uncharted territory,” Canale said. “These virtual connections became even more vital as a way for alumni to not only share career and professional advice, but to share personal stories and suggestions with students about navigating and moving forward during times of adversity, more generally.”
Over the last few months of the pandemic, more than 300 alumni volunteered to serve as mentors, according to Canale. This is a number that the office is very happy with, since there are more alumni signed up than students.
The final prong to the Laker Success Package is the new virtual career development program. In this annual program, students will be connected to alumni, employers and guest speakers to improve various skills and elements critical to the job search such as networking, brand management and résumé building. The program was built out of necessity, as COVID-19 has created a challenging job market for recent graduates.
“[It] was conceived in order to further engage and better serve all students during this unprecedented time and challenging labor market,” said Kristi Eck, the Chief of Staff.
The program is set to launch in January and will serve all students, even those who graduated from SUNY Oswego in May or August. It is a five-week long program that will end in February at no cost to students or recent graduates. Students should expect an email soon, according to Gary Morris, the director of career services, where they can sign up for any sessions that interest them.
Photo by Nskikak Ekong | The Oswegonian
