Feb. 12, 2010
On Jan. 24, a group of 35 student-athletes took advantage of a new volunteer mock interview program through Hoyas Unlimited. The program matched the student-athletes with 16 volunteers for 30-minute mock interview sessions that were followed with tips and advice on the interview as well as their resumes.
From Vision to Reality
The idea for the program came to Chris McArdle (B'93) after some volunteer engagement discussions with Hoyas Unlimited Director Bill Johnson and Assistant Director for Student-athlete Leadership Augie Maurelli. McArdle thought back to his days as a student intern with sports information, when he saw firsthand the challenges student-athletes had in balancing practice, studies, and competition. With that in mind, he knew that it would be difficult for most student-athletes to benefit from the Georgetown Career Education Center (GCEC) during weekdays.
McArdle, Johnson and Maurelli developed an idea for weekend access to career preparation skills for the student-athletes, including mock interview sessions, and got positive feedback from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). They then worked with Michael Schaub, Executive Director for GCEC, in putting together the mock interview sessions.
Student-Athlete Perspective
Jared Myers (B'10), Chair of the Life Skills committee for SAAC, says he had no trouble finding student-athletes to take part. "The opportunity was great and everyone was excited about the chance to network with volunteers," he says. "The only difficult part was getting more underclassmen involved because most did not have resumes ready." Jared is confident that more underclassmen will participate in the spring, when sessions are offered again.
Well aware of the tough job market, even upperclassmen with interview experience from summer internships, such as Gyasi Parrish (B'11) took advantage of the sessions to polish their interview skills and to pick up new pointers. Gyasi, who is interested in a career in finance, appreciated that volunteers were willing to come in during their day off to help student-athletes.
Volunteer Feedback
After the mock interview sessions, volunteers provided student-athletes with insight on confident interview techniques as well as valuable pointers on their resumes. The volunteers, many who have been long term supporters of Hoyas Unlimited, appreciated the opportunity to further enhance the student-athlete experience.
Tom Wong (C'82), an executive board member of the Hoya Hoop Club, has conducted numerous interviews through his work as a supervisor at Kaiser Permanente. He advised the student-athletes to focus on the positive leadership attributes that their experiences in athletics gives them.
Meghan Dotter (F'94) and Al Derosa (B'64) offered similar sentiments, noting that when interviewing, most student-athletes were not aware of some very pertinent skills that their participation in a team exemplifies to an employer. Derosa said that the ability to manage training, film sessions, school, and competition shows dedication and dependability.
Plans for Growth
Hoyas Unlimited staff and volunteers are looking forward to building on the program. With high demand and graduation approaching, Maurelli and McArdle mentioned industry-specific interviews and multi-day scheduling options as possibilities this spring.
