A Dream Team

Successfully navigating a graduate business program can feel a bit like running a marathon or playing a competitive sport — you’ve got to go in with a game plan but remain adaptable and agile in the face of opposition, develop stamina and resilience that you never thought possible, and celebrate the small wins while staying focused on the big picture. 

And at the C. T. Bauer College of Business, graduate students do all of this with a coach by their side. 

Through the Rockwell Career Center, the college’s dedicated career center, MBA and Master of Science candidates work with a team of career coaches dedicated to helping students discover and achieve their career goals through self-discovery, exploration of opportunities, resource creation and interview preparation.  

“We also aim to build strong, impactful relationships with employers to further enhance our students’ career prospects while engaging our faculty along the way,” said Director Kelly Collins, who leads the Bauer Graduate and Alumni Career Services team. 

She added: “We are here to support, grow networks, motivate and provide real-world advice to students looking to jumpstart a first, second or third career move.” 

Through a proactive approach, the team has an intense focus on student success, Collins said. 

“Unlike some institutions that may wait for students to seek assistance, we actively engage with them to ensure they receive the support they need,” she said.  

Collins added: “This high level of attentiveness and personalized service is a key differentiator for us. Our commitment to being involved in every step of our students’ career journey is what I believe sets Bauer College apart from the rest.” 

Industry partnerships are also critical to the team's success in supporting graduate students, she said, highlighting a new buddy program in partnership with Deloitte Consulting that focuses on preparing students for careers in consulting, emphasizing case interviewing and offering tailored support for those aspiring to work for the company.

"Industry involvement enhances the relevance of our programming and provides students with real-world insights and networking opportunities essential for their career success," Collins said. "This direct interaction with industry leaders makes the learning experience more engaging and practical, and it better prepares students for the competitive job market."

“Coaching students allows me to get to know them on a personal level,” Reed said, noting that she often meets weekly with students over the course of their two-year programs. “In my 11 years at UH, I’ve worked with students ranging from food truck owners to high school piano teachers and air traffic controllers. Each meeting and interaction broaden my horizons, enriching my life in countless ways.” 

Reed co-leads the college’s flagship Executive Mentoring Program, which marks its fifth year this spring and creates mentor-mentee pairings of Bauer graduate students and members of the Bauer College Board. Since its launch in 2020 (done remotely during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic), the program has grown by 90 percent, more than doubling the number of participating executives and expanding the program from only the MBA to all graduate business programs. 

In addition, Reed helped to facilitate a new partnership between Bauer College and the Forte Foundation, an exclusive network dedicated to advancing women’s leadership that will provide valuable resources and opportunities for female students and their male allies. 

Another new initiative, led by Sweeney and Piefer, is to expand content for International Student Roundtables, sessions that take place a couple of times a month during the semester, open to all international graduate students, where the conversation focuses on career-related topics specific to their job search in the United States. 

“Our goal is to cover topics for the modern job search, such as using AI tools, as well as to support our international graduate students as they navigate the nuances of the U.S. job search, which can be very different from what they are used to in their home countries,” Piefer said. 

One of Sweeney’s most memorable work experiences involves an international student who took on the proactive approach of the Rockwell team in her own job search. 

“She had just arrived in the U.S., and her journey is a testament to the power of strategic networking and leveraging available resources,” Sweeney said, noting that the student participated in the Executive Mentoring Program, volunteered with chambers of commerce, participated in multiple case competitions and applied for key fellowships in her area of interest. 

She added: “What made her approach exceptional was her commitment to immersing herself in every opportunity for growth and connection, and it yielded impressive results, vastly expanding her professional network and leading to multiple referrals and interviews that led to her dream job.” 

Each member of the team has countless stories of students and alumni they have worked with over the years, from those who come in with a specific career goal in mind to others who find their path along the way by attending career fairs, employer information sessions and working with their career coaches. 

“My favorite part of working in graduate career services is receiving that excited email from a student letting me know they got that internship or job,” Osborn said. “This is especially true after seeing the hard work our students put into their job search, not only developing the hard skills in the classroom but also working on their career tools and mock interviews. After months of determination, it is amazing to hear ‘I got an offer!’.” 

And often, through the course of working with a student, as in sports, the coaches often become fans themselves. 

“Our students and alumni are incredibly interesting and accomplished individuals,” Godfrey said. “They all have a story to tell, and working with them is the highlight of my job. They are smart, driven, humble and always willing to help each other. They are coachable, hardworking, and they want to make a difference in the work they do. Can you tell I’m a fan?”