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Last April, I took an immersion trip to New York City. The trip was hosted by Syracuse University’s Bandier Program and Whitman School of Management.

Over three days, my group was tasked with building a business pitch from the ground up. We presented our ideas to investors who offered industry-level feedback.

When we weren’t working in groups, students networked with senior professionals across industries, spanning investment banking, venture capital, independent and major music labels and other media fields.

On the bus ride back to Syracuse, I kept wondering why I’d never experienced anything like this through my home college, the College of Arts and Sciences.

My psychology major has its own immersion opportunities, but my three days in NYC felt different. I wasn’t simply learning about careers — networking was built into the experience. Throughout my four years at SU, I hadn’t experienced anything comparable through the Arts and Sciences program.

That made me wonder whether students across SU are really being given equal opportunity to become career-ready.

So, I started asking. I reached out to 14 university offices and programs. Eight responded.

I found that schools at SU are giving their students the tools to succeed post-grad. Internships, experiential learning, capstones, portfolio-building and other forms of professional development exist throughout the university.

In the College of Visual and Performing Arts, internships are required in several programs. Music education students complete student teaching, and many visual arts students develop portfolios.

Newhouse School of Public Communications students can graduate with clips, reels and campaigns created for real clients, while Falk College programs incorporate experiences ranging from capstones to clinical internships........

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