More than half of ASU student organizations focus on professional development

With more than 800 student clubs at Arizona State University, there’s an organization to match every Sun Devil’s interests, providing opportunities to participate in spirit, activism, public service and social connections. And, for students looking to focus on their professional development skills, more than half of the active student organizations offer a career focus.

Maria Leon, program manager at ASU Career Services, plays a key role in helping student organizations develop their structure to support career development through a new ASU program: Level-Up Career Club. 

“This program helps our student organizations implement more career and professional development within their organization,” Leon said. “We help them level up their existing efforts and help get them connected to employers.”

Leon said that the large volume of student clubs offering career-focused events and initiatives speaks to the enthusiasm that Sun Devils have for achieving career readiness.

“I think it really says something about the drive and dedication that our students have,” Leon said. “Students come to ASU to get their degree that will launch them into a career path, but they also desire to have a well-rounded experience or journey to get to that degree.” 

Kay Kemp, a Tillman Scholar and Barrett, The Honors College student of biomedical research science and global health, serves as the career programs director for ASU’s Women in STEM student club. In her role, Kemp facilitates career initiatives between the student group and ASU Career Services.

“It’s the first all-women club for people in STEM chartered at ASU. We've been here for more than a decade — about 13 years now,” Kemp said. “It's a really nice place for women in all forms of STEM to find camaraderie and friendships, because a lot of our classes do tend to be primarily male, especially if you're in engineering or computer science. That was one of the primary reasons why we started all those years ago, and it's just grown into one of the largest clubs on campus.”

The vice president of Women in STEM, Jenna Dorman, an ASU sophomore studying neuroscience, said that the student organization provides important networking and career readiness opportunities through events, roundtable discussions and workshops.

“I personally met a pathologist from Mayo Clinic in our last roundtable that we did, and she gave me a whole bunch of advice afterwards and talked about trying different specialties when you get into med school. And that made me even more curious as to what comes after, and it really fueled me. ... It's really empowering and ensuring that this is something I want to do. I also think that our professional development opportunities are key to making sure that you have the skillset to go into such demanding fields.”

Matt Roberts, a fourth-year ASU mechanical engineering student and chief engineer of the Sun Devil Motorsports – Formula SAE club, said that his student organization puts career readiness at the core of their mission.

“Sun Devil Motorsports’ career development begins with the structure of our organization. With over 40 years of history, we have worked closely with our alumni to build a team that mirrors a professional engineering organization,” Roberts said. “While ASU coursework typically involves teams of around eight students, Sun Devil Motorsports is unique in that more than 150 members collaborate on a single project. This scale requires a formal structure with senior engineers, engineering managers, PR managers, etc., closely resembling organizations such as Honeywell and Boeing.

“Over the past five years, 100% of our engineering leads have accepted full-time job offers prior to graduation,” he added. “Many companies also actively recruit from Formula SAE programs in general — approximately 70% of mechanical engineers at SpaceX participated in F-SAE. Some of our members have even received emails from SpaceX recruiters, without applying, based on work they completed within Sun Devil Motorsports.”

Beyond providing networking and job offers, Leon said that career readiness opportunities presented through student organizations like Sun Devil Motorsports and Women in STEM are providing students with a crucial workforce skill: confidence.

“It gives them confidence that the path they’re pursuing aligns with their career goals. Through events, workshops and presentations — especially with employer involvement — they also build valuable networks,” Leon said. “Many secure opportunities early, gaining insight into hiring practices and making for a smoother transition into the company.”