Description:

“DREAMers" are undocumented immigrant youth who came to this country at a young age and have grown up and gone to high school here. Approximately 98,000 DREAMers graduate from U.S. high schools every year–-many wanting nothing more than to obtain a college education to help their families and communities prosper. Many DREAMers have DACA or TPS, which enables them to legally work; those who do not instead have entrepreneurial career pathways available to them. These DREAMers are multicultural, resilient, and highly determined and bring the very attributes business leaders are seeking as we rebuild diverse and inclusive workforces in the wake of the pandemic and the call for racial equity. Yet DREAMers face steep economic and structural obstacles to getting a strong first job or career opportunity out of college. These obstacles were exacerbated by the turmoil of 2020, namely the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DREAMers’ and their families’ health and financial security and a year of ever-changing threats to DACA and TPS. We know that a strong first job after college helps individuals build long-term wealth and economic mobility. We need to provide DREAMers with skills, experiences, and relationships needed for them to transition from college into meaningful careers. Based on our experience serving thousands of DREAMers across our 75+ partner colleges, TheDream.US has identified effective career practices for supporting DREAMers in launching their career journey. These include DREAMer-centric career coaching; access to internships and fellowships, on and off campus; and opportunities to build professional networks. Career services professionals are an important touch point in supporting DREAMers in their journey and are eager to help but often find themselves without the knowledge or expertise to provide DREAMer-centric supports. TheDream.US is working with career services liaisons at our 75+ partner colleges to help identify and share effective practices for supporting DREAMers. We will invite a representative from one of those partner colleges to join this session. Career services professionals will leave this session knowing: ● Who DREAMers are and the legalities of their ability to work; ● The career pathways available to DREAMers with and without DACA or TPS, including entrepreneurial pathways that colleges can help provide; ● Effective practices in providing DREAMer-centric career coaching; ● Effective practices in helping DREAMers access paid internships and fellowships on and off campus; and ● Effective practices for helping DREAMers build professional networks key to getting strong first jobs.

Audience:

Career Services

Level:

Intermediate

Track:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Type:

Deep Dive

Main Speaker:

Candy Marshall, TheDream.US

Additional Speakers:

Tania Wilcox, TheDream.US
Doris Alcivar, University of Central Florida - Career Services