Experiential Engagement through Employer Challenges

Career Level: Basic-level career services and university relations and recruiting professionals
Competency: Job and experiential learning opportunity development
Fee: $69 (member); $89 (nonmember);

Summary
Are you looking for a way to provide more connection points between students and employers, all without leaving campus? This webinar is designed to share the University Career Center Employer Challenge program as a practical experiential learning opportunity. The Employer Challenge allows students to build deep connections with organizations through short-term, mini-projects that might be virtual, hands-on, case study, and more. Each semester, we engage with different organizations to bring a virtual or in-person project to our campus that students can work on throughout one week to better understand different job functions/industries and solve practical business problems. The goal of the Employer Challenge is to not only help students better understand the employer, but also for employers to generate interest in the organization and the types of positions or internships that are available to new and recent graduates.

Following this program, you will be able to:
- Understand how to structure a short-term, hands-on engagement opportunity for students to collaborate and work with an employer;
- Generate interest in your organization and the types of internships or positions that are available to new and recent graduates; and
- Identify a cost-saving, flexible way to connect meaningfully with students remotely or in-person.
Presenters

Meagan Hart-Molloy, Assistant Director of Employer Relations, University of Michigan - University Career Center
Meagan Hart-Molloy is the experiential learning and immersion coordinator within the university Career Center. In this role, they are primarily responsible for coordinating student immersions across various industries, engaging with employers, and meeting with undergraduate and graduate students for career coaching. Hart-Molloy identifies in the LGBTQ community and as a first-generation college student. They received their master's degree in college student development and counseling from Northeastern University and their bachelor's from Grand Valley State University in gender studies.

Elizabeth Schaller, Employer Recruitment Coordinator, University of Michigan - University Career Center
Elizabeth Schaller serves on the employer relations team, building and maintaining relationships with top employers in various industries who are looking to recruit UM students. She loves learning more about the students interests and what they are looking for in a career, as well as what the employers are looking for in UM students. She also works directly with students in group and one-on-one settings during all phases of their career development. She received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Walsh College and has professional experiences in banking, customer service, and management roles.

Derek Steele, Vice President of Customer Strategy, Meijer, Inc.
Derek Steele is the vice president of customer strategy at Meijer. A graduate of the University of Michigan, he spent the first five years of his career pursuing his interest in human spaceflight as an engineer on the Space Shuttle program. During that time, he completed his Master's of Business Administration at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and chose to return back to Grand Rapids to pursue his passion as a leader at Meijer. Throughout his 14 years with Meijer, he has had the opportunity to lead a number of strategic projects across merchandising and marketing, including the launch of the popular Purple Cow ice cream brand, the introduction of Meijer Pickup and Home Delivery and, most recently, the redesign of Meijer’s customer loyalty program, mPerks. In his current role, Steele is responsible for Meijer’s eCommerce business and the mPerks loyalty platform along with the customer care and customer insights functions.

Justin Sessink, Director of eCommerce, Meijer, Inc.
Justin Sessink has more than 10 years of digital experience at Meijer and is currently the director of eCommerce. In his role, he leads digital merchandising, eCommerce marketing, digital product development, and marketplace management. His team develops strategies and works closely with cross functional partners to advance Meijer’s pickup & delivery services. He also leads new capability development for meijer.com and the Meijer app. In addition, Sessink builds partnerships with leading marketplace partners such as Instacart, Doordash and others, which provide Meijer customers greater access and options to shop on the go. He is also a board member on Meijer’s YoPro (young professional) resource group, which provides early-career team members opportunities to network, volunteer, and develop professionally. Prior to Meijer, Sessink led business development at a manufacturing company that produced innovative packaging for consumer-packaged good products.