Carthage Recognized for its Innovative Approach to Career Development

Taylor Wimberly ‘24 completed The Aspire Program sequence to earn a cord to wear at her Carthage College graduation.
Carthage College recently won the 2024 Career Services Pursuit of Excellence Award, a nationwide honor that strongly endorses the college’s groundbreaking approach to career development through The Aspire Program.
The Career Leadership Collective, an intellectual partner supporting career services professionals, presented the award during its national conference in Austin, Texas. The award honors select institutions that embody a holistic and long-standing commitment to career preparation.
Carolyn Serdar, executive director for career and professional development at Carthage, accepted the award on behalf of the career services team.
“This award validates the work we’ve been doing in The Aspire Program,” she said. “Between our specialized Aspire team members and our digital badge platform, we’ve created a program that helps students develop a sense of purpose and, in turn, a meaningful career.”
Carthage launched The Aspire Program with a $15 million gift in 2019. The first class to complete the four-year sequence graduated last spring with a projected 95 percent landing a job in their intended field, enrolling in graduate school or joining a service program.
The Aspire Program guides students to connect their interests, skills, and purpose to practical opportunities with lasting value. The program prompts students to earn digital badges by participating in activities, courses, and workshops that prepare them for their careers. Along with the program, Carthage faculty often embed goal-setting, reflective activities, and skill-building tasks in their courses.
“Every student is assigned a career specialist with industry expertise to help students develop their professional portfolio of documents so they can be career-ready to apply, interview, and accept a work-based learning opportunity,” Serdar said.
As Serdar tells parents, career development is essentially “unavoidable” for busy students because faculty also include career skill-building in their curriculum.
The Pursuit of Excellence Award recognized the Carthage career services team for demonstrating growth and quality in data analysis, equitable services, strategic planning, and staff development. Carthage, the only private institution to win the award, was joined by the University of Connecticut, Bowling Green State University, and George Mason University as recipients. Watch an Aspire video here. Read the award news story here.