Career Communities

Career Communities at Towson University coordinate, communicate and implement targeted career readiness by industry.

Communities foster focused advising and programming through shared partnerships to maximize employment options, experiential opportunities and career education for TU students.

Career Communities provide targeted support to allow students to:

  • learn about your industries of choice and set related academic and career goals
  • engage in career programming opportunities (career fairs, events, workshops, employer site visits, on-campus recruiting, etc.) across career communities
  • connect with internships and other experiential opportunities to explore career options
  • build career readiness skills to understand, develop and articulate individual strengths and skills
  • build relationships with faculty, staff, alumni and employers

Career Communities by Interest

Two students working at computers at internship

Business and Economics

The Business and Economics Career Community offers resources for students pursuing careers in business and economics-related industries.

Business & Economics Career Community
Student sitting at desk in classroom

Education

The Education Career Community provides students with opportunities to explore their career interests.

Education Career Community
Student standing outside

Exploration

The Exploration Career Community provides students with opportunities to explore their career interests.

Exploration Career Community
Nursing student working on computer

Health and Wellness

The Health and Wellness Career Community offers resources for students pursuing careers in health and wellness industries.

Health & Wellness Career Community
Student at desking with books

Liberal Arts 

The Liberal Arts Career Community is designed to offer targeted resources for students pursuing careers in liberal arts-related industries.

Liberal Arts Career Community
Students in broadcast booth

Media, Arts and Communication (MAC) 

The MAC Career Community offers resources for students pursuing careers in media, arts and communication related fields.

MAC Career Community
Student working in lab

STEM

The STEM Career Community offers resources for students pursuing careers in STEM-related industries.

STEM Career Community

2025-2026 TU Career Communities Micro-Grant Award

Maximum Award: $500

The Career Center provides fiscal support for TU faculty, staff, and student organization led program activities that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, and promotion of the center’s Career Communities network while emphasizing the critical importance of Career Ready Skills.

Key Programming Priorities of TU Career Communities:

  • Increase the number and quality of career conversations on campus to help students understand career opportunities
  • Equip students, staff, and faculty with confidence and tools to weave career planning into everyday conversation and help students refine their career pathways
  • Provide tailored career-ready skill-building opportunities to learn specific marketable and transferable skills
  • Increase effectiveness of career conversations by connecting academics to industry
  • Facilitate career advice from faculty and employers
  • Foster alumni connections and network with employers
  • Promote jobs and encourage internships related to career goals 

Micro-Grant Application

Faculty, staff, and student organization representatives that are committed to intentionally strengthening TU Career Communities and the Center’s collective mission and vision are welcome to apply.

  • Grant activities must spotlight one or more essential Career Ready Skills
  • Proposals should clearly align with the Career Communities key priorities that focus on knowledge, experiential learning, and career connections

Award recipients must agree and will be required to:

  • Communicate in all marketing and reporting materials and at the program site: "This Career Communities Program is made possible by the support of the TU Career Center"
  • Share grant program photos and related media posts
  • Track and submit program participant attendance sheets, including students TU ID numbers
  • Complete a TU Career Center post-grant survey
  • Submit final summary report materials no later than 3 weeks of completion of the funded program activity.
    • The final report must include a brief reflection component highlighting career learning outcomes and career communities’ impact of the grant.
    • The format and delivery date of the report will be decided and specified on the post-award checklist.

If you indicated that this proposed activity would receive additional funding from external or campus resources, please include details in the budget spreadsheet.

Note: Proposal requests must not exceed $500. Funding requests ranging from $100 to $500 are welcome. Partial funding for grant activities will also be considered by the grant review committee.

Applications open June 16 for proposed activities for Academic Year 2025-2026 and will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. Proposals will be accepted and awarded on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted or until the application closing date of October 1.  In addition to this online application, individuals will need to upload a proposed detailed budget outline using a template provided. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

 

2025-2026 TU Career Communities Micro-Grant Application

Micro-Grant Application

Micro-Grant Award Recipients

Here are the 2025-2026 TU Career Communities Micro-Grant Award recipients:

Grant Lead Affiliated Collaborator Program Name & Brief Description Semester

Leari Jones (staff)


StarTUp

TU MakerFest, Innovation Conference

October 24, 2025 • StarTUp

The TU MakerFest is a one-day, hands-on innovation conference where students explore the process of turning creative ideas into tangible products and potential businesses. Throughout the day, participants rotate through interactive workshops focused on channeling their inner maker and making their products marketable. This opportunity is a space for students to experiment, collaborate across majors, and explore campus resources that support creativity and entrepreneurship.

Fall 2025

David Romero (student)


Pre-Physical Therapy Club

Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine Conference

November 7-8, 2025 • Harrisburg, PA 

MARC ACSM is the largest sport medicine organization. ACSM helps educate and empower professionalism in the sport medicine and exercise science field.

MARC ACSM Conference

Fall 2025
Laura Gough (faculty)

Biological Sciences

Where Can You Go After TU? A Panel of Recent Biology Alumni 

Friday, March 13, 2026 • 1-2:30 p.m. • SC5250 

A panel of six recent biology graduates who are working in a variety of jobs including environmental consulting, biotechnology, science communication, and genetic counseling. There will be snacks and time for Q&A from the audience.

Where Can You Go After TU?

MD HIRES: Student and Faculty Professional Development

Friday, May 1, 2026 • 1-3 p.m. • TBD 

Funded by the National Science Foundation, MD HIRES is helping Biology faculty become more inclusive and effective mentors of undergraduate researchers and supporting senior STEM majors in pursuing research opportunities to prepare them for their careers. 

Spring 2026
Jony Roman Montalvo (staff)

Center for Student Diversity

TÚ, con acento

March 10, 2026

A one-day interactive event aimed at reframing linguistic diversity—accents, bilingualism, and multilingualism—as assets in the workplace rather than barriers. This program will create an affirming space for students from diverse linguistic backgrounds to gain confidence, develop communication tools for professional settings, and explore how their cultural and language experiences enhance their career readiness.

TÚ, con acento

Spring 2026

Kevin Tchatat (student) 

National Society of Black Engineers

National Society of Black Engineers National Conference

March 18 – March 22, 2026 • Baltimore, MD

The NSBE National Conference provides Towson University students with access to workshops, competitions, career development sessions, and direct networking with top employers in engineering and technology. Attending the conference will allow students to develop technical skills, explore internships/full-time opportunities, and engage with a national community of Black engineering professionals. This experience will strengthen participants’ career readiness and exposure to industry pathways. 

NSBE National Conference

Spring 2026

Atika Syed (staff) 

Center for Student Diversity

Crafting Career Pathways for APIMEDA Students 

April 1, 2026 • 3-6 p.m. • UU349 

An educational and informational session for APIMEDA students regarding the least chosen career paths and professions in the community, the challenges and successes achieved in those fields. The discussion will be conducted by members of the APIMEDA community who can provide guidance and encouragement to the students.

Spring 2026

Sean Fullerton (faculty)

Kinesiology, PETE Program

Adapted Aquatics Lab 

April 16, 2026 • 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. • Burdick Hall

Students from the Kinesiology and Health & Physical Education program will have the opportunity to learn to teach water acclimation, basic swimming, and safety in a therapy tank. Facilitated by Adapted Aquatics Instructors from Prince George County Public Schools, this hands-on experience will include methods for teaching safe entry, flotation, and physical therapy techniques for learners with significant needs.

Spring 2026

Liz Scarbrough (staff)

Tutoring & Learning Center

Beyond the Center

April 16, 2026 • 6:30–8 p.m. • Cook Library 

A panel of 3-5 former student leaders from the TLC (a combination from our tutors, SI leaders, academic coaches, graduate assistants, or student administrative assistants from within the last 3-5 years) will share how they use the skills they gained in their current careers/positions, and anything that they wish they had learned or taken advantage of while they were still a student. Our goals include beginning a program to engage alumni and to help our current students make connections, hearing about how they will be able to apply their skills in their careers.

Spring 2026
Sarah Gunning (faculty)

English - Professional Writing

Shifting Landscape of the Workplace: Hear from current interns and alumn

April 30, 2026 • 4:30–6 p.m. • TBD 

As program director, I have had some interesting conversations from PRWR 797 Internship students and LinkedIn group members about how they and alumni are navigating workplace conversations focused on changes in the industry. I will be hosting a panel for them to talk about their experiences/current state of their specific organizations to help current students and faculty get better insight into the current workplace landscape.

Spring 2026

Jenn Figg (faculty) 

Art + Design, Art History, Art Education

Career Conversations for Professional Art Practitioners: Artist Estate Planning, Intellectual Property, and Contract Negotiation 

Spring 2026 

Engaging with invited speakers will foundationally help graduate fine art students establish functioning, sustainable careers in the arts and will align and deepen students’ understanding of five key Career Readiness Competencies: Career and Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity & Inclusion, and Leadership.

Spring 2026

Additional Resource