TU Career Center leaps into new job shadowing outreach via Instagram

By Kyle Hobstetter on May 4, 2021

Since the spring 2019 term, the Towson University Career Center has provided students with job shadowing opportunities through its Tiger L.E.A.P. (learn, experience, apply and practice) program.

In it, undergraduate students experience a "day in the life" in their potential career fields.

Since the program launched, Tiger L.E.A.P. has successfully matched hundreds of students with industry professionals, a majority being TU alumni.

“The program is so important to students as it gives them the chance to explore potential careers by seeing what a ‘day in the life’ may be like,” says Leah Fondersmith, experiential learning coordinator for the Career Center.

“It can be one thing to read about careers online, see them on television or hear about them in the classroom. But to see them in action through a shadowing experience is a unique perspective that can be really valuable and eye opening.”

READ MORE: TU students visit PBS headquarters as part of Tiger L.E.A.P. program

But like many around campus this year, Fondersmith and the staff at the Career Center had to pivot the Tiger L.E.A.P. program because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions, TU students couldn’t shadow in-person.

So Fondersmith partnered with her intern Emma Campbell ’21 to bring the employers to the students—giving alumni access to the Career Center Instagram to do a takeover.

While many people have been relying on Zoom, Fondersmith understands there is a growing fatigue from sitting around the computer. Using Instagram gives students flexibility in how they shadow their hosts.

“I wanted to meet students where they're at, and students are on Instagram,” she says. “This allowed students to engage with alumni, ask questions, explore different careers and industries.

“And we were able to make it on-demand as well. We're also featuring them as highlights on our Instagram page. If students miss the takeover, they can still get a lot of that information by checking out the highlights section.”

When Fondersmith first brought the idea to Campbell, the senior immediately agreed.

“I told her this is what we need because, as a student, this is exactly the type of media format that I want to consume,” Campbell says. “I think that this can really open how the Career Center reaches students.”

The Tiger L.E.A.P. Instagram Takeover Series began on April 1 with Stephen Logsdon ’12, who works as an account executive with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. He answered students’ questions, took them through his day and even included the Rams’ mascot, Rampage.

“The response to him was just really overwhelming,” Campbell says. “We were so impressed, so happy and, at the root of it, this is an example of the Career Center's mission, which has always been to help students in whatever ways we can. I've been with the Career Center for three years, and I've seen us help a lot of students but never in this way before.” 

In the following weeks, there were takeovers from alumni working at the Kennedy Krieger Institute; the American College Personnel Association; the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and First Financial Federal Credit Union.

The takeovers will continue until early June, with alumni who work at the Maryland State General Assembly; KOA Sports League; Fox Rehabilitation; Innovaire; Google and Dobbs Ferry High School.

Initially, Fondersmith wanted to start small and get enough participants for April. She ended up having to expand the series because of the response from the alumni.

“I had to turn people away and ask them if they can do it during another semester,” she says. “It’s thrilling to me. Every Thursday, when I see the alumni get on our Instagram stories, I get super excited that we’re providing this platform for alumni to share their experiences and provide advice to students."