Ask5: Opening career paths and changing the conversation

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – APRIL 19, 2024) Starting a career, searching for a job, and navigating all the decisions that come with it can be an overbearing challenge. It’s one Anita DeCianni Brown, director of career and experiential learning services, is trying to make easier for students at Empire State University.

Brown started Ask5 in September, an online talk series dedicated to discussing career options and helping students navigate the obstacles that can come with those next steps. The idea came from a series she started in 2020 when she hosted panel discussions with multiple people aiming to tackle those challenges.

“I thought, let me have shorter snippets and have one-on-one interview conversations with alumni, employers, faculty and staff,” Brown said. “I have found these very helpful in informing me when I'm working with students and trying to help them with career-related conversations and questions.”

Each episode of Ask5 is unique and carefully curated to each person’s field of expertise and the questions students need answered most, whether they’re just beginning their degree or about to walk across the stage at commencement. For alumni featured on Ask5, there is always one question Brown asks: how did Empire State University help you in your career?

“For every conversation at Ask5, I'm asking different questions to the individual,” Brown said. “I'm thinking about that career path, what I know, and what I'd like to know. I think that that's helpful for people to get that sense of how they did that, and how it helped.”  

Brown said she is constantly reshaping the approach for the SUNY Empire Career Hub, adapting to the rapidly evolving job market and finding ways to open up career paths for students while connecting them to people and opportunities across the state. In some cases, she uses the series to shed light on other paths including graduate programs offered through Empire State University.

The entire series is centered on improving career readiness, something Brown said is crucial if a student is going to succeed in a post-graduate environment. She’s seen the success of her initiative firsthand, with faculty, staff, and students reflecting on the benefits of Ask5 since its launch last year.

“The National Association of Colleges and Employers has done research on this,” Brown said. “How career readiness is more important than some of the other criteria that used to exist for students applying for positions. If I look at what was the guiding reason why I started doing these more frequent conversations, it's to try and help our students be career-ready.”

Brown is always looking for new perspectives to add to her Ask5 series. You can reach out to her here.