Practical Learning: Sharing Alumni Career Journeys

Through alumni classroom visits, students are introduced to the variety of work experiences that can follow a Political Science degree, thereby broadening their understanding of career possibilities. During the visits, students hear directly from alumni about their career stories and are invited to be curious and ask questions.

• Apply active listening, critical thinking, and self-reflection skills to generate appreciative inquiries
• Practice engaging in challenging conversations in good faith
• Identify the breadth of topics and career trajectories within the discipline

Delivery

Alumni presentations during lecture time

Method

Dr. Prest and the Arts Alumni Engagement Team worked together to identify and invite five Political Science alumni into the classroom to share their career journeys with an emphasis on how their degree has informed and continues to inform their work. The alumni were provided with general themes to touch on but were also given freedom to speak candidly about their experiences.

As part of their participation grade, students were prompted ahead of each alumni presentation to craft a thoughtful question which could be posed to the speaker during the Q&A period as a show of their good faith engagement with the guests.

Why do you incorporate Practical Learning in your discipline?

When we talk about political science from an academic perspective, we ask a very important and particular set of questions to try to explain why the world is, and what the implications are for the way in which our political world is constructed.

We don't talk a lot, especially in some introductory courses, about how politics unfolds in the day to day lives of political actors, whether we're talking about politicians or people who are acting as activists within their community, whether in a paid position or just as volunteers getting involved. And so, hearing from people who are involved in politics, gives a much more varied and visceral account of what we're talking about where we can see the implications in people's lives in a much more immediate way than I or a textbook can convey.

What motivated you to incorporate this type of activity into your course?

First year students often have a specific idea of what political science is and what it is for, which is usually informed by what they see on the daily news which may be somewhat negative or removed from their daily lives.

Bringing alumni into the classroom can widen the discussion for students to see all the different paths available to them after a minor or a major in political science. I intentionally select speakers who are engaged in a range of activities, not just politicians, to give students a sense of what their options are. In this iteration, we had a staffer from the legal department in the White House, a local pollster, a former senior staffer from Vancouver City Hall, and two current B.C. politicians.

What are some changes or improvements you want to make in the future?

I will keep the format similar and maintain a relatively low-stakes experience for the students, but I do want to continue to bring in a diverse range of speakers to represent different backgrounds to demonstrate the variety of outcomes that may come from a Political Science degree.

What have you heard from students about their experience?

Many students expressed appreciation for the opportunity to hear a different point of view in the classroom with one even saying to me, “I didn’t think that you could do these kinds of things with a political science degree,” which affirmed to me that the key message had been received.

Do you have any suggestions for other instructors who are considering practical learning for their course?

I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about doing it to reach out to the team even if you don’t have a great sense of what it might look like yet. There are many models available, and it's worthwhile to have an initial conversation to explore the ideas. It can be an inductive iterative process in developing.