Career Exercises for College Athletes

For athletes, winter break is often cut short because they have to return to campus early for practice. That limits their involvement in career-prep activities, like externships, that their classmates may be free to pursue. Athletes are similarly hampered the rest of the year, unable to get to career-development sessions because they’re too busy with classes, practices, and games.

So at Davidson College, where about 25 percent of students — 429 total — play on Division I teams, the career-services center uses that winter-break practice period to help athletes catch up.

The New and Improved Winter Break

Home for the holidays? Maybe, but colleges are offering a lot of tempting alternatives: research and service-learning trips, externships, elective courses, and outdoor adventures. Sorry, Mom and Dad, we might just have to FaceTime this New Year’s Eve.

• What Did You Do for Winter Break?
• Preparing for a Meaningful Winter Break
• Winter Break, Well Spent

The Career Advantage workshops are tailored to what the athletes want, says Jeanne-Marie Ryan, executive director of the Center for Career Development. Staff members go to team breakfasts during the fall semester with iPads in hand to survey the students about what skills and professional assistance they want and need. Working with the coaches is crucial.

“We’re meeting the students where they are,” Ms. Ryan says.

The career center has 10 events planned so far for winter break. Women’s lacrosse players will participate in a program to assess their strengths and how they might connect to certain professions. Other teams are doing networking workshops and mock interviews.

One goal of the program is to help students set up summer internships, something they may be too busy to devote time to during the academic year, with schoolwork and sports demands. “It helps set you up for success earlier and for a less stressful spring semester,” says Ms. Ryan.