A new partnership at Drexel University could shed some light on Penn’s existing Career Services resources tailored specifically for LGBTQ students.
Drexel’s Steinbright Career Development Center has recently partnered with OUT For Work, a national nonprofit that seeks to improves career resources for LGBTQ students in colleges and universities.
Employer Relations and Cooperative Education Coordinator at Steinbright Kathy Anderson said the partnership will give Steinbright’s staff greater access to specialized training to work with LGBTQ students. It will also provide Drexel students with “specific career related resources,” especially as they pertain to Drexel’s undergraduate co-op jobs — positions students take during the course of their undergraduate academic studies.
“Once we got certified as a partner, we gained access to more resources and we’ve gotten training so our staff can work with students one-on-one,” Anderson said. “At the moment we’re offering a career library with opportunities specifically for [LGBTQ students].”
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However, while the partnership is a recent development for Drexel, Penn has had an “A Rating” from OUT For Work — the organization’s highest-ranking certification for campus career centers — for the past two years.
Director of Career Services Pat Rose said that Career Services “strives both to integrate the LGBT community into normally scheduled initiatives and to have targeted LG initiatives as well.”
Rose added that the full array of services for LGBTQ students can be found on the Career Services website under the title “Resources for Special Populations.” Included on this page are links to the OUT For Work website, companies and employers providing non-discrimination policies and domestic partner benefits and legal organizations advocating LGBTQ civil rights.
While Career Services provides counseling and programming for LGBT students, not everyone in the LGBT community knows the extent of the resources available.
Sophomore David Lai, a member of the LGBT community, was “unaware that Career Services ha[d] a partnership with OUT For Work” or had resources specifically for LGBT students.
Lai added that although he has never used Career Services for a job hunt, he is looking forward to seeing what is offered specifically to the LGBT population.
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Wharton senior Edgardo Bueser, also a member of the LGBT community, said that while he does know of the resources on campus, he “[doesn’t] think they’re prominent enough,” adding that he thinks Career Services “needs to start marketing them more or working more with student groups.”
Bueser, who interned this summer at Morgan Stanley, also noted a growing openness to LGBT students in the workplace, and that he personally hasn’t faced employment obstacles because of his LGBT status.
“Firms are now starting to make a real commitment to diversity, even within the financial services industry,” he said.
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