Guiding Students from Classrooms to Careers
For 48 years, Fulfillment Fund has been a recognized leader in creating accessible pathways out of poverty through the most powerful driver of economic mobility: a college education. But as we’ve grown alongside our students, we’ve learned that a degree alone isn’t enough. Lasting economic mobility also requires career guidance, professional skills, and access to real-world opportunities.
That’s why starting in 2020, we began integrating career readiness programming into our College Access and Success work—culminating in our 2025 strategic plan: Grow with C.A.R.E., a bold four-pillar framework that makes Career Readiness a core pillar of everything we do.
What We Do: Career Readiness in Action
Our Career Readiness Program supports students from high school through college and into their early professional lives, ensuring they gain the tools, experiences, and networks needed to launch meaningful careers.
Here’s how we do it:
- One-on-One Advising: Led by our full-time Career Readiness Advisor, Carla Trujillo, students receive individualized support to explore career pathways, build resumes and LinkedIn profiles, prepare for interviews, and map out actionable career goals.
- Skill-Building Workshops: We host workshops and bootcamps that cover professional communication, networking, financial literacy, and job-search strategies—equipping students with the soft and hard skills employers demand.
- Industry Exposure: We partner with companies and organizations to offer career panels, site visits, and job-shadowing opportunities, connecting students directly with professionals across a wide range of industries.
- Internships & First-Job Pipeline: Through strategic partnerships with CareerSpring, AscentUP, and local employers, we help students secure internships and entry-level jobs—especially those that offer long-term growth potential.
- Alumni Engagement & Mentorship: Our growing alumni network plays a key role in mentoring current students, offering peer guidance, and opening doors to career opportunities.
- Volunteer & Employer Partnerships: We are actively expanding a network of professionals and companies that engage with students as guest speakers, mentors, mock interviewers, and internship hosts.
Why It Matters
These hands-on, career-focused experiences are already delivering measurable results: stronger student confidence, clearer post-graduate plans, and increased access to job opportunities—especially for first-generation college students.
By embedding career readiness into every stage of our support model, Fulfillment Fund is helping students not just graduate—but graduate with a plan, a network, and the skills they need to thrive in today’s workforce.
