How We Used AI to Build Career Pathways for Underserved Students—Without More Staff or Budget
Bear Down Gym 210 | Learn how Pima Community College leveraged AI and community partnerships to rapidly build culturally responsive career pathways for underserved students. This session offers a practical and scalable model for increasing access and impact without requiring additional staffing or funding.
Bear Down Gym 210
Inclusive career pathways are a priority for everyone, but 'capacity' is usually the roadblock. At Pima Community College, we broke that barrier. By combining AI-driven scale with deep community roots—including partnerships with our Native American Student Club and the Gospel Rescue Mission—we’ve built pathways that honor students’ cultural identities and lived experiences. Join us to see how we’ve personalized career support for diverse identity groups and walk away with a replicable model you can use to meet your students exactly where they are.
Session Outcomes
Apply practical AI workflows to rapidly create career pathway content aligned to students’ cultures and lived experiences
Design partnerships with campus and community organizations to co-create pathways that meet students where they are
Implement a scalable approach to expand access to relevant career pathways without adding staff or budget"
Presenter
Emily Marshall
Program Manger, Work-Based Learning Systems
Pima Community College
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Guiding Intentional AI Use in Students’ Career Development
Bartlett Academic Success Center 316 | AI tools are rapidly becoming part of the career development process, but students need support using them thoughtfully and ethically. This session explores practical prompt engineering strategies that encourage reflection, revision, and critical thinking while helping students navigate career exploration and professional communication.
Bartlett Academic Success Center 316
This session explores how career development professionals can support students to use AI tools thoughtfully and ethically. We will discuss prompt engineering strategies that center revision, self-reflection, and critical evaluation as students explore career paths, create application materials, prepare for interviews, and craft professional communication.
Session Outcomes
Frame AI as a resource that supports student learning, reflection, and skill development.
Apply prompts and strategies that promote critical evaluation, agency, and authenticity.
Learn how students can use AI to support career exploration, application materials, interview preparation, and professional communication.
Presenter
Tricia Sherrard
Assistant Director for Career Programming
Northern Arizona University
Jason Gihle
Career Development Manager
Northern Arizona University
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Supporting the Whole Student: Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Career Services
Bartlett Academic Success Center 306 | Mental health, systemic stress, and lived experiences all shape how students engage with career development. This interactive session explores trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches that help career professionals better support connection, trust, and student success.
Bartlett Academic Success Center 306
This interactive session explores how mental health, systemic stress, and intersectionality shape how students engage in career development spaces. Participants will examine how behaviors often labeled as disengagement may reflect deeper barriers and will learn practical trauma-informed, culturally responsive strategies to better support student success. Through reflective discussion and real-world application, attendees will leave with actionable tools to implement within their own institutions.
Session Outcomes
Identify how mental health, systemic stress, and intersecting identities can impact student engagement in career services.
Apply trauma-informed and culturally responsive approaches to reframe assumptions about student behavior.
Implement practical strategies to foster more supportive, equitable, and student-centered career development practices.
Presenter
Hailey Dukart
Career Development Coordinator/MSW Student
Pima Community College