Exploring collegiate career development experiences of educational opportunity fund (EOF) alumni

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20398310

This study increased our understanding of the career development experiences of college graduates who come from low-income backgrounds and participate in an opportunity program. It used a qualitative research approach, interpretative phenomenological analysis, and the social cognitive career development theoretical framework (Lent et al., 1994; 2000) to analyze the lived experiences of 10 Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) alumni as they reflected on their career development experiences as undergraduate students at a 4-year New Jersey public college. The themes that emerged from analysis of semi-structured interviews led to three findings: (a) the participants were not intentionally focused on career development as an undergraduate student; (b) the participants sought to establish a sense of student identity and campus connection before focusing on their career development needs and outcomes; and (c) the participants' collegiate experiences demonstrated that professional networks, including mentors, on-campus jobs, and extracurricular activities, can improve exposure and awareness of career development. These findings suggest that colleges and universities, career services, and opportunity programs should collaborate to make low-income college students more aware of career development opportunities and more able to take advantage of those opportunities.