Start Here, Go Anywhere: How Alabama A&M University Empowers Gen Z to Own Their Career Path

Richele Jordan-Davis, Health Professions Administrator at Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University, shared her insights on the changing demands of Gen Z students during an exclusive panel webinar with Kaplan. Key takeaways focus on helping students navigate their career paths to find a job they love, equipping them with resources to ultimately be successful, and the importance of soft skills in the workplace.

Share with us a high-level overview of Alabama A&M University and your role there along with what most excites you right now in the higher education field.

Richele Jordan-Davis: Alabama A&M University is located near Huntsville, Alabama and we are a public, historically black, land-grant institution. Founded in 1875, we have over 7,500 students enrolled in our university, with over 60 programs and certifications.

We are excited about the opportunity to share our experiences with students here on the university campus. My background is in higher education administration, and I currently work with getting students through the pipeline of health professions. Previously, I was an Assistant Dean at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where I worked with the Office of Diversity Affairs.

How is Gen Z behavior different from millennials and Gen X?

Richele Jordan-Davis: Gen Z has been influenced by social media for most of their lives, so they often want instantaneous outcomes. When we are working with them, we might say, “let's think about that, and come back and talk about it,” but before you get back to your office, they will have emailed you with questions or points and want you to circle back to it. This cohort of students want things instantaneously and we have to be prepared to meet them where they are.

How can universities adapt to Gen Z’s need for practical career focused education?

Richele Jordan-Davis: For us, career readiness is about practical experience and giving students the knowledge, skills, and awareness necessary to meet the goals and objectives that they've laid for themselves. When we are dealing with students who are interested in the health professions, there is a track that they must follow, and while sometimes there is a deviation from that track, most of these students know what they have to do. Sometimes we have to say, “let's take a pause to think about this. Are you sure you're ready to pursue this career? Do you have all the information that you need to make sure that you will be successful in this career?”

I see my role as helping students navigate their career path, to make sure they have everything that they need to be successful, whether it's providing an internship opportunity, or connecting them with someone who's been on the path that they've been on at Alabama A&M University. We have a wonderful alumni network, and we have a youth motivational task force that has been supportive of us helping our students meet those goals.

It’s also important to partner with industry in your area. In Huntsville, Alabama, we have many technology driven companies located here, including NASA and Blue Halo as well as companies related to the STEM fields. We are one of the largest HBCUs in the nation for STEM-producing graduates. We pride ourselves on making sure that we have those cooperative agreements and MOUs with companies to make sure our students have a leg up when they leave this institution. This helps them to have some practical experience and be able to apply what they've learned in the classroom at the business level as well as in a health care setting.

Gen Z students tend to take ownership of their own learning, but they still have the influence of their parents, because either they're helping to support them through college or they have a career path that they want. As administrators, we’re thinking about how we help students hone in on what they want to do and identify what's in their heart. Because the goal is about getting out of college and finding a career that they love.

Alabama A&M University offers free test prep to students through Kaplan’s All Access License®. Why did you choose to offer this program?

For context, Kaplan’s All Access License is an umbrella program where institutions have the opportunity to offer students industry-leading test preparation for graduate admissions exams, licensure, credentials, as well as skills development courses all for one flat fee. With zero out of pocket costs to students, this solution removes cost barriers and unlocks new opportunities as they take high stakes exams such as for the MCAT^®, LSAT^®, or GMAT™ or career readiness programs such as Critical Thinking or Confident New Hire, among others.

Richele Jordan-Davis: At Alabama A&M, offering Kaplan’s All Access License shows that we are invested in our students. We believe in them. We want them to have the confidence to know that they can do this. And we eliminated that barrier of financial obligation. It's about taking ownership of your own education, making sure you realize your goals. It lets them know, “You're not alone in this journey. You came here as a freshman, and we want to see you.” Our motto is, start here, go anywhere. We believe if they have access to the tools that Kaplan provides for test prep, that they'll be well prepared. They will go into testing with less anxiety, because they've had several opportunities to prepare.

A core focus of Gen Z is prioritizing mental health. How is your school addressing this need whether through programming or changing the way that administration and faculty think about supporting students in general?

Richele Jordan-Davis: It's important to actively listen to your students. When something is happening on campus, you can almost feel it. You can feel what the students are going through, especially when we approach midterms. That's where we see things getting kind of heavy. Students take it upon themselves to talk with their student government leaders and here at Alabama A&M they advocated for a Student Health Well-Being Day.

We support those initiatives by our student government associations, because they have their finger on the pulse with the students. They're in the thick of it with those students as well. We try to make sure we are listening to our students, we're being empathetic, and we are supporting them so that they can get what they need to make sure that they are healthy and have an attitude that they can accomplish what they need to.

How are you preparing Gen Z to navigate professional workplaces’ cultural norms?

Richele Jordan-Davis: We talk to our students about how it's not just about the degree, it's about what you can do with the skills that you've acquired while you are on your campus. A lot of employers talk about Gen Z lacking the soft skills necessary to perform certain tasks. As administrators, we need to make sure that we give them access to help them learn to navigate those systems, whether it be with critical thinking or digital fluency, for example. They have to carve out a niche in each one of these areas. They might not become proficient at everything, but if they have enough, it'll take them to the next level. That will make all the difference in the world for these students.

What are students saying about the impact receiving free test prep has on their lives?

Richele Jordan-Davis: Having free access to test prep through Kaplan’s All Access License is one less thing students have to worry about. It's a couple less hours that they have to work to earn the budget to take that prep course. For us, it's also about retaining the students that we have here. Offering this program says that we understand that costs may be prohibitive, and when it comes to you being prepared once you leave this institution, you know we believe in you, we invest in you, and that we're going to give you this opportunity to build your confidence and advance yourself well beyond this institution.

Equip students for career success with comprehensive exam prep and workforce readiness tools available through Kaplan’s All Access License.