Letter from Leadership

« Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Dear USC Community,

The USC Career Center staff are dedicated to the ideals and advocacy – underscored within our mission statement – supporting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Together with the DEI practices of the broader university, we are engaging in these ideals as they specifically support and expand the career development opportunities for our students and alumni. We also work closely with our employer community to engage and support them in these important efforts. We recognize that not everyone has an equal playing field in career-related pursuits and networks. We want all students and alumni, regardless of their identities or backgrounds, to be equipped to pursue their career goals and fully contribute their unique perspectives, experience, education, skills, and ideas to the world.

We all continue to witness the acts of systemic racism that impact our nation. These acts sometimes make the headlines and other times occur more subtly, yet still, lead to insidious suppression and ongoing limitations. These inequities must be brought into the open and must be acknowledged. This section of the Career Center website is deliberate and dedicated to identifying and displaying some active ways to counter these inequities. Actions speak louder than words. Our goal is to be at the forefront to ensure that all students and alumni can equitably meet their career pursuits.

As a staff, we promote and support open and honest dialogue about making our work, resources, and ourselves more inclusive. We hope you look through the efforts outlined in this section and our website. And if you have any suggestions, please let us know as we, together as a campus community, continue to engage, grow, and support each other. We must all remain active in bringing about change. We must create inclusive environments for all to thrive, advocate for legislative and policy changes, vote in elections, donate money or time, educate ourselves, and speak out against inequities.

The USC Career Center remains steadfast in our efforts.

Sincerely,

Laura Denbow
Interim Executive Director

Lori Shreve Blake
Senior Director of Career Engagement

Lauren Opgenorth
Associate Director of Internship Engagement

Erika Rodriguez
Associate Director of Employer Engagement

View the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement. NACE is a professional association that connects college career services professionals, university relations and recruiting professionals, and business solution providers. We look to NACE as one of the leading sources of information on the employment of the college-educated, best practices and benchmarks, and more.

By Career Center
Career Center