Last Tuesday, students, government representatives and business and education leaders gathered to discuss the California job market and economy. The event, called the UC Davis California Jobs Summit, was proposed by ASUCD President Adam Thongsavat and was the first UC Davis student-led jobs forum.
The event should be applauded for its efforts to provide real, tangible advice for students facing an uncertain economy after graduation. No matter what the job outlook is in a given year, most students feel some degree of uncertainty as graduation looms and the prospect of living, jobless, in a box (or worse, their parents’ house) becomes more of a possibility. In light of the current economy, concerns about recent grads’ job prospects are higher than ever before.
Universities should make providing useful, practical job-seeking advice a priority, and we are glad that students stepped up and filled this need. It would be great to see student-led initiatives such as this happen more often.
Students themselves were asked to contribute their own solutions for preparing for the school-to-work transition, and this, too, is a positive step forward. UC Davis needs to find ways to incorporate students’ opinions into as many facets of their education as possible. When it comes to finding a job, students know what they would find most helpful, and it is refreshing to see the university devote a portion of the summit to addressing these ideas.
After last fall’s pepper-spraying, UC Davis has racked up a considerable amount of bad publicity in the last few months. Events like the Job Summit, which boasted appearances by State Senator Lois Wolk and State Rep. Mariko Yamada, serve as important reminders to the community that UC Davis is still committed to education and preparing students for their future careers. The fact that the event was prompted by a student demonstrates that we are not just angry protesters; ultimately, we all want to graduate and find a job that pays the bills.
We hope that this will not be the last jobs summit held on the UC Davis campus. The university needs to continue the dialogue between students and professionals about the economy and job market, and keep students involved in preparing for their own futures and the future of our state.
