Academic & Career Success Conference Schedule

Room: Industry (capacity 56)

Session Description: As we know, applying to graduate programs feels very different than applying to undergrad, and advising students about the steps for deciding on graduate study (let alone the application processes) can be a challenge.

Facilitators will share resources they have utilized and events they have hosted in support of undergrad students in the School of Human Ecology and in the psychology major. We’ll also have time and space for participants to share and discuss how they coach students who are interested in graduate study, what resources they have found helpful, and where there are opportunities for additional collaboration and support.

Following this session:

• Participants will be able to review and assess tools, strategies, and resources used to support students
• Participants will consider how resources could be adapted or expanded for their own contexts.
• Participants will be able to share advising approaches and collaboratively identify opportunities for cross-campus support in guiding students toward graduate study

Presenters:

• Hannah Hatlan-Atwell, Career Advisor, SoHE Advising & Career Center
• Stephanie Scholze, Career Development Manager, Dept. of Psychology

Room: Landmark (capacity 72)

Session Description: How do you define success in your own career? Are you ready for growth? What are the knowledge and abilities you need to get to the next step?  This session will help you answer these questions by having you begin with self-reflection on a vast range of transferable skills such as leadership, conflict management, collaboration, and technology. After assessing your current strengths, you will work on a plan to further develop your skills. Your plan will be supported with some important professional development resources. Consider this session an investment in yourself by planting the seed for a career-long professional development journey.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Critically self-reflect on strengths and areas of growth.
• Decide on at least one professional development goal.
• Identify the many resources, both here at UW-Madison and elsewhere, for achieving professional development goals. 
• Identify available funding for professional development.

Presenters:

• Grover Wake, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Services
• Cooper Vittetoe, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Services
• Susan Rufledt, Assistant Director, L&S Academic Advising Services
• Tim Scott, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Services

Room: Northwoods (capacity 80)

Session Description: In an era of increasing cultural diversity and calls for equity in education, cultivating cultural competency is more urgent than ever, especially in how we serve students from historically marginalized communities. This session explores how Asian American Studies, Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies Program, APIDA and Latine Cultural Center provide transformative frameworks for understanding and practicing cultural competency. 

By drawing from lived student experiences, decolonial pedagogy, and community-based approaches, these spaces challenge dominant narratives and foster inclusive learning environments. Presenters will share programming models, and collaborative strategies that promote student empowerment, identity development, and cross-cultural dialogue. Attendees will leave with practical tools and critical insights to integrate culturally competent practices into their own roles.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify key ways Asian American and Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies and the APIDA and Latine Cultural Center support student identity development and belonging.
• Describe how student voices and experiences inform culturally competent practices on campus.
• Recognize the role of culturally grounded spaces in fostering inclusive and equitable learning environments.
• Apply student-centered strategies to enhance cultural competency within academic or co-curricular programs.
• Develop action steps to collaborate with students in co-creating culturally affirming campus experiences.
• Understand and apply the idea of coalition building between campus units.

Presenters:

• Natalie Ergas, Program Coordinator for the Centers for Student Success and Belonging, Multicultural Student Center
• Rachelle Eilers, Academic Advising Manager, Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies Program
• Kevin Wong, Program Coordinator for the Centers for Student Success and Belonging, Multicultural Student Center
• Lisa Ho, Teaching Faculty & Undergraduate Advising, Asian American Studies
• Jessica Montez, Administrative Manager, Asian American Studies

Room: Marquee

Session Description: Why are some advising sessions more draining than others? Why do some appointments stir confusing emotions in the advisor, while others do not? Why do advisors have favorite students, and is that okay?

Advisors need not feel guilty; these are common experiences that can provide advisors with insights on their own needs and the needs of their students. By applying the concept of countertransference, this session introduces a framework to help advisors understand the advising relationship. More importantly, participants will leave with practical strategies to improve their advising. These strategies will help advisors make use of countertransference to create self-compassion, self-care, and empathy while maintaining focus on supporting the student.

Accessible to all advisors, this session is especially relevant to proactive or intrusive advisors, those who have experienced burnout, and those seeking clarity about emotional boundaries with students. Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand what transference and countertransference are.
• Identify countertransference in their own advising.
• Apply and evaluate countertransference to their work.
• Generate strategies to make use of countertransference to create compassion, self-care, and empathy.

Presenters:

• Bob Wiedenhoeft, Academic Advisor – Neurobiology Major, Department of Integrative Biolog
• Dr. Arjune Rama, Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist

Room: Industry (capacity 56)

Session Description: This session introduces career coaching professionals to Steve Dalton’s The 2-Hour Job Search, a proven, time-efficient framework for helping clients land jobs through structured networking. Attendees will explore the book’s three-step process—Prioritize, Contact, and Recruit—and learn how to integrate its tools (like the LAMP list and TIARA framework) into coaching sessions. The presentation includes implementation strategies, real-world success stories, and practical resources to enhance client outcomes in today’s evolving job market.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the 2-hour job search framework
• Apply Structured Networking Tools
• Integrate Framework into Coaching Practice 
• Leverage Real World Success Stories

Presenters: 

• Laura Berkan, Assistant Career Director & Career Coach, Wisconsin School of Business
• Jean Sink, Director of Career Management, Wisconsin School of Business
• John Rooney, Executive Director of Career Management and Employer Engagement, Wisconsin School of Business
• Brian Whitmore, Associate Director of Career Management, Wisconsin School of Business
• Caitlin Hunter, Associate Director of Career Management, Wisconsin School of Business
• Mara Yorizzo, Assistant Director of Career Management, Wisconsin School of Business
• Anna Denucci, Assistant Director of Career Management, Wisconsin School of Business

Room: Landmark (capacity 72)

Session Description: In career services, small teams often carry big missions—preparing students for an evolving workforce with limited time and resources etc. This session offers practical strategies for leading a compact office with a bold agenda. 

Learn how to identify and amplify individual team strengths, foster collaboration, and align short-term initiatives with long-term goals. We’ll explore prioritization strategies, communication techniques, and ways to sustain momentum while navigating competing demands. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to maximize their team’s talents and lead with clarity, purpose, and impact.

Participants will:

• Discover ways to tap into your team’s unique strengths so everyone contributes meaningfully—even when resources are tight.
• Learn how to sort out what needs attention now vs. what builds toward the future, using simple tools to help you stay focused and strategic.
• Explore leadership habits that build trust, keep your team energized, and move your goals forward, even when the workload feels overwhelming.

Presenters: 

• Stephanie Salazar Kann, Career Services Director, Engineering Career Services
• Kristina Vack, Career Services Director, CALS Career Services

Room: Northwoods (capacity 80)

Session Description: Leadership isn’t just about what we do—it’s about who we are, how we show up, and how we impact others. In higher education, traditional norms often prioritize control and conformity over authenticity, growth, and inclusion. This session invites staff leaders from advising, career services, and learning support to pause and reflect: How does your identity shape your leadership? How might your leadership unintentionally limit others—or yourself? And how can you evolve your leadership to meet the needs of today’s diverse teams and communities? 

Participants will engage in real talk, small-group dialogue, and practical tools to: discover their unique leadership assets, reflect on how identity influences impact, embrace discomfort as part of growth, and learn from peers to expand their practice. Rooted in community connection and knowledge sharing, this session offers space to deepen self-awareness and support professional development. Participants will leave ready to lead with courage, clarity, and connection.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Discover their leadership assets by identifying and sharing the unique strengths they bring to their roles.
• Reflect on how identity and positionality shape leadership and influence impact across diverse campus communities.
• Embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth by engaging in reflective dialogue and challenging traditional leadership norms.
• Learn and evolve through peer connection by drawing wisdom from others and expanding their leadership practice.
• Strengthen community ties and professional development through shared learning across advising, career services, and learning support roles.

Presenter: Nancy Kujak-Ford, Director of Strategy and Impact, L&S SuccessWorks

Room: Marquee

Session Description: This presentation explains the major political and money issues currently shaking up American higher education. We’ll look at the four main areas causing change: new rules, finances, campus culture, and accountability. We will discuss the real-world fallout from plans to reorganize the Department of Education, along with big changes to student loan rules. We will also explore the severe budget cuts and delays in funding caused by Congress, as well as new, higher taxes on college savings funds (endowments). Plus, we address the rising political conflicts over diversity and free speech on campus.

Attendees will learn to understand exactly how these federal decisions will affect their students, school budgets, and research funding. Crucially, the session ends with a simple guide to speaking up and making a difference. This toolkit will show you how to use your on-the-ground experience to influence decision-makers and reduce risks at your institution.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Analyze the Policy Environment: Identify the four major political and policy domains—Regulatory, Financial, Cultural, and Accountability—that are currently reshaping the higher education sector.
• Translate Policy to Institutional Impact: Articulate the specific financial and operational consequences of key federal actions (e.g., NDD spending caps, NEGREG loan changes, increased Endowment Tax) on their students and departments.
• Develop Advocacy Strategies: Construct a professional advocacy strategy by leveraging frontline expertise and data to influence decision-makers at the institutional, state, and federal levels.

Presenter: Terry Paape, Academic Advisor, Center for Educational Opportunity

Room: Industry (capacity 56)

Session Description: Do you work with students interested in health careers and graduate-level health professional programs? These pathways can be complex and overwhelming to navigate – for students and advisors! Join the Center for Pre-Health Advising (CPHA) and other colleagues to learn more about essential advising resources housed in CPHA and partner units, gain clarity on preparation expectations across multiple professional programs, and increase your team’s confidence in navigating Pre-Health advising conversations.

Participants will leave the session with a stronger connection to colleagues who share the goal of helping to increase access and equity in healthcare fields along with concrete tools and language to consider incorporating within appointments, programming, and curriculum.

Participants will leave the session with:

• Greater understanding of CPHA advising resources for students and staff
• Increased confidence navigating Pre-Health advising conversations
• More clarity on preparation expectations across multiple professional programs
• Concrete tools and language to incorporate within appointments, programming, and curriculum
• Stronger connection with colleagues who share their interests in helping to increase access and equity in healthcare fields.

Presenters:

• Molly Reinhard, Director, Pre-Professional Advising, OACS/Centers for Pre-Health & Pre-Law Advising
• Mike Hill, Pre-Health Advisor, Lead for First Year Initiatives, Center for Pre-Health Advising

Room: Landmark (capacity 72)

Session Description: Relationships with students can sometimes seem transactional during busier times of the semester. It can be challenging to connect with a student beyond answering their questions. Providing answers is good student support, but doing so in a way that makes a student feel heard can transform good to great. Students come into our offices in all levels of vulnerability and life experience, making building a trusting relationship especially important. 

David Brooks’ 2023 New York Times Best Seller, “How to Know a Person”, introduces concepts such as the Illuminating Gaze, Accompaniment, and how to facilitate “good talks,” which can help improve and deepen practitioner relationships with students. We will also connect Brooks’ concepts to relevant academic theories such as Unconditional Positive Regard, Motivational Interviewing and Self-Authorship. This interactive presentation will leave you with actionable steps to help you ask the right questions, and help your students feel more seen and known.

Following this session:

• Participants will be able to define David Brook’s Concept of Illuminating Gaze, how it relates to UnConditional Positive Regard and how they can connect these concepts to their student affairs practice.
• Participants will be able to define David Brook’s Concept of Accompaniment, how it relates to Motivational Interviewing and how they can connect these concepts to their student affairs practice.
• Participants will be able to define David Brook’s Concept of ‘Good Talks’, how it relates to Self Authorship and how they can connect these concepts to their student affairs practice

Presenter: Madeline Fer-Chapman, Undergraduate Academic Advisor, Dept of Psychology

Room: Northwoods (capacity 80)

Session Description: Are we intentional about the topics we choose to deliver to students? Are students learning what we intend them to learn? Similar to what happens in the classroom, identifying what we want students to learn through learning support, career success, or advising and assessing whether in fact they are learning, informs us about the effectiveness of our delivery. 

When necessary, we can adjust our practices. When decisions about budget cuts arise, we can be better prepared to answer questions about the effectiveness of our work. In our session, we will give an overview of how L&S AAS framed our service to students when we identified what we teach, when we teach it, what we hope students are learning, and how we use measurement and data to improve our practice and demonstrate effectiveness. 

Through an activity, participants will begin to understand how this process might be implemented in their office. Following this session:

• Participants will be able to identify their work as measurable student learning outcomes.
• Participants will be able to map the times, places, and delivery methods of their work.
• Participants will begin to identify ways to measure the effectiveness of their work.

Presenters: 

• Susan Rufledt, Assistant Director, L&S Academic Advising Service
• Jordan Berken, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Service
• Cooper Vittetoe, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Service
• Grover Wake, Academic Advisor, L&S Academic Advising Service

Room: Marquee

Session Description: As the Latine student population continues to increase each year, it is essential to stay informed on how to best support their success. Our presentation will incorporate relevant research and feature a student panel of Latine students at UW-Madison to learn more about their experiences. As student affairs professionals, it is essential that we center student voices and experiences to inform our practice. The panel provides a unique opportunity to engage directly with students, and learn from their experiences on campus. 

Attendees will leave with guidance to foster inclusive environments, strengthen student-staff relationships, and better understand the unique challenges Latine students face. By combining student narratives with current research, this session will equip participants to create culturally responsive spaces that better serve all students.

As part of this session:

• Participants will gain a better understanding of current research related to Latine students in higher education. 
• Participants will leave with guidance for fostering inclusive and culturally responsive support for Latine students
• Participants will hear directly from Latine UW-Madison students to better understand their experiences and perspectives.

Presenters: 

• Hernan Rodriguez Jr., Academic Advisor, Center for Academic Excellence
• Monica Prado, Academic Advisor, Center for Academic Excellence
• Priscilla Contreras, Academic Advisor, Center for Academic Excellence

Room: Industry (capacity 56)

Session Description: Over 90% of UW’s 2024–25 bachelor’s degree recipients participated in at least one high-impact practice (HIP), a category that includes undergraduate research, residential learning communities, study abroad, first-year seminars and honors courses, and more. As stated in the 2025 Wisconsin Experience Report, HIPs have long been associated with degree attainment, educational satisfaction, marketability after graduation, and preparation for work.

In an increasingly uncertain economic landscape, we must help students articulate for themselves and potential employers how these experiences support career readiness. In this session, you will gain insight into the HIP landscape at UW and how to help students reflect on various HIP experiences while preparing for the job market and more.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Define high-impact practices and identify ways they foster skills most sought by employers and students
• Be aware of trends in high-impact practice participation by UW students
• Discuss how various UW high-impact practice programs, such as undergraduate research, residential learning communities, study abroad, FIGs and first-year seminars, and honors, can serve students’ academic and career development
• Practice helping students articulate for themselves and potential employers how participation in high-impact practices supports career readiness

Presenters:

• Christine Evans, Associate Director of Advising and Curriculum, L&S Honors Program
• Michelle Jackson, Career Exploration Center Director, OACS
• Jonathan Jibson, Career Education Instructor, SuccessWorks
• Nathan Phelps, Assistant Dean, Director of First-Year Interest Groups and Constellations Programs, L&S Administration
• Brett Schieve, Assistant Dean for International and Experiential Learning, CALS 

Room: Landmark (capacity 72)

Session Description: The employer landscape is shifting, are your strategies keeping up? Join a dynamic panel conversation featuring employers across industries who are actively reshaping their talent strategies. You’ll hear their perspectives on what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s coming next.

While a panel will kick things off, this session is designed to be highly interactive. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions, share experiences, and engage in open dialogue throughout. Together, we’ll surface best practices for relationship building, explore examples of successful partnerships, and hear of new ideas that support student success.

Whether you’re exploring fresh approaches to employer engagement or navigating new recruiting realities, this session aims to provide you with some insights to strengthen your employer relations strategy. Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand what is changing in the employment landscape.
• List some talent-focused strategies that are working for employers.
• Name ways that employers and colleagues are shifting strategies to meet the needs of their industries.

Presenters: 

• Leanne Morris, Lead Employer Outreach & Engagement Manager, School of Education Career Center
• Holly Fosher, Employer Outreach & Engagement Manager, School of Education Career Center

Room: Northwoods (capacity 80)

Session Description: Discover how generative AI can transform the way academic, career services, and learning support professionals advance your own growth. This interactive session will provide actionable strategies for integrating AI into career conversations, goal-setting, and continuous learning—tailored to the unique needs of professionals working within a large complex university landscape. Explore real-world applications designed for both individual contributors and leadership roles and learn how AI can expand learning options while enhancing creativity. 

We’ll dive into prompt engineering as a practical skill, showing how it can become a collaborative partner in navigating next steps at UW–Madison. Whether you’re looking to grow in your position, move into a leadership role, or staying relevant in your role, this workshop will equip you with tools and insights to confidently leverage AI in your daily practice.

Following this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify practical ways to integrate generative AI into career conversations, goal-setting, and continuous learning within a large university setting.
• Apply prompt engineering techniques to create effective AI-assisted solutions for professional development.
• Utilize effective prompt engineering strategies to support employee career growth.

Presenter: Christopher East, Senior Organizational Career Development Specialist, Office of Human Resources/Learning and Talent Development

Room: Marquee

Session Description: Apprenticeship-style, mentored undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are widely accepted as high-impact practices effective at increasing disciplinary knowledge, improving students’ academic performance, fostering communication and leadership skills, and defining students’ career goals. Additionally, UREs have been shown to increase academic self-efficacy and build discipline-specific identities, critical factors in the persistence and retention of undergraduate scholars. Despite their many benefits, students often struggle to get involved with undergraduate research.

This panel, consisting of cross-campus researchers, students, and program staff, will demystify undergraduate research by clarifying the expectations, uncovering the ‘hidden curriculum’ to getting involved, and connecting skills gained from UREs to career goals. Attendees will leave the session with concrete strategies for supporting undergraduates in their pursuits of UREs.

As part of this session:

• Attendees will learn from a panel of research program staff, students, and faculty about strategies to support undergraduates who seek out and engage in undergraduate research experiences.
• Attendees will be able to articulate the skills fostered by engaging in undergraduate research, and will be able to help students articulate these skills when applying for jobs, graduate schools, scholarships, and/or professional schools.
• Attendees will learn about the expectations for undergraduate research, including which expectations are shared and which are unique across disciplines and experience levels.

Presenter:

• Cheri Barta, Director of Experiential Learning, Office of Experiential Learning
• Nancy Ruggeri, Director of Research Mentor & Mentee Education, WISCIENCE