November 9, 2023 – Stone Ridge, NY – The New York State Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions was on the Stone Ridge campus with a new virtual reality platform that gives students and future students a glimpse into the day-to-day work their academic program choices bring.
Too often, students choose an academic path without understanding the actual careers that path leads to. For example, a student might decide to pursue a degree in advanced manufacturing without knowing what kind of job and job responsibilities are associated with that career. Career Exploration 2.0 allows advanced manufacturing students to ‘try on’ a job within that field by putting them right on the job site. The virtual reality program enables learners to discover a wide array of career possibilities so they can make more informed choices about their future.
Participating in this event were current students and high school students who have been awarded a President’s Challenge Scholarship from the Ulster Community College Foundation, Inc. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors from our local community and beyond, this program assists first-generation Ulster County high school students with overcoming financial barriers associated with attending college. Students are identified in the eighth grade by their sponsoring school district and receive mentoring and college readiness support through the completion of high school. Upon graduation, students are able to attend SUNY Ulster tuition-free for two years. Today, over 250 scholarships have been awarded with 200 students participating.
The virtual reality career simulations were chosen to reflect some of the academic programs offered at SUNY Ulster including:
- Registered Nurse – Students help an emergency room patient
- Solar Technician – Students participate in installing a solar panel on a home
- Network Administrator – Students fix an app service outage
- Manufacturing – Students have to find the contaminated microchips
“I’m pleased that New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon, are empowering the connection to future career success and workforce opportunities for students and NYS constituents through Transfr, the virtual reality workforce innovation platform”, stated Alison Buckley, Ed.D., SUNY Ulster President. “Their commitment to building better futures for our students and communities is paramount. SUNY Ulster’s President’s Challenge Scholarship recipients, approximately 250 students from all nine Ulster County School Districts in grades 9 – 12, and our college community were able to take advantage of virtual reality career exploration scenarios through the New York State Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions demonstrations on the Stone Ridge Campus. Connecting students to discover their career pathways and exposing them to workforce and educational opportunities with technology is exciting and adds an element of fun when thinking of their futures.”
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