NCCA 2026

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 224
Arrival: 8:30am - 9:00am
Welcome: 9:00am - 9:15am
Opening Session/Student Panel: 9:15am - 10:00am
Break: 10:00am - 10:10am 

*Please visit our vendor/sponsor tables during breaks!

Option 1:

Presenter: Aysegul Zeren | Associate Director of Career Education: Case Western Reserve University
Topic: CWRU's DC Trek as a Career Education Model
Description/Learning Outcomes: Participants will be able to learn how a three-credit Washington, D.C. trek can be structured to integrate curricular learning with cocurricular experiential learning in support of career education. Participants will learn effective strategies for engaging alumni and employers across industries to support student career exploration. They will learn how experiential engagements strengthen key career education competencies and learn to assess the impact of short-term immersive experiences on students’ career confidence, decision-making, and clarity of career direction. Finally, participants will learn practical design principles for developing employer-engaged treks that connect classroom learning with real-world exposure, reflection, and career planning. 
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 224

Option 2:

Presenter: Don Graves | Career Exploration and Development, Leadership Team: Oberlin College & Conservatory
Topic: Micro-Internships, Major Impact: Making Experiential Learning More Accessible
Description/Learning Outcomes: Understanding of how one micro-internship program operates, ways it could be adopted at other institutions, and value for students engaging in shorter term internships.
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 230

Option 3:

Presenter: Madeline Frantz | Director, Employer Engagement: Greater Cleveland
Topic: Preparing Talent for an AI Economy: What Employers and Interns Are Telling Us
Description/Learning Outcomes: By the end of this presentation, the audience will be able to:

1. Understand employer expectations around AI adoption for early career talent.
2. Identify how college interns and new graduates are using AI skills in real-world work settings, how prepared they feel, and where the gaps are. 
3. Evaluate how students are independently developing AI skills outside from coursework, and where career center programming and employer partnerships can fill the gaps.
4. Apply research insights to strengthen career services strategies, employer partnerships, and student readiness initiatives related to AI skills.

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 232
 

Break: 11:00 - 11:10am

Option 1:

Presenter: Zachary Howes | Economic Development Researcher: Team NEO
Topic: A Discussion on Data Driven Resources for In-Demand Careers
Description/Learning Outcomes:

• Identify publicly available labor market, occupational, and educational outcomes data resources that can support career exploration and workforce awareness.
• Compare peer strategies for responding to student questions about in-demand careers, career pathways, and post-graduation outcomes
• Evaluate the benefits and limitations of using data in advising conversations.

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 222

Option 2:

Presenter: Vilmarie Perez | Assistant Director for Career Readiness: Oberlin College & Conservatory
Topic: Supporting Career Exploration & Development of International Students
Description/Learning Outcomes: By the end of this presentation, participants will gain a stronger understanding of the unique career development needs of international students, including the CPT and OPT processes, common challenges encountered during internships and job searches, and effective strategies and resources for navigating these opportunities. Colleagues will be better equipped to support international students in their career exploration and employment journeys. International students will gain greater confidence in navigating and pursuing internships and post-graduation career opportunities.
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 230

Option 3:

Presenter: Matthew Hurley | Partnership Manager: Quinncia
Topic: Teaching students to collaborate with AI (Quinncia)
Description/Learning Outcomes: By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish the three modes of AI interaction (Automation, Augmentation, Agency) and explain why automation carries the highest risk of learning erosion for students.
• Apply the four AI Fluency competencies (the 4 D's) and recognize the Delegation–Diligence loop as the point where students most often get stuck.
• Use the OPR lens (Output, Process, Reflection) to help a student diagnose a failed AI interaction and identify the human decision behind it.
• Articulate why distributing pre-built prompts or bots can undermine student learning, and why teaching frameworks positions advisors as the authority students return to.

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 232

Option 4:

Presenter: Zoe Crowe-Barnes | Podium Education
Topic: Podium Education Demo
Description/Learning Outcomes: The Global Career Accelerator and The Career Discovery Experience are for-credit, online programs that equip college students with in-demand skills, real-world experience, and a pathway to a successful career. Gain hands-on experience with prominent industry tools while completing projects for brand partners like Charity: Water, Publicis Sapient, Intel, and The Grammys. The program integrates career preparation with soft skill development in communication, collaboration, and industry-leading intercultural competency training.
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 224

Lunch + Board Meeting: 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Location: Crawford Hall 218 (Donald S. and Johnna F. Grant Atrium) 

Option 1:

Presenter: Evan Chwalek | Director, Policy and Workforce Initiatives: Global Cleveland
Topic: Data-Informed Partnerships for International Student Employment
Description/Learning Outcomes: Participants will learn about the data that informs Global Cleveland's identification of growth opportunities in Northeast Ohio, the value of working with Global Cleveland to foster student support, employer education, and relationship-building, and co-develop opportunities for alignment on international student employment as part of the region's talent retention strategy.
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 222

Option 2:

Presenter: Delyash Tsartsaeva | Career Advisor; Engineering, Data, and Technology: Kent State University
Topic: To Build or Not to Build: What We've Learned By Integrating AI Across Career Education 
Description/Learning Outcomes: 

• Evaluate how the current approach to AI in career services may need to shift toward more intentional, hands-on learning design
• Apply practical strategies to integrate AI into career workshops and advising
• Prototype and incorporate game-based learning techniques to increase student engagement with AI in career development topics  

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 230

Option 3:

Presenter: Ashley Johnson | Coordinator, Career Services & Student Employment: University of Akron
Topic: From Barriers to Bridges: Helping Students Make an Impact in a Multigenerational Workforce
Description/Learning Outcomes: By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe key characteristics, communication styles, technology skills and values of the four primary generations in today’s workforce. 
• Identify how students can contribute to collaborative, multigenerational team environments.
• Develop strategies to help students effectively communicate and collaborate with coworkers from multigenerational backgrounds.

Location: Crawford Hall, Room 232

Option 4:

Presenter: Justin Edwards | Senior Director; Career Exploration and Development: Kent State University
Topic: HB 96 Group Discussion
Description/Learning Outcomes: Join colleagues for an interactive discussion focused on HB 96 co-op and internship program compliance. This session will provide an opportunity to share questions, challenges, and emerging practices related to implementation, documentation, and student engagement requirements. Participants will leave with practical insights, peer perspectives, and strategies to help ensure their experiential learning programs align with current expectations.
Location: Crawford Hall, Room 224
 

Break: 1:50pm - 2:00pm

 

Employer Panel: 2:00pm - 2:50pm

Panel Members:

Mary Faye Cicero, Talent Acquisition Director - Early Talent & Canada, Sherwin Williams
Shaun Eller, Chief Business Officer, Ohio Gratings
Jody Foltyn, Vice President, Education and Workforce Development at the Ohio Insurance Institute

Moderator: Julie Szeltner, Director of Talent Engagement, Team NEO

Closing Remarks: 2:50pm - 3:00pm