Flight School, a program to connect student-athletes with the professional world, was launched last week by the Boston College Athletics Department. The new program has the goal of seeing 90 percent of BC athletes with definitive post-graduation plans.
Seeking to make the transition from BC student-athlete into BC graduate a seamless one, Flight School has gathered the help of alumni and their colleagues to serve as mentors.
The mentors, known as advocates, will help by recruiting BC athletes into their industries. The relationships could lead to internships or job interviews, according to BCEagles.com. Flight School already has 70 advocates onboard, according to Alison Quandt, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development.
In 2013, Director of Athletics Brad Bates announced his goal for 70 percent of athletes graduating in 2014 to have post-grad plans. Bates’ mark was surpassed, and in 2015, the goal was raised to 80 percent—then met.
“Walking across the stage with a diploma in one hand and a job in the other is what we’re about.”
-Alison Quandt, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development, said.
To reach a goal of 90 percent of its graduating student-athletes with jobs come May 2016, BC Athletics has instituted Flight School.
Similar to a LinkedIn-type networking site, Flight School is a database that can connect student-athletes with advocates. Athletes will create profiles that list things like the sports they play, their career interests, and their desired regions to live and work. Such characteristics will help to match BC’s athletes with the right advocates.
Along with the start of the spring semester, Flight School will officially launch this week. Definitive post-grad plans “could include employment, graduate school, professional playing opportunities or even planned volunteer or activism projects,” according to BCEagles.com. Due to a high proportion of accounting and finance majors, Quandt said, the early numbers show that 23 percent of student-athletes already have post-grad plans.
Quandt pointed out that much of this career development and forging of relationships between student-athletes and alumni or employers had already been going on over the past two years within BC Athletics, and that Flight School only formalized the process.
Whenever athletes were in search of post-grad plans, the Athletics Department would assist by searching through its rolodex of contacts. This may have included alumni or companies who have hired BC student-athletes in the past. Students were then able to align themselves with advocates of common interest.
Flight School is accessible only to BC student-athletes. As a result of the program, though, BC Athletics expects the network of connections to grow, so this year’s graduating class of student-athletes will actively advocate for future groups of Eagles, and so forth, so that the goal of 90% can be successfully met every year.
“Walking across the stage with a diploma in one hand and a job in the other is what we’re about,” said Quandt.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
