Case Study: Powerful Partnerships Lead to Student Success

Campus Philly events often lead to serendipitous connections, spurring new ideas, relationships and ways of thinking. At a recent Campus Philly networking event, Deb Kliman, Vice President of HR at Sabre Systems, Inc., met a student from Chestnut Hill College with a unique certification on his resume, the security plus certification. This certification validates the baseline skills needed to perform core security functions and pursue an IT security career. Deb knew this certification would give students a competitive edge pursuing a career at Sabre Systems and elsewhere, and wanted to see if additional universities would be open to including this certification in their curriculum. Professor Vitaly Ford at Arcadia University agreed, and tailored his curriculum to prepare students for the certification exam.

Deb worked with Hoa Pham of the Urban League of Philadelphia, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved communities through economic opportunities, who was able to cover the cost of the exam for students through grant funding. Thanks to this collaborative partnership between Sabre Systems, Arcadia University and the Urban League, twenty students had an incredible opportunity to build their resume while learning valuable skills. Now more than ever in such an uncertain job market, this certification could be the differentiating factor that sets students apart in their job search.

Hear from one student who participated in this certification program in a recent Campus Philly blog post. To hire these talented students, or learn more about this partnership, contact Hoa Pham of the Urban League, [email protected].