Career Services Merit Fellow

Career Services Merit Fellows are distinguished by wearing a black and gold honor cord during the commencement ceremony.

Qualifications: 

  • A cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher
  • Graduating within the next academic year

To receive your cord, you must successfully complete the Merit Fellow program:

Criteria:

  • Attend a Merit Fellow Interest Meeting
  • Create a Bears4Hire powered by Handshake account and upload an updated resume (also located in MyUCA)
  • Resume review by a Career Services staff member (you can have your resume reviewed through an online resume review, an in person resume review, an email resume review, or as a requirement of a Career Services Success Program)
  • Complete activities related to the following categories (participating in two on-campus interviews can replace one of the four categories):
    • Career Fairs (fall or spring)
    • Dress for Success
    • Success Programs
    • Professional Development (must complete two activities for this category)

Merit Fellow interest meetings are held in the Fall and Spring to provide more information on the criteria required to become a Career Services Merit Fellow. Depending on when you are set to graduate will determine which meeting you need to attend, as you must attend an interest meeting the academic year prior to your graduation (i.e. Spring 2024 graduates will be invited to attend the September 2023 interest meetings). Interest meetings will last 30-45 minutes. You must attend at least one interest meeting to be eligible for the program. If you cannot attend an interest meeting, please contact denichak@uca.edu. Register here. The deadline to register is Thursday, August 31, 2023.

If you have any questions contact denichak@uca.edu or (501) 450-5174.

Testimonies

“I think the Merit Fellow Program is an amazing opportunity for graduating students. It helped me really see what Career Services has to offer me, and I regret not using their resources when I first entered college as a freshman.”

“The Merit Fellow program helped to polish my interview skills and gave valuable feedback on my resume that helped me to land a full-time job before I graduated. Going to the career fairs exposed me to different opportunities that I did not know existed for people with a journalism major.”

“The merit class of fall 2017 was super organized, and I loved the various options for events because as college students we are involved with many other organizations that require our time as well.”

“It was a great way to get involved, and I learned a lot through it! I am glad there are programs on campus like this one that are free and really give you a lot of information.”

“Thank you for this whole process! I feel that going through this has helped me to build my networking skills.”