Crafting and Navigating Your Career Pathway: CPPD Presents Career Development Workshop at Felician University

“The Center for Personal and Professional Development connects students with employer validated sector specific opportunities in industry,” explains CPPD Executive Director Greg Skelley. “We want students to experience experiential learning opportunities including internships, externships, co-ops, and practicums. We support them with the right programs, and training to build up their people and work ready skills.”

This mission was apparent at the CPPD’s 2nd Business and Industry Leadership Series held on Thursday, March 24. Open to all members of the Felician University Community, the virtual discussion entitled, Crafting & Navigating Your Career Pathway, It’s Never a Straight Line, featured two leaders in the healthcare industry, John Martins of Delivery Cross Country Healthcare Group, and Jeffrey W. Chapman of Merck.

John Martins is incoming CEO of Delivery Cross Country Healthcare Group, a leader in workforce solutions that places healthcare providers in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Martins described starting his work life as a paper boy and waiter before becoming a software developer for UPS, a company according to Martins, “with a lot of strict rules.”  He said that experience taught him structure and how to navigate a large complex organization. Other employment stops along his unconventional career path included working for the marketing & media company The Et Al Group, being a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley, and successful business ventures as an owner of laundromats, dry cleaners, and internet cafes in New York City. Mr. Martins advised students to be curious, take risks, and stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone, saying that every job will be a fundamental building block that will help set their career on a successful path.

The second presenter, Jeffrey. W Chapman, MS, said his journey from high school to Associate Principal Scientist with Merck, took many side roads. Chapman grew up in the public housing projects in lower Manhattan before redevelopment of the waterfront created Chelsea Piers. A successful student, he got into the Boys Harbor Program, a non-profit program for at-risk children, where he had the chance to take college-related courses, learn effective study skills, and prepare for college. He offered students practical real-life advice about trends in the pharmaceutical industry, telling them it will be easier to work in a lab if they have a master’s degree as opposed to a bachelor’s degree. He strongly encouraged students to study molecular biology and recommended they pursue internship opportunities. 

The presenters also identified the importance of soft skills for job seekers. For Martins, it is, “being passionate about what you do and staying curious to learn new things.” Critical thinking was at the top of Chapman’s list. “We look for someone who doesn’t just have the head knowledge, but also the ability to use that knowledge to develop experiments which might not be mainstream.” 

To watch this leadership event, stream the recorded Zoom here. (Passcode: ^Aj4T$g!)