Mount Saint Mary’s University Enhances Student Success Through New Partnership with Career Launch

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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 27, 2025--

Today’s college students want their education to ensure entry into a viable career. Mount Saint Mary’s University, the only women’s university in Los Angeles where 64% of students are the first in their families to attend college, is deepening its commitment to student success through a new partnership with Career Launch, a national leader in expanding professional pathways. The partnership will ensure that all Mount graduates are career ready upon graduation by providing students with the practical skills and connections needed to build meaningful and successful careers.

This initiative is part of (M)POWER, the University’s new signature student experience designed to help all students earn their degree, develop career readiness skills grounded in the liberal arts, and prepare for success at the Mount and beyond. (M)POWER is comprised of five key components, including a redesigned First-Year Seminar focused on career skills development and life design.

Kicking off in the Fall 2025 semester, the Mount is the first university partner to embed Career Launch’s structured career readiness and professional development program into its required First-Year Seminar curriculum. This unique approach means students alongside faculty and staff mentors are thinking about future careers from the start of their academic journey. Instructors guide first-year students step by step through identifying their strengths, exploring career options, researching potential employers, building a personal brand and preparing for upcoming networking opportunities with alumnae and industry leaders.

Through (M)POWER, students are connected with an integrated and comprehensive advising team that will be with them throughout their college journey while also pursuing industry-relevant micro credentials and various networking and experiential learning opportunities.

“Weaving (M)POWER into the First-Year Seminar reflects the Mount’s deep commitment to ensuring our students start on day one focusing on the skills and tools they will need to thrive in their future career – and their lives,” said Elizabeth Sturgeon, PhD, professor, director of assessment and director of the First-Year Seminar leadership team. “Students are encouraged to think about how their education connects to their future, and how they can start building that future now.”

The refreshed First-Year Seminar is designed to address one of the biggest challenges for today’s students: navigating a competitive job market where most opportunities are never posted online. Career Launch equips students with the skills and confidence to build professional relationships and enter the job market with purpose and agency.

“Eighty percent of all jobs and internships are never posted online; they are in the hidden job market,” said Sean O’Keefe, founder and a partner of Career Launch. “By designing a curriculum that intentionally teaches students how to build professional skills and the agency to develop meaningful relationships and networks, the Mount is not just preparing students for their first job – it is empowering them with the confidence and tools to shape a fulfilling lifelong career.”

For more information, visit https://www.msmu.edu/.

About Mount Saint Mary’s University:
Mount Saint Mary’s is the only women’s university in Los Angeles and one of the most diverse in the nation. The University is known nationally for its research on issues impacting women and girls, its innovative health and science programs, and its commitment to community service. As a leading liberal arts institution, Mount Saint Mary’s provides year-round, flexible, and online programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. Weekend, evening, and graduate programs are open to all. Mount alums are engaged, active global citizens who use their knowledge and skills to better themselves, their communities and the world.

About Career Launch:
Career Launch is a social enterprise whose mission is to help its institutional partners drive student employability by increasing career readiness skills (NACE competencies) & professional relationships with alumni and employers of interest (career-aligned social capital). Career Launch has national partnerships with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), along with support from the Gates Foundation and the Pell Institute.

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KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

SOURCE: Mount Saint Mary’s University

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PUB: 10/27/2025 12:05 PM/DISC: 10/27/2025 12:05 PM

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