At UNLV, Rebels don’t just earn their degrees. They gain the skills and knowledge needed to launch successful careers, change family outcomes, and improve their social mobility.
Now in its second year, the Rebel Career Champions Network (RCCN) is a growing initiative that connects students with career experts across campus, providing guidance, resources, and support to help them navigate their careers after graduation.
By fostering collaboration among faculty, staff, and external partners, the RCCN ensures that career readiness is embedded throughout every aspect of the university experience.
Meet some of the program’s dedicated liaisons who have played a key role in shaping this program. Their efforts help create a stronger, more connected career support system for all Rebels.
What does an RCCN liaison do?
Joseph Ervin: A liaison [in the RCCN] is someone who is dedicated to career readiness, career programming, and career-related topics across the university. Liaisons can be facilitators or guides to help students find important places and resources throughout campus.
Liaisons can also bring back career readiness programming ideas, topics, and lessons to their units or departments. I teach first-year seminar classes, and it’s an explorative class where we do a lot of career and major exploration.
Lexxie Guesman: We help people get the information they need to go to the right places. I’m part of the student subcommittee, and our goal is really to foster community. I’m non-traditionally aged, and in Vegas, it’s hard to make friends, especially those from out of state. I’m from here, and people are still hard to get close to, so having people you can turn to, even those you just met because of the RCCN, is really important.
I hope we can build a network that is a positive place for us. If you have somebody who already knows what’s up, you feel a little safer, so as a liaison, I can be that person – that safe connection. Especially after kids were kept inside for COVID, I’ve noticed that people are pretty shy and socially unsure. Being confident and telling students, “I’m just gonna talk to you and try to help you out if I can,” is really important.
Jamie Taylor: RCCN liaisons are here to make sure that we can share information about careers and opportunities with everyone on campus, regardless of their program. For example, I’m in the College of Hospitality, but we get hospitality employers who are looking for students in engineering, journalism, or communication studies.
We can share that information with those colleges and with those students to make sure that everybody’s able to see what’s out there and get their chance to experience different things. It’s making sure that everybody has the same access to opportunities.
Joanne Ullman: The RCCN is an initiative to help raise awareness among faculty members regarding the workforce objectives that UNLV has undertaken. That means that we want to make sure that workforce skills are instilled in our UNLV students from the beginning to the end of their college careers.
I’m involved in the External Engagement Committee, and we try to bridge the relationships between faculty and staff members at UNLV with external representatives who belong to companies that might be interested in engaging with UNLV students. We hope that faculty members, whether they came from academia or industry, will know that the curriculum should be designed with the intent of preparing students to be career-ready.
What can students expect from this program?
Joseph Ervin: The overall concept of the RCCN is that career readiness should be embedded throughout the university. Career readiness can also be a part of the course curriculum, advising, residential life, Greek life, you name it. Career readiness is everywhere, and Career Services and Workforce Development is a great place for all things career-related on campus!
Lexxie Guesman: With this network, you can get connected to Career Services and Workforce Development, and they can help you with your resume and interview practice. I didn’t know about it until I started working at UNLV, so that’s also what brought me in: the people I’m surrounded by here are people I want to be around. If there are problems on campus, this is the way to reach leadership, or one of the ways.
An example is that the art department’s bathrooms are tragic. The theater side is fine, but the fine arts are tragic. That’s something that we can ask the faculty about and put our heads together. You’re not that far separated from leadership, and you can advocate for yourself, your friends, or your department, and you could have connections if this is something you’re interested in.
Jamie Taylor: RCCN can include microcredentials and other things that students can get through central Career Services and Workforce Development and websites like Handshake that help them get jobs and internships.
Joanne Ullman: It’s our purpose to help students of all backgrounds gain financial stability and professional fulfillment – both those things are important, and it’s not just us talking and lecturing about everything we know. It’s about us helping students practice skills like determination and hard work. College is full of experiences that can shape a person’s character, and this approach can help students build habits that lead to success in the long run. And it’s uncomfortable: faculty need to recognize that students need to endure a certain level of discomfort if they want to understand new ideas, become more persistent, and develop the discipline to reach their goals.
Whether it is technological proficiency, attention to detail, or problem-solving, we need to make sure every assignment emphasizes these and other skills, so students know that whatever they’re learning in the classroom also translates well in the workplace. In addition, students should know that there are career services and career counselors at UNLV to help them find jobs.
What is your favorite part of being an RCCN liaison?
Joseph Ervin: I enjoy thinking creatively about how career readiness is integrated into the college experience. It’s obvious that students attend college for career-related reasons; they want to develop career skills, earn a degree in something that they’re good at, and ultimately gain employment.
College is career development in a lot of ways. I think it’s great to explore how career readiness can occur beyond traditional settings. How are students preparing for their careers within their entire college experience? We should consider the various structures and settings where this career readiness takes place, including areas that may not be immediately obvious.
I particularly like reflecting on where and how students prepare for careers. I like thinking through not only the skills they need for their careers, but also things like ethical issues and long-term implications of careers. Volunteering and working with nonprofit organizations can also be important elements of this preparation. Overall, I find it exciting to think creatively about where and how career readiness can fit into the college experience.
Lexxie Guesman: Being disconnected from your community can be really lonely. I love helping those I see as the “little Lexxie” I was a few years ago. I love that I can make connections with people I might not otherwise meet because we have different majors.
For example, I’m located in the art building, which feels so removed from the engineering building that I didn’t even know it existed. It’s important to make those connections, especially when everyone has their headphones on, leading to a sense of lost connection. I’ve noticed that some people are very shy, and it’s hard to ask for help or be vulnerable. They often come in asking for help with things like writing resumes or preparing for interviews. I think we can support our students more in these areas to help them thrive.
Jamie Taylor: There are two things that I really love about my role. The first is providing students with more insight into various opportunities. We can share hospitality opportunities that aren’t just for hospitality students, and our hospitality students often have a wide variety of interests. I get to share opportunities that they may not have seen otherwise. I love being able to give our students as many chances to learn as possible.
The second is being able to get together with all of the amazing people who are involved with the RCCN. The network is continually growing. Being in a room together allows us to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and explore how we can improve what we’re doing to best serve all of the students who come through.
Joanne Ullman: I truly enjoy connecting with staff from all areas of the university and working together to achieve broader goals that extend beyond my own day-to-day duties as a professor and mentor. The External Engagement Team is an exceptional and talented group – vibrant, full of creative ideas, energetic, and passionate about our mission. Collaborating with such positive and inspiring people makes it easy for me to contribute effectively to the committee. I absolutely love it!
What would you say to Rebels who want to get involved in the program?
Joseph Ervin: Students who want to get involved with the RCCN should reach out to either Jenna Heath or Kass Moore. If you’re wondering what a liaison can do for you, I recommend starting with Career Services and Workforce Development for guidance.
Lexxie Guesman: Our outreach events haven’t been planned yet, but I recommend reaching out to either Kass or me, or even emailing careerservices@unlv.edu. Just send a message saying, “Hi, I heard about this. Is it something I could be a part of, and can we talk about it?”
Jamie Taylor: Faculty and staff should reach out for more information by emailing rccn@unlv.edu or visiting the website. They can also talk to someone they know who is already a liaison. Taking that initial step to find out more information is key. Once they learn more, they’re likely to want to get involved. The more liaisons we have, the better we can support our students. Ultimately, it’s about making sure we have the right people because our focus is on helping the students.
Joanne Ullman: Faculty should know that this initiative is growing, and soon, we hope to provide them with more structured direction on how to integrate workforce development into their curriculum.