From Classroom to Careers: The Integration of CUNY Beyond On Campuses

The former linear college-to-career path has diminished.

In February 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment declined by 92,000, and the unemployment rate rose by 4.4%.

And for college students, this is even more concerning. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 rose by 5.6% at the end of 2025, signaling a decline in postgraduate opportunities.

“Data shows that only 25% of undergraduates ever step foot into a career services office, yet 100% of them go to class,” Lauren Anderson, Vice Chancellor, of Career Engagement & Industry Partnerships said. She spoke on behalf of the newly integrated system, CUNY Beyond, the career prep program set to support students of both community and 4-year colleges.

“So, if we want these initiatives to reach everyone, we really have to make sure that they happen where students already are,” Anderson said.

Anderson noted that CUNY represents a “vast majority of households earning less than $30,000 a year, many balancing full-time jobs alongside their course loads, there is simply no time to go out of the way to hunt for extra services.”

To help bridge this opportunity gap, an aggressive structural evolution is underway to move career readiness directly into the classroom. The CUNY Beyond integration into classrooms. This has been tested on the following campuses: Hunter College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and Lehman College, and is looking to expand to 5 more CUNY campuses next semester, ultimately being on every campus.

CUNY has a long record of success with integrated programs. “Those students wind up in jobs that are 96% aligned with their major, compared to a 30% baseline across CUNY. Most of the students who find jobs do so through that industry specialist. We have clear proof of how well these existing initiatives connect students to economic opportunity, but right now, they are only reaching a fraction of our student body,” Anderson said.

By turning professors into career conduits and recruiting active industry professionals to teach cutting-edge technical skills to students in real time, higher education at CUNY is no longer waiting for students to raise their hands; it is bringing economic opportunity directly to the desks where they already sit, in the classroom.

For nearly two decades, CUNY has sat at the forefront of this issue, trying to help students from diverse backgrounds gain postgraduate opportunities during difficult times.

And, with the addition of CUNY Beyond, many students from all backgrounds will feel confident stepping into internships and post-graduate opportunities.

Many current CUNY students and recent graduates similarly agree that CUNY is a testament to their current wave of success. Both Matthew LaBarca’26, a computer science major, and Damir Shakatov’26, a psychology major, are living proof of CUNY’s pathway from classroom to opportunities.

As a freshman in college, Labarca had many interests and ideas about what he wanted to pursue at Hunter College. CUNY Spring Forward was Labarca’s first stepping stone to narrowing down his interests to what he truly loved and wanted to pursue.

“The Spring Forward program at CUNY is one of the most pivotal moments in my college career,” Labarca said.

After being paired with the company Unadat, a small software engineering company, his love for development and tech grew exponentially.

He saw how technology impacted people globally as a freshman, and recognized the need for more engineering jobs because of their vital role in society.

Labarca credits a lot of his professional image, readiness, and opportunities to Spring forward.

He gained technical skills such as coding and software development, which helped him leverage them when applying for opportunities outside the program. “Tasks were achievable and easy to process,” Labarca said. With a well-rounded and talented cohort and mentors, Labarca felt the program guided him every step of the way, even with zero internship experience in the field he was placed in.

However, “It was still very tough to get an internship even when I had this experience as a freshman; I applied to over 300 opportunities,” Labarca said when searching for sophomore summer internships.

After completing the spring forward program, the help from CUNY didn’t stop there. Labarca also credits the college’s business center for providing him with advice and for helping him gain hands-on experience to pursue an internship in technology.

“I thank Elise Harris and Naomi Press, my advisors, for listening to my interests and suggesting to me with tips, advice, and more opportunities to seek and apply to during my undergrad year at Hunter, “ said Labarca.

He explains that CUNY hosted multiple summits and networking events, which also helped him get his foot in the door after securing an opportunity in his first year. He attended a summit for CUNY students, where he met recruiters, and had on-the-spot interview opportunities, leading to his next internship.

Labarca went on to intern at Bullhorn, another software company, NBCU, and eventually at Deutsche Bank, where he received a return offer to join their Graduate Program next month.

His advice to students navigating the job market is simple: “Always try to show up and put your best foot forward, be very open-minded, and try to put yourself out there. Try going to CUNY events; it will be worth it.”

For first-generation students, CUNY ensures all students are heard and feel seen.

That was the case for Shakatov, a first-generation immigrant from Uzbekistan and Pakistan, who left his country seeking a better future and opportunities for his family in America.

Coming from a place where resources were limited to Brooklyn, NYC, Shakatov was motivated to leave a huge impact. While attending Brooklyn College, Shakatov said that as a freshman, the conversation of internships was very prominent.

“Coming into college, I was overwhelmed. They were always talking about finding internships as freshmen. So, during my first year as a freshman, that’s when I really started working on my resume and cover letter,” said Shakatov.

By attending the information sessions Brooklyn College hosted, he learned about the CUNY Career Launch program, which changed the trajectory of his career.

Shakatov was placed with the Urban Design League, where he served as a teaching fellow and oversaw ensuring students had a great, enjoyable experience through presentations and activities.

To him, “research shows that, to get a job, we need at least two internship experiences, because that’s when employers hire,” so Shaktov set out to gain a second internship, leading to a total of 6 at the end of his college career.

Currently, Shakatov is an intern at the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement after graduating from Brooklyn College this spring semester. In this position, along with his undergraduate studies in psychology, he will be responsible for taking notes in meetings, documenting events around the city, and ensuring cultures are respected.

Between school and internships, Shakatov also credits CUNY institutions for providing on-campus opportunities. He was able to secure a job by going to his career center as a campus tour guide his first year, and he was also part of “smooth talkers,” a program he said was designed to teach students about public speaking.

“I represent CUNY everywhere I go. I have my CUNY bottle and my sticker on my laptop. They ask me things like, ” Oh, what’s CUNY? 
And I tell them about CUNY, and I tell them about my campus, Brooklyn College,” said Shakatov.

As the class of 2026 steps into a changing job market and the new wave of first-year students enters, “Always take opportunities, because you never know what doors are going to open for you right now, “ Shakatov said.

CUNY Beyond aims to continue having stories like these, not only from the programs provided by CUNY but also from the integration of career-readiness teaching in the classroom.

“Boosting the percentage of undergraduates who have a job at graduation to 75%, and 80% a year out, scaling paid internships for undergraduates, and increasing the number of employers who are recruiting from our campuses is our laser-focused approach to those undergraduate goals,” Anderson said.

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