Dr. Osheroff says that career development should begin as soon as students arrive at college, not in their final year, because early engagement helps them build confidence, find opportunities, and avoid missing out on internships or other high-impact experiences.

He explains that his office at the University of Southern Maine uses peer career guides to create a low-pressure first step for students who may be hesitant to meet with a professional advisor.

Dr. Osheroff notes that the peer career guide model works because students connect more easily with near peers who are still figuring things out, and because empathy is essential to effective peer advising.

He says the program includes training, ongoing development, and employer-led sessions so students can learn what the job market values and share that insight with others.

He emphasizes that internships should be more accessible, not just highly competitive summer opportunities, and says his team runs the program three times a year to create more entry points.

He describes a process in which his team handles student recruitment, screening, interview coaching, and employer matching, making the internship process easier for both students and employers.

He says spreading internships across fall, spring, and summer reduces competition and helps students fit part-time internships around their classes.

He explains that the program grew because USM invested in it over time and was able to show that it improved student retention, classroom success, and post-graduation outcomes.

He says paid internships are essential for equity because many students are commuters, work part-time, and have rent, childcare, or other financial responsibilities.

Dr. Osheroff explains that funding comes from grants and cost-sharing with employers, with each partner’s share varying by organization size and other factors.

He says the goal is to create meaningful, project-based internships rather than busywork, and his team helps employers design stronger roles from the start.

He notes that each internship begins with a learning agreement and three student-set learning outcomes, followed by midpoint check-ins to address issues before the internship ends.

He tells listeners that the team measures outcomes through surveys, resume support, and longer-term follow-up with alumni to see where participants go afterward and how the experience shaped them.

His main message is simple: if an idea is useful, start small, try it, and let it grow in your own context.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Mark Covelle, Administrative Director of Middle Bucks Institute of Technology and a Founding Member of the CTE Collective.

Mark says that interest in CTE has surged post-COVID because hands-on, authentic learning could not be replicated online. The skilled trades gap has added further momentum nationally.

He notes that in CTE, students practice — they work on real brakes, deploy real safety equipment, and build real things. Traditional classrooms more often ask students to pretend. Kids know the difference, and it affects their engagement.

His school serves 1,000 students across 21 career programs and issued over 1,500 industry-recognized credentials last year — roughly 1.5 per student. These credentials are portable, tangible evidence of skill beyond a transcript.

Business and industry partners tell Mark the biggest gaps in young workers are persistence (stalling when stuck), communication, and general professionalism. MBIT grades students on employability weekly — resumes, interviewing, professional conduct, and workplace interaction are all part of the curriculum.

Mark believes that every K-12 school should have an internship program. Students need professional feedback at 18, not 24. Even virtual or industry-problem-based experiences count. Getting that feedback earlier — with educator support — changes outcomes.

Mark and TJ discuss how authentic problems can live in any classroom. An English problem-solution paper can be drawn from a real local business challenge. A student who needs math to complete an engineering project will learn that math. Purpose drives motivation.

Mark tells a story about involving students in school branding. MBIT's "ambition" identity came from a student who noticed MBIT sits inside the word ambition. It became a neon lobby sign, a podcast, and a school-wide hashtag — and it stuck because students created it.

Mark's closing message: authenticity matters. Authentic learning builds trust, persistence, and a positive relationship with school — the skills employers say are missing most.

College & Career Readiness Radio is brought to you by MaiaLearning, a fully comprehensive college and career readiness platform serving students worldwide.

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is fourth-generation educator, coach, and multiple-time best-selling author Chip Baker. Chip is the creator of The Success Chronicles, a YouTube channel and podcast where he interviews people from all walks of life about what it truly takes to be successful in life. Drawing from thousands of these conversations, Chip and host Dr. TJ Vari connect the dots between post-secondary success and the skills, mindsets, and experiences students need for college and career readiness worldwide.​

After years of interviewing high performers, Chip identifies a core throughline: the ability to overcome adversity and “grow through, not go through” tough times. He argues that on the other side of our hardest challenges is our maximum growth, and that educators play a pivotal role in helping students develop resilience and perseverance. For Chip, relevance is key—students engage and persist when learning is tied to real-world applications, pathways, projects, internships, and work-based learning that clearly connect to their futures.​

Chip highlights the quiet but powerful impact of educators, counselors, and support staff who consistently show up with care, presence, and high expectations. These adults build quality relationships, provide relevance, and communicate, “I really care about your success,” which Chip sees as the foundation for student growth and long-term achievement. He notes that many successful people attribute their progress to someone who poured into them when they doubted themselves, or to their own decision to “be the one” who changes the trajectory of their family through education, learning, and new environments.​

From The Success Chronicles, Chip distills recurring traits of successful people: resilience, self-belief (“you are enough”), strong support systems, core principles, lifelong learning, time management, self-awareness, reflection, and intentional goal setting. He emphasizes that learning is not optional, and that managing time—saying no to what doesn’t matter so you can say yes to what does—is essential for sustained success. These traits align directly with many districts’ portraits of a graduate and provide research-informed guidance for the skills schools can intentionally teach and assess.​

Chip shares powerful quotes and themes from his guests such as “failures are fuel for success,” “consistency is the truest measure of performance,” and “don’t let your life be driven by your to-do list—let it be driven by your to-be list.” He uses these ideas with students, helping them “conquer themselves” by understanding their triggers, interests, and values so they can eliminate distractions and build a life aligned with who they are.

Explaining why he started The Success Chronicles, Chip says he simply wanted to serve, give, and stop “keeping to himself” the powerful conversations that had expedited his own growth. He loves highlighting unsung heroes who do the work without seeking recognition and believes “success leaves clues” that students and educators can use in their own journeys. His closing message to educators is his personal tagline: “Live, learn, serve, inspire—go get it."

Listeners can find on YouTube and on all major podcast platforms, and explore his more than 30 books, merch, and resources through links in his social media bios or by searching his name on Amazon.