Artificial Intelligence has weaved its way into every aspect of our lives, and Baldwin Wallace has taken note of it.  

Donna VanRooy, a program manager at Ratcliffe Innovation Consultants, has been working with Professor Tim Marshall to create AI Career Labs that aim to teach students how to use AI in a constructive and beneficial way to advance their career and prepare them for the job market.  

One problem Marshall identified is the lack of integration of AI at every level of each major. “…it’s really helpful to help students understand that AI can be a useful career development partner,” Marshall said.  

Each session covers an AI tool or scenario that can help students prepare themselves for finding a career. On the Oct. 23 session, students fed AI jobs that they wanted, classes they’ve had, and their resume to build a plan that details what their next steps are. The interaction between the students and AI encourages a greater degree of preparation, that Marshall said, “…gets the student connected with their career counselor.”  

In conjunction with AI tools, VanRooy stated that faculty and staff volunteers provide “support during the lab, just to ask any type of questions.”  

Part of the reason there are several sessions over the course of the semester, Marshall said, was to encourage mindfulness regarding students outdated resume or cover letter. The goal these sessions lay out is to put down the groundwork to apply to jobs on the drop of a dime, preparing students to be aware of their professional image and how to present themselves to employers. 

Familiarity with AI in professional settings is also increasingly expected. According to Marshall, standard office software commonly used in most workplaces now includes built-in AI features, with Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini leading the way. Additionally, collaborations between companies and AI firms are influencing workplace dynamics.  

Marshall mentioned a case study by AI company Perplexity in conjunction with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which served as an example of how AI is being used as a beneficial becoming increasingly popular. 

During the Oct. 29 session, Marshall and VanRooy touched on using Google’s Interview Warmup, a tool powered by AI to aid in interview and public speaking preparation.  

The Career Labs will continue until Nov. 20. Individual date, times, and locations for each lab can be found on Jacket Connect.