The Business Career Coaching Center in the University of New Orleans Henry Bernstein College of Business Administration has received a $10,000 New Orleans Recreation and Culture Fund grant to help support first-generation students. The award, from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, was sponsored by New Orleans City Council member Eugene J. Green.

Jaimee Carreras, instructor in the department of management and marketing and career counselor in the coaching center, is the principal investigator on the grant.

For the past 11 years, the Business Career Coaching Center has served business students, and those taking business courses, with career and internship placement support services. Approximately half of all University of New Orleans students—and half of all business students—are first-generation college students. The grant will help the coaching center provide new opportunities to first-generation students, including career placement events, seminars and a certification program that will allow students to showcase their expertise in business communication, networking, business etiquette, business applications and leadership skills.

The Business Career Coaching Center serves approximately a 1,000 students per year and employs two coaches who are also full-time instructors, along with graduate assistants and student workers. The center relies on the community and employer connections of these coaches, and other faculty, to connect students with industry leaders and business professionals.

Some of the coaching center’s services include resume review, career advice, employer lunch visits and coaching on topics such as interview skills and salary negotiation.