Google Selects BSU for Career Prep Program with Digital Skills Training

BSU Students to Access Customized Digital Skills Training to Launch Their Careers

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile 

(BOWIE, Md.) – Google, in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, has selected Bowie State University as one of the first four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) participating in the tech giant’s Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program.

As part of Google’s commitment to supporting Black jobseekers, the program partners with HBCU career services centers across the United States to help college students and recent graduates develop the digital skills they need to find and secure internships and jobs that will help them build successful careers. Google has committed more than $1 million to HBCU career service centers nationwide, which will be distributed by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

“Having Google to partner with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and HBCUs is a definite game changer,” said Rosetta Price, assistant director for the BSU Career Development Center. “It’s going to help them with digital skills that they are going to need – beyond graduation. Whether they enter the world of work or go to graduate/professional school, these skills will help them to do well, no matter what route they take.”

Once fully launched, the online training program will be available to Bowie State sophomores, juniors and seniors and undergraduate alumni who graduated within the last year. Price said that not only will the program help students build their professional skills, but it will also teach them life lessons, such as developing personal budgets and managing your finances.

The program is based on Google’s Applied Digital Skills lessons that develop the practical skills required to secure jobs and build post-college careers. Students will take online classes and workshops, participate in activities to help them master what they’ve learned and meet with peers or career counselors for follow-up discussions. Students will receive certificates for each lesson they complete. Through the Google and TMCF partnership, the BSU Career Services Center staff will be trained to facilitate the Grow with Google Program workshops on campus.

Since launching in 2017, Grow with Google programs have trained more than five million Americans on digital skills to support and enhance business and career growth through a network of more than 7,500 partner organizations.

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.