Turn the page in your career at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies
Learn about the broad range of degrees and certificates that can start a new professional chapter.
By WP Creative Group
Eliana Bardi loves her job now, but that wasn’t always the case.
Bardi knew more education could open doors for her and give her more control in the direction of her career. She zeroed in on a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications for her next step.
“There weren’t many offerings with that specific focus,” recalled Bardi. “[Usually schools have] a master’s in marketing, or you had to do an MBA with a focus in marketing.” But at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies (Georgetown SCS), Bardi found a program tailored to her career vision.
Focused on post-collegiate career development, Georgetown SCS provides students with flexible education options paired with industry specific skills. In addition to master of professional studies degrees, the school’s programs include more than 30 professional certificate programs, liberal graduate studies and programming through their English Language Center.
Values-centered education
Bardi initially attended Georgetown SCS assuming she’d return to her employer equipped with a new set of skills. However, her coursework inspired her to reconsider the purpose behind her passion for marketing and led her in a different direction.
“Two of the most influential courses in defining my career path today were the ethics course and a course called Cause Consulting,” said Bardi. “[The ethics course] gave me the space and the framework to think about what I wanted to do with my skill set; and [Cause Consulting] taught me how to reframe the responsibility and the opportunities for a marketer for social impact.”
As the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, Georgetown University uses a holistic approach to intellectual, ethical and spiritual growth with a focus on service and community engagement. These values encourage a commitment to social justice and the common good.
“At SCS, a humanistic values-oriented perspective meets this dynamic approach to professional and continuing education in the 21st Century,” said Jamie Kralovec, the university’s associate director for mission integration. “There’s an invitation here to pursue meaning, belonging and purpose through your program.”
In the last six months of her program, Bardi and her Cause Consulting classmates met with the marketing team at a non-profit and learned about internship opportunities. Not only did Bardi land an internship at the nonprofit, but she went on to become one of the organization’s senior corporate engagement officers.
“Today I work with companies to help them understand and minimize their footprint as well as leverage their brand and their influence to create champions for conservation,” Bardi said. “I get to work with the big brands that I’m attracted to, but now I help them in their sustainability journey.”
Education tailored to full-time workers
In addition to master’s programs, Georgetown SCS offers certificates in subjects related to finance, marketing, policy and leadership. These certificate programs are flexible enough for students who work full-time to take classes during the evenings, weekends or online.
Another proud Georgetown SCS alumnus Nathaniel Benjamin was working at the director level in human capital when he was asked to lead a new program at work.
“While I was in that position, the diversity program was put under human capital,” said Benjamin. “In order to be what I would identify as the best and most proficient director leading that program, I wanted to make sure that I was formally trained and brought value to the portfolio.”
Benjamin decided to pursue an Executive Certificate in Strategic Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Management, a six-month cohort-style program that teamed him with 25 fellow students. Benjamin’s cohort met three days a month, using their remaining days for independent study.
“We had everyone from senior executives, COOs, folks in the C-suite, all the way to working professionals. They were all strong in their talents and their crafts,” he said, adding, “‘Iron sharpens iron’ is the best way to describe it.”
Experience in action
Georgetown SCS places emphasis on connecting students to DC’s professional and social networks, allowing them to develop portfolios through real-world client engagements and networking events with some of the industry’s top organizations.
“It wasn’t just the books; it was the experience,” Benjamin said, underscoring the opportunities for hands-on work. “And the experience was a greater teacher than any theory that you could read. I’ve been with the federal government for 22 years, and the fact that the client that I had was a marketing firm allowed me to work in a space that wasn’t my norm. I’ve cited that project or its outcomes for four years now.”
Inside the classroom, Georgetown employs instructors that are also practitioners, scholars and industry experts—meaning students learn from those actively engaged in the work.
“Students should expect top-flight faculty who are what we like to describe as scholar practitioners, with one foot firmly planted in professional practice,” said Kralovec. “Our faculty are involved on a day-to-day basis with the subject matter of these programs.”
Certificate in hand, Benjamin was able to take that knowledge back to his work, where he received a lot of respect for taking on additional training. He now works as a chief diversity and inclusion officer, managing programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, Title VI civil rights and equal employment opportunity.
It’s a career shift Benjamin says allows him to continue championing the diversity work he’s passionate about, but on a bigger scale.
“As DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) professionals, we have to be able to navigate conversations that might not be the most comfortable,” Benjamin said. “Something that I really valued was that, even though we had diverse viewpoints, there was nothing we couldn’t talk about in my group—nothing was too taboo.”
According to Kralovec, many students find renewed career purpose at Georgetown: “Students who have drive, initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit will find ways to nurture their professional disciplinary interest through this very global university.”
Learn more about starting a new chapter in your career at the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies.
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