I3@USD-Fall 2025

Training the Leaders of Tomorrow One Scholar at a Time I f a student’s journey through college is one chapter of their story, Rhonda Harley, PhD, By Allyson Meyer

It’s not just that

we’re training them

to succeed, which

we want them

long program, consisting of six workshops, includes opportunities for students to put career development into practice — from mock interviews to conversations with industry professionals. “When students graduate from universities, they have their heads full of theories, but they’re not really prepared for what life ahead in that job might be,” says advisory board member and program mentor Katie Busch-Sorensen. “The aim for us was to open the students up to realize what the possibilities are, because engineers can pretty much do anything.” Over the course of a year, students interact with industry mentors and take part in workshop discussions about strengths, negotiation and interviewing, as well as ethical and legal considerations for the workforce. “Every student who has gone through this program has learned something from others and learned something about themselves that will help them for ‘life after USD,’ as I call it,” says Harley. “Whether you’re going to grad school, the Peace Corps or gainful employment, you’ve learned something about yourself.”

gives them the tools to write their manuscript. “I often say, ‘You have the pen in your hand, and you are writing your undergraduate story,’ ” she says. “How do you want this chapter to read?” As the assistant dean of student engagement and inclusive excellence at the University of San Diego’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, Harley is no stranger to career development, having spent much of the past decade as the assistant director of career development, serving as the liaison to engineering and computer science students. Now, Harley is focused on a new task — the engineering school’s Industry Scholars Program — a leadership and professional development program curated for engineering and computer science students. Born out of an engineering Executive Advisory Board meeting in 2017, the program has grown over the past few years under Harley’s leadership, seeing student applications and participation more than double. This year

to, we want them

to lead as well.

— Tom Lupfer

08 USD ENGINEERING