Maryland Made: Career Nights Help Student-Athletes Set Sights on Life After Sports
Hear from student-athletes who participated in one of Maryland Made’s Career Nights as they gained invaluable connections and post-college clarity.
Brady Ruth, Staff Writer
3/3/2026
One of Maryland Made’s countless efforts to help prepare Maryland student-athletes for life after college and sports is its Career Nights — an initiative designed to provide student-athletes with meaningful opportunities to engage, network, and build connections with professionals in their fields of interest.
Recently, student-athletes were able to attend two Career Nights, hosted by Lockheed Martin and EY.
“It helped me realize all the options I can have post athletics,” women’s basketball’s Ava McKennie said. “It also reinforced my confidence and understanding how being an athlete really helps you develop in the workforce”.
“The Lockheed Martin session gave me a ton of insight into the benefits a large engineering company can offer,” football’s Nathan Perry said. “I think the session opened my eyes to the variety of awesome jobs I can apply to.”
The events feature employer partners who share an overview of their organization, facilitate an interactive activity, and create space for authentic conversations in a relaxed, informal setting. Through these interactions, student-athletes gain practical insights into industry expectations, learn strategies for becoming competitive candidates, and begin building valuable professional relationships.
"It made me realize that I should put more time into getting internships and gaining more experience in my field other than schooling,” football’s Michael Hershey said. “The Career Night was a fun and enjoyable time to network and meet new people."
Maryland Made’s Career Nights are intentionally structured to support student-athletes who may not participate in cohort-based programming, while still providing consistent and accessible touchpoints with Maryland Made.
“Going to Career Nights exposes you to potential job opportunities and gives lower-stake chances to talk with real professionals,” McKennie said. “As someone who really doesn’t know exactly what they want to do, going to this helped me see what paths are really there and how I can get into them. All the people that came were Smith grads, so being able to actually see myself in this career was amazing.”
Overall, my takeaway about career nights is we already have the leg up with these opportunities - so just show up and take advantage of them.Nathan Perry, Football
By opening the nights to many student-athletes, Career Nights expand access to career-development opportunities and help ensure that all student-athletes can explore their interests and prepare for life after sport at their own pace.
"For a while, my post-soccer career has felt far away and unclear,” women’s soccer’s Emily Lenhard said. “The EY Career Night not only gave me a more concrete example of what opportunities exist and what my future could look like, but it also showed me how being a student-athlete translates into the real world and careers outside of athletics. In addition, transitioning away from soccer sometimes seems daunting, as I don't fully know myself away from sport. Getting a chance to connect with individuals who were in similar positions and are now finding success at EY helped reframe that transition from daunting to exciting."
Going to Career Nights exposes you to potential job opportunities and gives lower-stake chances to talk with real professionals. As someone who really doesn’t know exactly what they want to do, going to this helped me see what paths are really there and how I can get into them. All the people that came were Smith grads, so being able to actually see myself in this career was amazing.Ava McKennie, Women's Basketball
After several successful Career Nights, Maryland Made is planning to host more organizations in 2026, including the United States Secret Service, Accenture, and Stryker.
“Overall, my takeaway about career nights is we already have the leg up with these opportunities - so just show up and take advantage of them,” Perry said.
"One takeaway I have about career nights is that they are always worthwhile,” Lenhard said. “Even if you only learn one thing, that one thing can have a big impact on how you think about your future."
Maryland Made’s Adaeze Alaeze-Garbo led the program, supplying student-athletes with potentially life-changing interactions and connections. Maryland Made continues to prepare student-athletes for life after sports, with Career Night being just the latest in countless efforts to set them up for success.
“This has been an especially rewarding initiative for me to lead for our unit,” Alaeze-Garbo said. “While many of our Maryland Made programs are designed around cohort-based experiences, Career Nights provided a cohort-like experience on an event-by-event basis. This format allowed student-athletes the flexibility to participate and engage without the long-term commitment of a year-long program.”
