With a strong placement rate of over 98%, admission rates to law and med schools higher than the national average, and tens of thousands of active alumni, Miami University’s College of Arts and Science (CAS) has no shortage of success stories when it comes to its many graduates.

Dean Renée Baernstein wants to ensure some of those stories are front and center for current CAS students. Not long after starting her tenure in July 2024, Baernstein created the CAS Means Careers initiative to bring awareness of the multiple career pathways awaiting students after graduation.

“We continually see stories of our alumni who have achieved that satisfactory point in their careers,” Baernstein said. “We want to make sure our students are prepared for those career moves that will get them there too.”

Highlighting successful alumni – like Jennifer Brunner ’78, one of seven justices of the Ohio Supreme Court who recently visited with Miami Pre-Law students – is a crucial component of the initiative. Another is embedding career planning and training closely in the college’s vast curriculum.

Baernstein said this includes key touchpoints such as resume prep, practice interviews, experiential learning, and internships. She pointed out that CAS offers a wide assortment of internship and study-away opportunities, including its popular range of “Inside” programs that takes students to New York, Hollywood, Washington, London, and more to network with alumni and engage in immersive shadowing experiences.

Just this semester, CAS students joined the LEADS Institute’s Career Trek to visit both Atlanta and San Francisco, where they networked with Miami alumni at companies like Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz. Other faculty-led programs allowed students to spend a week in Washington as well as Dublin, Ireland, to explore careers in politics, strategic communications, entertainment, and more.

“By the time they get to their senior year, our students will have a full resume and be ready to succeed in the job market,” Baernstein said.

“Awareness of our successes and financial support for our students are big development goals of mine,” she added. “We want to make sure we have the resources to help students. We have found that resonates with our alumni.”

Early tracking on outcomes and student satisfaction is vital, Baernstein said, as is widely communicating that message.

Greg Roche ’95, CEO of Distalmotion, returned to Miami in late February as the inaugural guest of the “Trailblazers and Game Changers” alumni speaker series for CAS. Distalmotion is a global robotics company focused on medical devices.

During his talk, Roche detailed his path at Miami and beyond. He started as a pre-med student, shifted gears to graduate with a degree in Sociology, and even attended law school before settling into his business career.  

“It’s crucial for students to hear from people who have taken the same education they are getting, the Miami education, and who are really running with it,” Baernstein said. “Students can see how much opportunity is out there. CAS grads don’t stay on one career path; they pivot and move from industry to industry, role to role, and those core skills truly help.

“We want our students to succeed, and we are going to make sure they have the tools to do that.”