Work Opportunities

Employment / Internship / HRA Fellowship / Federal Work-Study

While in school, if eligible, students are able to participate in Federal Work-Study, internships, and the Human Resource Association (HRA) Fellowship Program (HFP), particularly in alignment with their major.

Students who under 21 years of age who live with their parents may also be able to participate in paid internships or employment without negatively impacting their budgets.

Our job developer / career specialist will work with all CUNY EDGE students to:

  • identify on-campus placement slots for HRA Fellowship Program participants, which includes creating and maintaining collaborations with other college offices, including the Magner Career Center;
  • help students apply for internships, scholarships, and opportunity programs;
  • help students incorporate technology into their job search; and
  • facilitate a personal and professional development workshop series.

CUNY EDGE students are encouraged to establish an ongoing relationship with the Magner Career Center to help build confidence and gain knowledge of the job market and workforce. The center offers career assessments, workshops, and an array of services to prepare CUNY EDGE students for the real working world.

Students may also register for career workshops on BC Central by logging to Brooklyn College WebCentral Portal > Career > Career Workshops.

HRA Fellowship Program

Students are placed at an on-campus worksite that resonates with their major and skills. The program is funded by the New York City HRA and supports college retention and encourages students to achieve their educational goals to graduate in a timely manner and find employment leading to economic self-sufficiency. The HRA Fellowship Program provides a limited number of paid work opportunities for undergraduate students who are approved by HRA for college attendance, have registered all of their eligible activities with HRA, and have hours remaining that require additional activity to meet HRA’s full-time participation requirement.

CUNY EDGE Scholarships

Each CUNY EDGE campus has a small amount of funding to cover tuition, fees, and outstanding balances in order to help students in the CUNY EDGE program remain on track to graduation. At Brooklyn College, the majority of support is given for one course in the summer. CUNY EDGE students who are graduating in fall, winter, or spring may apply by completing the CUNY EDGE Scholarship form.

CUNY EDGE Incentives

CUNY EDGE’s mission is to help CUNY students who are receiving public assistance achieve academic excellence, graduate on time, and find employment. CUNY EDGE has a small amount of funding to encourage behavior that will help students reach these goals. At the end of the fall 2019 semester, students who earned a grade point average of 3.00 or higher that semester received a $60 bookstore or cafeteria voucher, or other incentive approved by the Central Office. Only CUNY EDGE students who are actively engaged in the program are eligible for academic achievement incentives. CUNY EDGE students are those who are enrolled in classes during the current semester, receive TANF or Safety Net benefits from HRA, and have an FIA school letter completed.

Personal and Professional Development Workshops

CUNY EDGE personal and professional development workshops teach students techniques to succeed in college and beyond. Focused on career, academic, and personal topics, the seminars provide information, stimulate critical thinking, and encourage reflection.

  • Students may register for CUNY EDGE workshops by logging to Brooklyn College WebCentral Portal > E–Services > Schedule an Appointment > CUNY EDGE Advisement Scheduling Tool and CUNY EDGE Workshops.

Examples of recent workshops include:

  • Choosing Your Major; Degree Works: Mapping Your Academic Success
  • LinkedIn; Creating and Updating Your Résumé; Job Fair; Exploring Careers in Film and Media
  • Navigating Your HRA; Eviction Prevention
  • Lunch-Time Yoga / Meditation; Personal Counseling Stress / Anxiety; Parent Support Group
  • Managing Your Finances / FA; Get That Scholarship

Promotion of Academic Excellence

CUNY EDGE promotes a culture of academic excellence by referring students to tutoring services. We also provide limited tuition support for intersession and summer classes. To qualify for intersession tuition, students must attend advisement sessions and participate in personal and professional development seminars.

Summer Enrichment Academy Workshop Highlights

During the week of June 3, 2019, CUNY EDGE student Charlexia Rey attended a series of personal/professional development workshops under the Summer Enrichment Academy. “I learned a plethora of things at these workshops,” Rey says, and provides these reflections:

Self-Care Workshop

At the Self-Care Workshop, I learned that in order to not become overwhelmed with life, in general, I need to practice time management. The main highlights of the workshop were:

  • Do not procrastinate.
  • Identify things that bring you joy and do them.
  • Negate things that stress you out.

Professional Development Workshop

The second workshop that I attended was a Professional Development Workshop hosted by the Magner Career Center. I learned of different Web resources that I can utilize to identify employers in my field. I also learned of several networking platforms where I could connect with Brooklyn College alumni who are working in the industry I desire to be in. The main highlights of the workshop were:

  • You land jobs through the connections you make.
  • CUNY has a meetup forum.
  • Utilize BC Hire.

Academic Advisement Workshop

The third workshop, hosted by the Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success, informed us of the resources available to help us stay on track to graduating within four years. This workshop was very helpful. I was able to learn the different ways to access my DegreeWorks profile and track my credits. The senior adviser who hosted it also held one-on-one advisement sessions. In my session, I learned that I need to take 18 credits for the next two semesters, in addition to two summer classes, in order to graduate within four years. The main highlights of the workshop were:

  • You need to complete 15 credits each semester to stay on track for graduation (four years, 120 credits).
  • How degree maps work for keeping track of your classes.

Brooklyn Public Library, Recruitment, and Negotiating a Salary Workshops

On the last day of workshops, I attended three separate workshops. The first workshop was hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library. I was informed about the various education resources the library provides for free. I was also given some résumé-building tips.

In the second workshop, we met with a staffing agent recruiter and were informed on how to properly interact with a recruiter and how to dress for an interview, and I received answers to my questions about interviewing for a position.

In the last workshop, I learned how to appropriately negotiate a salary during a job selection process. I was given wonderful tips on when to bring up salary and benefits as well as red flags to be aware of when considering starting with a company.

Overall, this week of workshops has been very refreshing and informative. I am very grateful to CUNY EDGE for connecting me to these various professionals.”

Brooklyn. All in.