The primary purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the effectiveness of a gamified workshop series in teaching critical career soft skills (as recommended by NACE) through high-interest, fictional scenarios. By utilizing themes like a zombie apocalypse and an office escape room, the program aims to determine if a low-cost, high-engagement model can successfully bridge the gap between academic learning and practical career readiness.
This assessment is necessary to determine if students can successfully recognize and apply transferable career skills within non-traditional learning environments.This assessment is necessary to validate whether "entering the students' world" through popular culture and gamification increases participation and skill retention compared to traditional career workshops.
Furthermore, we sought to assess whether a high-impact program can be delivered with minimal financial investment ($1.34 per student) while still maintaining quality and professional relevance.
The series was implemented through three distinct challenges (2 in the Fall and 1 in the Spring semester) that utilized "low-tech, high-engagement" materials:
- Challenges: Three sessions were curated for the 2025-2026 Academic Year, including: a Zombie Apocalypse themed challenge near Halloween, an Office Escape Room, and then an informal campus scenario practice pitch.
- Stewardship: The program was designed to be extremely low-budget, costing only $75 for the entire series. Facilitators used existing office supplies (paper, markers, folders). For student engagement, we wanted to design 300 collectible prize pins to encourage students to “collect them all” and participate in all 3 challenges.. These were produced in-house through the Makerspace, which provided another opportunity for EMCC students to practice technical skills. The pins were designed and made by EMCC student and Makerspace employee, Deanna Alcala. Excess pins will be used for future iterations of the challenge.
- Feedback: Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via digital forms immediately following the events.
- Participation & Approval: 56 students participated, and 100% stated they would recommend the challenge to a peer.
- Skill Mastery: Students self-reported a 5/5 rating in their ability to connect the "games" to real-world career readiness.
- Cost-Effectiveness: With a total spend of $75, this demonstrates that engagement is driven by creativity and narrative rather than expensive external vendors.
- Makerspace Integration: Using student-made pins from the makerspace acted as a "living example" of career skills, providing a tangible reward that also promoted another campus department.
The Career Skills Challenge, hosted by the Career and Transfer Center during the 25-26 academic year, is a low-budget, high-impact workshop series designed to teach NACE competencies through gamification. The program engaged 56 students in scenarios ranging from survival councils to office simulations. The assessment shows a 100% peer-recommendation rate and high skill-connection scores, proving that innovative storytelling and campus partnerships can be equally vital to student engagement than high-cost programming. This model serves as a sustainable blueprint for career readiness activities seeking to maximize impact with minimal resources.
Contributing Departments also include: Makerspace (Steven Shapiro and Deanna Alcala) and Marketing (Alissa Manzoeillo and Stephanie Flores)
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Career Skills Challenge Recap | 19.54 MB |
| Career Skills Challenge Flyer | 1.5 MB |