Career Services Earns Major Accolade on the 2025 Handshake Career Spark Award Winners
Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a place on the list of 2025 Handshake Career Spark Award winners. The accolade is given to contributors who succeed in supporting the next generation of future leaders in their college-to-career transition and encourage the Handshake mission to provide all students the chance to build their desired careers regardless of their background or the school that they attend. The Career Spark Awards (CSAs) recognize top career centers across three categories—student engagement, employer engagement and curation,reporting, analytics, and First Destination Survey (FDS).
A core platform that powers the Career Services office, Handshake is a one-stop shop for students to find jobs, schedule interviews with employers, participate in career fairs, schedule appointments with Career Services advisors, access career resources, and view a calendar of events hosted by our office and employers. The app’s student-friendly design features a front-page feed that displays the most relevant jobs and events, customized for each user. This also allows Career Services to share social media-style content, informing and educating their audience, which includes undergraduate students across all four colleges and graduate and professional students.
- Michael DeAngelis, the Senior Associate Director at Career Services who manages communications and technology, conveys his enthusiasm upon receiving the major recognition.
“So excited to be a part of this win! The entire Career Services team works hard to leverage Handshake in serving our students and alumni, maximizing their career outcomes. I’m excited that when it comes to media and technology in the career services space, we lead the way with Handshake as a tremendous ally and partner.”
The award is a testament to Career Services’ commitment to providing consistent, timely, and helpful resources for students to advance their career aspirations. As a career center which not only utilizes digital platforms and media to bring employer access to students but contains a myriad of opportunities for job exploration and preparation, Career Services at Penn stands out as a model of how universities can best be a guiding star for their students.
The recognition comes at an exciting moment for the team as Career Services approaches its 100th anniversary. With this notable spotlight, Career Services at Penn is well-positioned to continue the necessary work of connecting students to tangible, real world career opportunities.