Carthage College's Aspire Program: A National Award-Winning Approach to Career Development

Carthage College's Aspire Program is a multifaceted career development initiative designed to prepare students for success beyond graduation. It focuses on building essential career competencies valued by employers and has garnered national recognition for its innovative approach.

My Aspire Plan (MAP): Your Roadmap to Success

My Aspire Plan (MAP) serves as a four-year roadmap, guiding students through their college journey and preparing them for life after graduation. Introduced during Firebird Launch, MAP helps students connect their experiences to career readiness. Full access to MAP is granted once students receive their Carthage credentials and can log in to OneLogin.

MAP is hosted on the Suitable app, allowing students to track their progress, complete activities, and reflect on their experiences conveniently from their phones or computers. The program is designed to be completed over the course of their time at Carthage, guiding students through meaningful experiences that support their personal and professional growth.

Career Competencies: Building Essential Skills

Career competencies are a set of essential skills and mindsets that prepare students for success in their careers, communities, and lifelong learning. Rooted in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career competencies and aligned with Carthage’s institutional learning outcomes, these competencies provide a framework for personal and professional growth across a student's college journey. The Aspire Program is dedicated to preparing students for success in life after college by building the nine essential career competencies that today’s employers value most.

Earning the MAP Microcredential

By completing the MAP requirements, students earn the MAP microcredential, which recognizes their development in key career competencies and their intentional engagement in preparing for life after college. MAP is made up of a series of MAP badges, offering flexible pathways that align with unique goals and career interests. Along the way, students have opportunities to earn prizes and gain recognition for their achievements.

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Foundational Experiences for New Students

As a freshman or transfer student, there are a number of experiences that students should obtain in order to become fully integrated into campus life. The Aspire Program offers achievements designed to help student-athletes recognize and articulate the valuable skills they develop through their athletic experience. Students can start building a strong foundation for their future by completing exploratory activities designed to help discover their interests, clarify their goals, and gain insight into potential career paths. Once students have completed the foundational steps in their Career Exploration Badge, they are encouraged to take the next step: going deeper into their career preparation journey.

National Recognition: The Suitable Innovator Award and Best Branding Award

The Aspire Program received the Suitable Innovator Award and Best Branding Award at the 2025 Suitable Pathways Conference. Representing Carthage at the conference were team members Carolyn Serdar, Stephanie Stover, Conner Olsen, Chynna Chung, and Pauline Binder Finnema. The Aspire Program was awarded Best Branding, recognizing the creativity and strategic approach used to design a vibrant and memorable campaign that engages students and impresses stakeholders. This award highlights the efforts of the team to make the Carthage experience not only meaningful but also visually compelling and exciting for students at every stage of their journey. Additionally, Carthage was honored with the Suitable Innovator Award, celebrating the innovative ways the campus has leveraged the Suitable platform to build a dynamic co-curricular learning ecosystem. This recognition reflects the team’s commitment to using technology in purposeful, student-centered ways that support learning beyond the classroom. These awards are a testament to the innovation, energy, and collaborative spirit of The Aspire Program team.

Carthage's Commitment to Career Development

Carthage received the Career Services Pursuit of Excellence Award for its “holistic and long-standing commitment” to career development. The Career Leadership Collective, a thought partner that provides support for career services professionals, presented the award Tuesday, April 23, during its national conference in Austin, Texas. This year’s graduating class at Carthage will be the first to complete The Aspire Program, a multifaceted career development initiative that launched in 2019. “Today’s employers value communication, critical thinking and teamwork in their new employees. The Pursuit of Excellence Award recognizes career services teams that demonstrate growth and quality in data analysis, equitable services, strategic planning, and staff development.

A Year of Growth and Innovation at Carthage College

What a year it’s been! If it feels like 2024 raced by in a blur, you’re not alone. Carthage hired Matt Popino as the Firebirds’ new head football coach. In an introductory press conference, he emphasized the importance of character. The Office of Equity and Inclusion presented its first Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards. The first student cohort completed the College’s certified nurse aide training program, attending for free thanks to scholarship funding from Tom and Jan Duncan. Six LMI Packaging employees earned certificates in Business Foundations for completing a series of classes that Carthage faculty taught on site. Extending its annual spring fundraising event to 36 hours, Carthage brought in more than $407,000 for student-centered programs and financial aid in the 2024 Red & Ready Giving Days. Identifying a regional need, Carthage introduced a new bachelor’s degree program in healthcare administration featuring a yearlong, paid rotation at a local hospital. The baseball team gave head coach Augie Schmidt IV career victory No. 1,000 in his 37th season. He became just the 13th in NCAA Division III history to reach that milestone. “The Kenosha Verbatim Project,” written by a team of Carthage theatre students and professors, won the nationwide Rosa Parks Playwriting Award. More than 200 leaders gained insights from a timely conversation between Carthage President John Swallow and his Universities of Wisconsin counterpart about higher education’s role in the future workforce. In his final track and field competition with the Firebirds, Joseph White ’24 won the NCAA Division III outdoor shot put title. While mourning the death of Jan Tarble at age 95, the Carthage community expressed deep gratitude for her unmatched philanthropy. A new textbook provider, Slingshot, put its Equitable Access Plan into practice, supplying each participating student with all of their required course materials for a $182 flat fee. Professor Kevin Crosby was awarded $300,000 in seed funding to build a new NASA research and internship program for Carthage students. In honor of her father, a retired Kenosha pastor, Carthage trustee LeAnn Pedersen Pope ’79 pledged $1.5 million to establish The Rev. Raymon L. Pedersen Distinguished Professorship in Social Change. After accepting the call to Carthage, the Rev. Adam Miller-Stubbendick began his duties as campus pastor. The regional Teach For America organization partnered with the College to certify new teachers and address the ongoing teacher shortage in Milwaukee. A second phase of renovations completed the transformation of the lower level of Lentz Hall into a robust Engineering Center, supporting the fast-growing engineering major. The first students entered Carthage’s latest graduate business track: product management for manufactured goods. The School of Business and Economics welcomed Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren as the featured guest at its second Spotlight on Sports conference. Final fall enrollment (based on the Oct. With $2.6 million in new funding - a $1.3 million state grant and a matching pledge from trustee Tom Duncan and his wife, Jan - Carthage moved ahead with plans to expand its nursing labs. Carthage held its 25th annual Model United Nations conference, which drew about 375 students from 21 high schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. For the first time in program history, the men’s cross country team was selected to compete in the NCAA D-III championships. The 150th annual Carthage Christmas Festival captivated audiences with a series of three anniversary performances. With gratitude to everyone who contributed to a memorable year, we turn our attention to an equally (if not more) promising 2025.

Growth in Enrollment and New Programs

Freshmen entering Carthage College this fall make up the Class of 2029, as shown in this aerial photo during New Student Orientation. As of Sept. 15, the incoming Carthage class comprised 1,036 full-time undergraduate newcomers - 933 freshmen and 103 transfer students. While other schools in the Midwest have reported sharp declines in their student population, Carthage has steadily grown. “More students than ever are choosing Carthage, which reflects the confidence that families have in our strong academic programs, personalized support, and unmatched opportunities,” says Ashley Hanson, vice president for enrollment. Interest has particularly surged among local students, with commuters making up 22% of the fall 2025 entering class and 34% of the total student body. “We’ve kept our ear to the ground, working closely with employers and civic leaders to identify the kinds of preparation they need us to provide,” says Carthage President John Swallow. The college has responded to regional employer input by adding degree offerings like engineering, healthcare administration, and biotechnology. This fall, Carthage launched its School of Health to address a projected severe shortage of healthcare workers in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor. By adding four varsity sports (men’s and women’s wrestling, women’s bowling, and esports) over the past several years, Carthage has appealed to more student-athletes. “We’re determined to grow in a sustainable way. As colleges everywhere compete for a shrinking pool of high school graduates, Carthage has resisted the temptation to lower admissions standards or take on debt in the name of short-term gain,” he says.

Carthage College: Raising Expectations

Carthage College is raising expectations for a private college experience. It blends the best liberal arts traditions with desirable degree programs, transformative learning opportunities, personal attention from distinguished faculty, and a focus on career development, which makes its graduates competitive in the workforce. Founded in 1847, Carthage is located on an idyllic shore of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the thriving corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Additional Resources for Career Development

Students build career readiness through immersive J-Term course This J-Term, The Aspire Program’s Career Planning class offered students an immersive, hands-on exploration of career readiness, personal growth, and purposeful engagement. Carthage professors who help students land awesome jobs Carthage College faculty members leverage their extensive networks, industry expertise, and personalized guidance to open doors for their students. How to gain career connections in college As students take the necessary steps to complete their degree, it’s not only necessary to focus on their studies but also to begin to prepare for their future. The Aspire Center awards and recognitions The Aspire Center, Carthage’s career development program, has received a variety of awards and recognitions.

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