On Thursday, February 12, 2026, Skyline College’s Strategic Partnerships & Workforce Development (SPWD), along with the Psychology Department at Skyline, held their annual Psyched for Success Career Panel.
During this two-hour event, students were able to ask professionals from a myriad of industries (Big Tech, Financial Institutions, or Healthcare) how their day-to-day looks and how they ended up where they are now. Some of the individuals were from Adobe, Equilibrium Capital, and Seneca. Ron Chand, a Career Readiness Coordinator, scouted a diverse array of professionals for students to interact with and, more importantly, to see that a psychology degree isn’t limited to the stereotype of listening to people while they lie on a settee.
The students had 20 minutes with each professional in a round-robin style question-and-answer session. After twenty minutes, the group rotates to another professional, and so on for four rounds. Students brought in questions they were curious about, and if some were too shy, premade questions were available. The psychology faculty did a great job preparing students beforehand and took them to the event as a class field trip. Further, the library tabled, with Librarian Amanda Barden bringing various books and resources for our psychology students.
These types of events allow students to learn directly from industry professionals and connect what they have learned in the classroom to the real world. Moreover, it reminds students that a major is not a life sentence to a singular kind of work and that the knowledge and skills learned in academia can be used in a variety of ways; it just depends on how outside the box one thinks.
If students need help with outside the box thinking they can come and visit Ron Chand or any of the other Career Readiness Coordinators in Career Services!
For more information about SPWD and the programs that it offers to students and faculty alike please email: skylinecareers@smccd.edu
If you are a student and would like to make an appointment with a Career Readiness Coordinator please visit: https://smccd-czqfp.formstack.com/forms/career
Article by Ron Chand
Photos by Ron Chand & Claudia Paz
