With graduation five weeks away, some Tommie football players have job offers, thanks to a program designed specifically to get them there.

In the program’s first organized year, football players are getting help with post-graduation plans. The St. Thomas football coaches, Career Development Center members and St. Thomas alumni collaborated to put the program together.

Laura Lankton, Career Development Center career specialist, worked with a similar program that helped athletes develop professional skills before coming to St. Thomas.

That program, at St. Lawrence University in New York, excited Lankton to bring the idea to St. Thomas when she joined the university in 2011.

The first step in creating the program was presenting the idea to the coaching staff at St. Thomas. Lankton talked with special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Travis Walch about six months after she started her position at St. Thomas.

“I initiated the conversation with Travis that this was something I did in the past, and I would really like to bring it to St. Thomas,” Lankton said. “We ended up having a couple meetings about the program.”

Despite Lankton’s enthusiasm for helping athletes at St. Lawrence, its football coaching staff wasn’t initially on board with the idea because they thought that work off the field would take away from focus on football. Lankton was nervous the idea would not take off at St. Thomas for the same reason.

“The coaches needed to see the benefit, as well as the players,” Lankton said. “Instead of saying ‘I want to come in and talk to your players,’ it was, ‘This is a program I would develop that you could use as a recruiting strategy in talking to parents.’ You’re not only preparing them for athletics while they’re here, but also for success when they leave St. Thomas.”

Lankton said that after a few meetings about the program, Walch and coach Joe Lepsche were immediately on board with the idea and soon shared it with the rest of the coaching staff.

“Through their coaches’ meetings, coach Caruso got really excited about it,” Lankton said.

Lankton stressed the program begins when athletes first enter the football program.

“The goal is that by the time they leave as a senior, they’ve had contact with Career Services each year through their four years with very time-specific information,” Lankton said.

Football players begin their work in the program by exploring different majors and creating a four-year plan. According to Lankton, during football players’ sophomore and junior years, there is a heavy emphasis on internships and job experience. By athletes’ senior year, the goal is to have a job lined up before graduating or very soon after.

Seniors Tyler Erstad and Kyle Mulrooney, who graduate this spring, have jobs lined up and spoke highly of the football career program.

“The coaches set up meetings with the people from the Career Development Center,” Erstad said. “They are very helpful in sharing tools and resources that will get the players on the right track to build their resumes and prepare for interviews.”

Mulrooney said specific instruction from the Career Development Center helped him find a full-time job.

“I did utilize many of the skills that I learned through contacts with the football program, which helped me immensely during the interview and application process,” Mulrooney said.

Mulrooney said the football program simply helps its players get started with the job search, but it is up to the player to make the most of the tools they are given.

“Ultimately, the program is an excellent source of personal and professional development that can provide you with lifelong contacts,” Mulrooney said. “If used throughout your four years here, can simplify the job search when your junior and senior years roll around.”

Some might be critical of what may seem like preferential treatment for athletes, but Lankton said that football players are being treated like any other student. She said the football staff organizes other services that the Career Development Center doesn’t offer.

“I’m just really appreciative of the support that the coaches have had (for our program) and their excitement and energy for it,” Lankton said.

Freshman Rachel Olson said that she does not feel like sports teams would get special treatment from programs designed to help athletes succeed.

“I don’t think that’s special treatment because they put so much extra time into their athletics, that they don’t have all the time to search for opportunities like non-student-athletes do … I don’t mind,” Olson said.

Lankton said the Career Development Center started working with the men’s hockey and women’s soccer teams to create a program for their athletes as well.

“We are working on trying to reach out to more teams over time and not all of them at once so we can manage that time and all of the coaches that would be interested,” Lankton said.

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.