Learning Meets Action at the 2025 Pathways Winter Seminar  

January 9th marked the start of an exciting Pathways Winter Seminar for BTE New Brunswick, New Jersey alumni! In collaboration between Career Focused Solutions and FHI 360, the two-day seminar took place at Johnson & Johnson World Headquarters and gave Pathways participants the opportunity to review their post-graduation transition plans, identify challenges and resources needed, and determine what supports they needed to successfully move forward with their SMART goals.  

Building upon the principles of Johnson & Johnson’s Energy for Performance Training, the seminar advocated for participants to live to their full potential through long-term behavioral change, as well as connecting actions to passion and purpose. Placing personal well-being at the core of success, the Pathways Winter Seminar also encouraged participants to take a closer look at their mental and emotional health, as well as their academic and financial connections. With an action-oriented mindset, participants assessed how all these elements factored into their transition plans—and how best to use them to their advantage! 

To help participants prepare for their future professional experiences, facilitators incorporated a series of practical activities—such as workplace scenarios and reflections. During these activities, participants had the opportunity to use and build their soft skills—including conflict resolution and giving and receiving feedback. Participants also explored ways to communicate effectively and professionally in the workplace, navigated the different communication styles, and explored emotional management. These sessions included insights into the Assertiveness Theory, which is the idea that individuals can learn to stand up for themselves and express their needs clearly and respectfully, as well as the different feedback models—including SBI (situation, behavior, impact) and DESC (describe, express, specify, consequences). Learning these models and then practicing with each other provides Pathways participants with opportunities to understand how they relate to other people and how to express their needs in productive ways. 

The Pathways Winter Seminar concluded with engaging one-on-one career counseling sessions where students reviewed their transition plans in greater detail, explored more resources tailored to their goals, and asked any clarifying questions they had.  

Overall, the Pathways Winter Seminar was a great success where students got the chance to build meaningful connections, enhance their workplace readiness skills, and solidify their post-graduation plans to ensure their successful transition upon graduation.