To help parents and college-aged students prepare for a meaningful and purposeful experience at college, we asked Missy McCrickard, Career Readiness Assistant Director at ASU Career Services for her insight and advice. Here’s what she shared.

Q: What role does a college education play in helping students discover what is often referred to as “purpose” and align it with their future career goals?

College is the perfect time for students to explore various areas of interest. They often don’t realize that with every class they take, every on-campus job, internship, workshop or lecture they experience, they’re networking and building relationships that might one day benefit their career. They’re collecting an abundance of data points that college career services staff can talk to them about in one-on-one meetings that align with a career path. It may not be the career path that they thought about when they were young,