If you have any questions or need help with understanding the GPS Program, reach out to our team at: gpsaup.edu
AUP’s Global Professional Skills Program is distinguished from other co-curricular career preparation programs by the suite of activities that AUP students can engage in during their senior year. Students submit a personal narrative as part of their TELL: Designing Your Narrative workshop in which they identify an objective and present their story in the context of that objective. Every year, juniors and seniors from across the University take part in a landmark annual AUP event: the public speaking contest GPS Panel Presentations.
At the GPS Panel Presentations, students present their personal narrative to panels comprised of AUP alumni, employers, and faculty. All participants receive Professional Experience credit towards their GPS path and get immediate professional feedback and support. Graduating senior participants also have the possibility to win the Danielle Savage GPS Award, which is conferred to the finest personal narrative presentation at the Commencement Ceremony each May.
This workshop walks you through various storytelling techniques to enable you to tell your story in the most efficient and compelling manner. It addresses the question: How can I craft a narrative to successfully pitch myself and my university experience to employers/graduate program admissions advisors/investors/…?
The TELL: Designing Your Narrative (DYN) workshop helps students examine how to use their experiences at university to build a convincing narrative that prepares them for their post-graduation plans. We talk about what comes next (job/internship/graduate school/etc.), and walk through a series of exercises that help students reflect on everything they’ve done at AUP, both in the classroom and outside of it. Students will leave the workshop with the tools they need to be confident sharing their story with prospective employers, graduate school admissions decision makers, investors, etc. as they work towards their post-graduation goals.
This workshop is best for final year students (seniors), but is also open to anyone with at least 32 earned credits. Find all DYN workshops on Engage. All DYN workshops take place at the GPS Lab in the ACE Center (3rd floor of the Learning Commons).
One of the most difficult tasks you will face after you graduate (or even just before) is telling your story. The objective of the Personal Narrative exercise is to empower you to connect the dots between your curricular and co-curricular experiences in meaningful and compelling ways.
For your Personal Narrative, you will identify a specific objective. For example: Get a communications internship at Dior. Be accepted to the Master’s Program in Public Policy at Sciences Po. Attain funding for my startup company. Be awarded grant money to fund my research project. You will then craft a narrative imagining you are presenting yourself in the context of that objective – to an employer, graduate school admissions counselor, angel investor, etc. You will receive detailed guidelines how to build your personal narrative when you attend the TELL: Designing Your Narrative workshop.
The GPS Program offers specially designed GPS panel presentation coaching sessions the weeks ahead of the GPS Panels every Spring. Special prep sessions include public speaking practice sessions and visual presentation coaching sessions. For more details, check AUP Engage.
Come to the GPS Lab in the ACE Center (3rd floor of the Learning Commons) to meet with a GPS advisor and discuss your personal narrative. You are welcome to come discuss your personal narrative outline or draft, to practice delivering your narrative, and to discuss your choice of visuals to illustrate your narrative.
If you have any questions or need help with understanding the GPS Program, reach out to our team at: gpsaup.edu