Private, Catholic institutions are no stranger to Earl McCoy, Jr. (he/him). Before coming to Albertus, the Hamden native attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven, where he made meaningful connections with his teachers. These connections continue to serve him as he grows in his career.
Earl often thinks of the words of Mrs. Nathans, his 8th-grade teacher who passed away from breast cancer. She taught him to “be who you are, not who people think you should be.”
During his Albertus Career, he continued to establish meaningful relationships with faculty like the late Professor Ron Waite. Earl describes Ron as the kind of mentor who was transparent and supportive of his students.
Earl initially had aspirations of becoming a lawyer, but it was Ron who made him realize his true passion– to help others and make sustainable change. After earning two bachelor’s degrees at Albertus, Ron encouraged Earl to keep the momentum going and earn his MBA.
Today, Earl is paying his knowledge forward– creating meaningful connections for current Albertus students through his role as Assistant Director of Career and Professional Development and the Founder of the Falcon Leadership Advancement Group (F.L.A.G.).
F.L.A.G was created to give Albertus’ diverse student body the opportunity to connect with multigenerational and multicultural community leaders at every career level. The organization is dedicated to supporting professional development for students who need or would like a little extra guidance.
Each F.L.A.G meeting focuses on a specific topic, such as evaluating your values or managing finances after graduation. A panel of experts working in a variety of professions present to students and offer the opportunity to answer their questions.
Recognizing the room for improvement within the blossoming program, Earl appreciates and sees the benefits within imperfections. There may be occasional moments of silence when a student is unsure how to communicate with the professional panel.
“That’s part of the whole essence of F.L.A.G. I am actually very happy about those lapses in conversation. I want the conversations to be good, bad, and indifferent because if the first time you ever experience this is out in the real world, you will not know how to properly navigate that conversation. So if they have an awkward experience, they may come back to me and say ‘hey how can I navigate this better?’”
Earl is using F.L.A.G. as a safe space to fail so that students can succeed when it really counts– in the real world.
Every day, Earl strives to bring more awareness to the resources available within the Career Services Department and in F.L.A.G.– he doesn’t want students to take those resources for granted.
“As a previous student at Albertus, I wish I had all the resources, opportunities, and people that exist here today.”
What motivates Earl to come to work every day is having the opportunity to be a support system for students – especially students of underserved communities. If he can change the world for just one person, he feels he has done his job well.
“That’s the mindset in Career Services I have every day. I think, ‘who am I going to help today?’”
His career advice for our Black Students? Use every skill and resource you have to reach your goals.
Network with everyone.
“You never know who you could be sitting next to. Even your professor can be your future job reference.”
Find a workplace where you can be your true authentic self.
“In Career Services at Albertus Magnus College, I can be 100% myself. My colleagues here are phenomenal. The opportunity to achieve and do better for our students is real.”
Take your education seriously.
“Find as many professional development opportunities outside of the classroom as you can. If I stay to what I know today, I’m outdated and I’m hurting somebody else later.”
The next F.L.A.G meeting is happening on February 24, 2022, with the theme: Aligning Your Career with Who You Are. Learn more about F.L.A.G. here.
Stay tuned for a future blog article about Earl and his Albertus Magnus College Legacy Family!