From classroom to career
How UHCL's Center for Career Development helps students launch their futures
When University of Houston-Clear Lake graduate Alec Broadhurst walks into work each day at Intuitive Machines, he's contributing to software systems designed to support future space missions and sustained human presence on the moon.
Just a year ago, he was a UHCL computer science student searching for internship opportunities. The connection that helped launch his career started with a message from the UHCL Center for Career Development.
"I first learned about the opportunity through an email from the UHCL Career Center advertising a fall 2025 internship," said Broadhurst, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science during UHCL's Spring 2026 Commencement. "After completing the internship, I was offered a full-time position with the same team following graduation."
His journey reflects the mission of UHCL's Center for Career Development: helping students transform their education into meaningful career opportunities.
Building career readiness from day one
The Center for Career Development supports students from the moment they enroll through graduation and even into their alumni years. Services include resume and cover letter assistance, mock interviews, networking skill development, career exploration, and job and internship search support.
During the 2024-25 academic year, the center's most requested services were resume assistance, job search assistance, and internship search assistance. The office also engaged approximately 1,500 students through career fairs, employer panels, networking mixers, and professional development workshops.
According to Dr. LaMar Black, director of the Center for Career Development, the center's work is most effective when students engage early in their academic journey.
"The Career Center offers students opportunities to become workforce-ready through our services and events held throughout the academic year," Black said. "Unfortunately, many students wait until their junior or senior year to engage with our office, which isn't the most effective approach. Career readiness happens in multiple phases, and the earlier students begin the process, the better positioned they are for success in the workforce."
To encourage that early engagement, the Career Center proactively connects with students shortly after enrollment.
"We take a proactive approach to student engagement by reaching out as soon as students are enrolled," Black said. "Our goal is to highlight our services and emphasize the value of meeting with their career coach early, so they can gain a clearer understanding of the steps they should be taking now to prepare for the positions they hope to pursue in the future."
Connecting students with industry
One of the Career Center's greatest strengths is its ability to connect students with employers across the Houston region.
Among the center's top non-education employers in 2024-25 were MD Anderson Cancer Center, Amentum, Houston Methodist-Clear Lake, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), and Space Center Houston. Leading education employers included Pasadena Independent School District (ISD), Galena Park ISD, Houston ISD, Clear Creek ISD, and Alvin ISD.
For students interested in aerospace and technology careers, UHCL's location in the heart of Houston's aerospace corridor offers unique advantages. Broadhurst chose UHCL because of those opportunities.
"I grew up in the Clear Lake area and was familiar with the university's strong connections to the aerospace industry," he said. "Its proximity to major aerospace companies and its relationship with NASA made it an appealing place to pursue my degree."
That same proximity is one reason Intuitive Machines actively recruits UHCL students.
"The primary reason we had interest in partnering with UHCL is that we try our best to make sure that we're tapping into the local ecosystem," said Clifton Miller, senior talent acquisition specialist at Intuitive Machines.
Miller noted that many current employees are UHCL alumni and that the university's location, just minutes from the company's headquarters, makes the relationship a natural fit.
"With UHCL being 10 to 15 minutes down the road, it just makes sense," Miller said.
He also sees a strong pipeline of talent emerging from the university.
"There's a good pipeline of engineering and software engineering talent coming out of UHCL," Miller said.
Turning opportunities into careers
For Broadhurst, the internship that began through the Career Center became the foundation for a full-time career in the space industry.
Today, he develops embedded Linux software for payload systems supporting space missions.
"My experience at UHCL gave me both the technical foundation and problem-solving mindset needed to work in the aerospace industry," Broadhurst said. "The computer science curriculum helped me build a strong understanding of software engineering principles, operating systems, and low-level computing concepts."
Miller said employers increasingly value students who can demonstrate practical application of their classroom learning through internships, projects, and hands-on experiences.
"Having a complete personal project that I could discuss in detail during interviews was extremely valuable," Broadhurst said. "It allowed me to demonstrate technical skills and my ability to see a project through from start to finish."
Those experiences helped distinguish him during the hiring process and prepared him for the demands of mission-critical software development.
"What excites me most is the opportunity to learn how these mission-critical systems are designed and built," Broadhurst said. "Contributing to technology that supports sustained human presence in space and on the moon is challenging and rewarding."
A resource for life
The Career Center's support does not end at graduation. Alumni may schedule up to three career appointments after attaining alumni status and continue to access Jobs4Hawks, the university's career portal, where employer partners regularly post opportunities.
For Broadhurst, the value of the Career Center is clear.
“I would recommend the UHCL Career Center because it provides students with access to valuable opportunities and industry connections," he said. "In my case, an internship opportunity shared through the Career Center ultimately led to my full-time position after graduation."
As UHCL continues to expand programs in high-demand fields and strengthen relationships with employers across the region, the Center for Career Development remains a key link between classroom learning and career success, helping students envision their futures and take the steps necessary to achieve them.
Whether students are searching for their first internship, preparing for graduation, or planning their next professional move, the UHCL Center for Career Development provides the tools, guidance, and industry connections to help them succeed. Learn more about available services and upcoming opportunities at www.uhcl.edu/career-development/.
