Since joining the Magner Career Center in 2016, Cliff Frontera has been dedicated to helping students connect classroom learning to real-world careers. As senior assistant director for career development and initiatives, as well as the career liaison to the Murray Koppelman School of Business, he has been instrumental in building bridges between students, faculty, and employers—all with the goal of embedding career readiness across campus.
A proud Brooklyn College alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in industrial/organizational psychology, Frontera brings his passion for student development to both his work at the Magner Career Center and as an adjunct lecturer in the I/O Psychology graduate program. His dual role allows him to test ideas in the classroom and translate those lessons into broader initiatives for the college.
Beyond the classroom, Frontera is driving corporate engagement that expands student access to professional opportunities. In recent semesters, he has coordinated events with companies like Aon, KPMG, PwC, and Enterprise to foster partnerships that connect Brooklyn College students with mentors, internships, and job pipelines.
Having started working at the center as a student, Frontera loved the work so much, he turned down other opportunities to stay and help students. We asked him more about what it takes to prepare students for their dream careers and why it is more important now than ever.
In addition to offering a quality and affordable education, Brooklyn College has dramatically increased its work with companies like Aon, KPMG, and PwC to help connect students with internships that lead to jobs. How have you seen that evolve?
While I’ve seen employers engage since my time as a student at Brooklyn College, their interest and participation have ramped up in the past few years. Their commitment stems from the quality of talent they recognize in our students. Driven by a desire to see our students succeed, employers reach out to us months in advance to plan their visits to campus to ensure we maximize turnout. Most recently we had Aon on campus right before our Job and Internship Fair to help prepare our students for the fair. Aon demonstrated its commitment by sending one of its professionals to campus to lead a session on personal branding—an area the representative regularly oversees for Aon employees across the company. The visit gave our students valuable, firsthand exposure to Aon’s approach to professional development and training.
You work is supported by many others outside the Magner Career Center on campus. Who are they, and how do they help support this shared mission of lifting students into their dream careers?
We often say it takes a village to support our students in career services. During my time at the college, I have had the opportunity to engage with so many students, staff, faculty, alumni, and professionals to support this shared mission. We couldn’t do what we do without each supporter.
Staff and faculty help us spread the word and connect students to us and attend events to hear directly from our industry speakers. Alumni and professionals are eager to support our students by speaking at events, mentoring, and recruiting. And our students are crucial in this. They serve as ambassadors for the work we do—whether this be clubs or individuals. I’ve had students bring their friends or classmates to me to help support them. I see students on campus who recognize me before I even recognize them.
You also work with faculty in the Center for Teaching and Learning. How has that helped students?
One of my passions is helping connect career readiness to the classroom. I’ve had the opportunity to work with faculty in various settings, including building out a comprehensive resource for faculty, having organized and moderated a panel of faculty last Faculty Day, and through workshops at the Center for Teaching and Learning.
The more we can expose students to career conversations, the greater we can support them in career success. Being able to do this in the classroom helps students understand the importance of becoming career ready. The Center for Teaching and Learning has been instrumental in allowing me to connect with faculty and lead workshops around this work, while also sharing the comprehensive resources developed to support faculty.
This also has given me the opportunity to connect with faculty across schools, inviting them to panels and co-presenting with them to bring this vital work to others. It opened up the opportunity for me to work one-on-one with faculty to advise them on best practices and tweak their course breakdown to include career readiness. I’m excited, as we are planning a spring event for faculty to celebrate those who bring career readiness into the classroom.
You were recently interviewed by MarketWatch about social media trends in relation to job searching. What was your key advice to students about that?
The interview with MarketWatch was a lot of fun! We discussed the rise of short videos posted on social media containing career advice. This is a great resource, but I recommend checking the credibility of the advice and visit your career adviser to verify its relevance to your personal journey. In addition, there is nothing like a career adviser who can help you bring out your personal story and strengths in the job search.
What do you think sets Brooklyn College and the Magner Career Center apart in this work?
The thing that sets us apart is the culture of giving back. Alumni advocate for our students; our employers see the value in recruiting our students; students support each other. We also have an incredible team of full- and part-time student staff—every team member is willing to pitch in and support each other. The team is passionate about the work we do—to see students succeed. Our part-time staff work on projects that have a real impact on the students we serve, and we couldn’t do it without them.
Our office is also very good at adapting to change. I’ve had the opportunity to support a variety of initiatives like our office’s transition to remote work, streamlining our communications to students, supporting senior employment programming, and now I’m working on enhancing student skill development, especially in AI. The reason each initiative has been successful is because of our adaptation skills.