Kean University and Braven Announce Strategic Partnership to Prepare Students for Workforce Success

Kean University, New Jersey’s urban research university, today announced a new partnership with Braven, a national nonprofit that helps students develop the skills, networks, confidence and experience needed to launch strong careers and pursue advanced study. 

Beginning in Fall 2026, Kean students will have the opportunity to enroll in Braven’s Career Accelerator, a 3-credit course designed to provide hands-on career preparation, mentorship and professional development. The course will initially be offered to sophomores and juniors in Kean’s College of Business and Public Management and bachelor’s degree program in liberal arts before expanding campuswide. The course is expected to reach up to 1,000 students annually by 2028. 

“We are building a university where opportunity is within every student’s reach,” said Kean University President Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D. “Our partnership with Braven will help ensure that we are empowering our students to step into the workforce ready to lead, innovate and thrive.” 

The Braven Accelerator experience begins with an undergraduate course in which students complete weekly online modules through Braven’s platform and apply their learning in small-group Learning Labs. 

These labs bring together five to 10 peers and are led by a trained volunteer professional known as a Leadership Coach. Throughout the course, the students, known as fellows, complete assignments designed to build six key career competencies: career navigation, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, organization and leadership. 

Upon completion, the fellows will join a community of more than 14,000 Braven alumni nationwide and continue to grow through Braven’s post-course experience. They will gain access to mentorship, career coaching, professional communities, curated internship and job opportunities, and events that expand their networks and strengthen their skills. 

“Partnering with Braven will expand the support we provide our students as they prepare for life after graduation,” said Katherine Gallagher, senior vice president for student success at Kean. "This program advances social mobility by giving students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college, access to mentors, networks and real-world career tools that open doors to meaningful opportunities.” 

Braven is showing promising results in New Jersey and nationwide. Within six months of graduation, 61% of Braven’s 2024 graduates nationally secured quality full-time jobs worthy of their bachelor’s degree or enrolled in graduate school (18 percentage points higher than their peers nationally). 

“This expansion to Kean in Fall 2026 is a major step forward for Braven’s work in New Jersey,” said Braven New Jersey Executive Director Samantha Crockett. “In collaboration with Kean’s Career Services team, we are building on the success we have seen at other institutions and expanding access to real-world career preparation for more students across the state. Together, we are strengthening New Jersey’s workforce and helping more students graduate ready to lead.” 

Braven fellows have achieved a 92% on-time graduation rate. By comparison, about 7 in 10 of their peers nationally graduate from college on time. Furthermore, 70% of Braven college graduates have at least one internship during college, compared with 48% of all college graduates. 

“Braven’s mission has always been to ensure that promising college students, no matter where they start, have a real path to economic mobility. Expanding to Kean University represents the next chapter in that mission,” said Braven Founder & CEO Aimée Eubanks Davis. “As our second partner in New Jersey and part of a growing national network, Kean is helping us prove what’s possible when higher education and workforce preparation go hand in hand.”