On Saturday, the Cranston Public Library’s Central Library teamed up with Roger Williams University for the final installment of the college “Prep for Success” series, which aims to inform students and their families about the college application process and career readiness.

The final session, presented by representatives from University College at Roger Williams University, focused on choices for careers after college.

“Sometimes where you want to be at the end helps you find out where to start,” said Pamela Pereira, one of four presenters at the session. She serves as the assistant director of admissions and enrollment management at the university’s School of Continuing Studies in Providence.

Cranston Police Lt. Matthew Kite, who also serves as the program director of criminal justice at University College, discussed the importance of college and a career, sharing his story.

Kite said that when he graduated from Cranston High School East, college was not “on [his] radar.” That changed, he said, when he had children.

“I said, ‘I need to justify the importance of college when they get to the age where it’s time for them to go,’” he said.

Kite said his path led to a job he loves, but he stressed that students do not need to have a career choice finalized when they begin their college education.

“No matter where you go, just start out with the [general education] stuff,” he said. “Just start out with the basic requirements.”

Kite advised students to take the “core” classes, such as English, math and sociology, which he said complement many different potential majors. He also said sampling different classes with electives can give students a sense of what field they wish to pursue.

Using forensics as an example, Kite additionally said students can use their college experience to “pick your niche” and identify a specific area within a career field.

“Forensics is huge. There’s a lot of stuff that encompasses it,” he said. “What do you want to do in forensics?”

He added, “Do something that you get some value out of. It’s not always the almighty dollar that is going to drive your decision. To be practical, you’ve got to make a living. Why not make a living doing something that you enjoy?”

One of the other presenters at the session was Katrina Norvell, an assistant professor at the School of Justice Studies at University College. She discussed the public administration program at the college.

“In the public administration specifically, it could be something where you’re interested in working for a government agency, a nonprofit organization, doing healthcare administration work,” Norvell said. “It could be something in education … there are specific public administration courses that kind of address those things.”

Norvell mentioned that while a student might be a public administration major, elective courses in specific areas are available and give opportunity to “mix it up, but still get a particular major.”

According to the presentation, the public administration program focuses on building management and leadership skills while developing public policy focusing on social justice, global awareness and ethical practices. The presentation said that the curriculum for the program is “based on the national standards and public service values” from the Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. These standards include respect for citizen privacy, accountability, ethical behavior, and more.

“These specific values are the values that we try to infuse into all of our coursework,” Norvell said. “These things are super important right now in our day and age.”

Summer and fall registration for classes is open through May 31. According to the presentation, registration is on a first-come first-serve basis.

To apply, visit rwu.edu/uc/admissions/

apply. For more information, visit rwu.edu/uc or reach out to the Admissions Department at 254-3838.