Today, DoSomething.org, the hub for youth-driven leadership and service, announced the launch of ‘Safe Summer Season’ in collaboration with General Motors.  This summer, the initiative will tackle the urgent issue of improving road safety, helping young drivers stay sharp and safe during the 100 deadliest days—from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the reality is that teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes between Memorial Day and Labor Day compared to any other age group. The National Highway, Transportation, Safety Administration’s research has found that dialing a phone number while driving increases teens’ risk of crashing by six times, and texting while driving increases the risk by 23 times. This campaign seeks to educate and equip young people to avoid risky driving behaviors and distractions that can lead to serious and often preventable crashes.

The campaign will include community and digital activations, including a Safe Summer Driving Kit, with tips for road trips, playlists to encourage focus, and guidance for how to avoid phone use. The initiative will also meet young people online through an interactive social media challenge where participants will share their pledge for a “safe summer.”

READ MORE ABOUT ‘SAFE SUMMER SEASON’ HERE: https://dosomething.org/program/safe-summer-season

DoSomething will kick off this initiative through a Mobile Safety Lab at the Detroit Grand Prix which will feature a booth with distracted driving simulators and activities to test reaction times, or responses to road safety scenarios.

“Car crashes remain the leading cause of death among today’s digital native American teens, and the number of distractions they face behind the wheel – from phones to peer pressure – continues to rise. That’s why we’re committed to doing our part to arm young drivers to make safer choices: buckle up, put their phones down, stay focused on the road, and inspire their friends to do the same,” said DeNora Getachew, CEO of DoSomething. “When one young person chooses to drive safely, it can spark a chain reaction that makes a real difference in their communities that makes all of us safer. Through education, conversation, and awareness, we hope to underscore just how critical safe driving habits are and how they can save lives across the country.”

“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at General Motors,” said Alexis Brandl, Road Safety Grantmaking Lead at General Motors. “Young people have the power to shape a safer crash-free future. We’re proud to support DoSomething for a Safe Summer Season – to give young drivers the tools, community and confidence they need to drive distraction-free.”

“Participating in DoSomething’s road safety campaigns really opened my eyes to how everyday choices, like avoiding distractions or speaking up when others are driving unsafely, can have life-saving impacts,” said Liliana C. “It made me more mindful not only of my own habits, but also of how I can advocate for safer roads within my community. I now see road safety as a shared responsibility, and I’m proud to be part of a movement that empowers young people to lead that change.”

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CONTACT
Marcia Rabinoff
marcia@unbendablemedia.com

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, today announced the recipients of a 2025 Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant. The $1,000 grants were awarded to 75 students across the nation.

The grants are designed to support undergraduates, both members and nonmembers from campuses that have Phi Kappa Phi chapters, as they seek expanded knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad.

“We are proud to recognize the outstanding recipients of the Study Abroad Grant,” said Society Executive Director and CEO Dr. Bradley R. Newcomer. “This opportunity is a testament to your hard work and commitment to academic excellence and the love of learning. May your journey abroad be filled with growth, discovery, and experiences that inspire your continued pursuit of excellence.”

The selection process for a study abroad grant is based on the applicant’s academic achievement, campus and community service, relation of travel to academic preparation and career goals, a personal statement, letters of recommendation and acceptance into a study abroad program.

Established in 2001, the Study Abroad Grant Program is part of the Society’s robust portfolio of award and grant programs, which currently gives more than $1 million each year to outstanding students and members through graduate and dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives.

For the complete list of recipients from the program, please visit www.phikappaphi.org/2025studyabroad. The application process for 2026 will open on Dec. 15, 2025.

About Phi Kappa Phi

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 20,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in the United States and its territories. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society’s mission is to “cultivate a community that celebrates and advances the love of learning.” For more information, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

Media Contact

Alyssa Papa
Communications Director
apapa@phikappaphi.org
225-923-7777

Employers need to engage students earlier with experiential learning opportunities to build stronger entry-level talent pipelines

Washington, DC — May 12, 2025 — A new national survey of more than 2,000 college juniors and seniors by Seramount, a global talent solution company, highlights a growing disconnect between student and employer perceptions of career readiness. Almost three-quarters of survey respondents believe they are or will be ready for entry-level roles when they graduate. Meanwhile, more than half of hiring managers surveyed in 2024 said that recent college grads are unprepared for the workforce.

Across the board, survey responses show strong student confidence in their career pathing and preparation:

• 72 percent of college juniors and seniors feel very confident that they are on the right path to landing a job aligned with their career goals.
• 70 percent believe they have a strong understanding of which jobs or career paths will be a good fit for them.
• 88 percent of students feel their coursework is adequately preparing them for entry-level roles in their chosen fields.

“This isn’t just a preparation gap—it’s a perception gap,” said Tom Brunskill, the general manager of Forage, Seramount’s job simulation platform. “Students feel ready because they’re doing well in class, but you can’t prepare for a marathon just by reading about running. Employers and colleges both have roles to play in ensuring students have the skills to meet workplace expectations.”

Survey findings also suggest many students have already defined their career plans by the time they declare a major. Nearly 90 percent of respondents say they chose their major with a specific job or career path in mind. This suggests employers who want to hire more recent graduates would benefit by engaging students earlier in their college journey.

The survey report, From Coursework to Careers, includes additional findings as well as recommendations for employers that include the following:

• Create online, experiential learning opportunities that allow students to practice day-to-day tasks associated with early-career roles within your organization asynchronously and at no cost to students.
• Establish partnerships with universities committed to promoting experiential learning opportunities to students early in their academic journeys, ideally by the end of their first year.
• Identify colleges where students are engaging with your company online in large numbers and make those schools a focus for on-campus recruiting.

“Internships, which require significant staff time to manage, are not going to supply enough skilled, early-career talent to meet employer demand,” Brunskill added. “Companies need to engage students before their junior or senior year and give them new ways to build the specific job skills they need to succeed in entry-level roles. At the same time, colleges need to emphasize career outcomes to show value to students, families, and accreditors—and traditional methods of career preparation are not enough.”

About Seramount

Seramount is a global talent services firm that helps HR leaders prepare for the workplace of tomorrow. We have over four decades of experience creating employee-centric strategies that align with business outcomes for our 600 partner organizations. By combining data-driven insights, expert research, advisory services, and innovative technology, we help unlock what’s possible with a truly engaged workforce. Seramount’s suite of talent solutions includes Forage virtual job simulations, which help organizations build more effective and inclusive hiring strategies. Learn more at https://seramount.com/.

Contact

John Michaels
jmichaels@eab.com

Five college-bound students will be eligible to win $3,000

PHOENIX (May 1, 2025): GradGuard, the leader of college renters and tuition insurance, is excited to announce the launch of its inaugural scholarship program. This initiative will award $3,000 scholarships to five exceptional college-bound students who demonstrate the importance of protecting themselves from the risks of college life.

“Higher education is often the second largest investment a family will make in their lifetime, after purchasing a home,” said John Fees, co-founder of GradGuard. “This scholarship program is an innovative way to help students think critically about the real risks of college life that often disrupt students’ education and gain insight into relevant protections.

GradGuard will award five $3,000 scholarships to high school seniors or college students who are enrolled in an accredited U.S. college or university for the Fall 2025 semester. Students can apply by creating a 90-second video that shares insights on the risks and remedies available to the nearly 18 million college students enrolled in schools nationwide.

Some of the risks include:

• More than 1 in 3 currently enrolled students have considered stopping out of their degree or credential program within the last six months, according to a 2024 Gallup/Lumina Foundation Study.
• There have been an average of over 25,000 crime and safety incidents reported annually on college campuses since 2009, according to Clery Act Reports.
• There have been an average of 2,000 fires in on-campus student housing facilities, according to Clery Act Reports.

Videos should be submitted via the scholarship submission page by May 31, 2025. Videos will be published to promote awareness around National Insurance Awareness Day on June 28.

“While GradGuard’s pioneering tuition and renters insurance programs are relevant protections for college life, these scholarships aim to showcase the authentic stories from actual college students,” said Fees. “We’re excited to offer scholarships to help future students reach their academic goals.”

For more information or to apply, visit GradGuard’s scholarship submission page or email scholarships@gradguard.com.

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About GradGuard:

GradGuard is the authority on helping schools educate and protect students from the risks of college life. As the #1 source of college tuition and renters insurance, GradGuard’s pioneering protections have served more than 1.8 million students at more than 1,900 unique institutions.

To learn more, visit www.gradguard.com.

Contact:

Natalie Hubertus
Sr. Director, Marketing
602-341-5947
nhubertus@gradguard.com