Aristotle studied developing organisms, among other things, in ancient Greece, and his writings shaped Western philosophy and natural science for greater than two thousand years. He spent much of his life in Greece and studied with Plato at Plato's Academy in Athens, where he later established his own school called the Lyceum. Aristotle wrote greater than 150 treatises on subjects ranging from aesthetics, politics, ethics, and natural philosophy, which include physics and biology. Less than fifty of Aristotle's treatises persisted into the twenty-first century. In natural philosophy, later called natural science, Aristotle established methods for investigation and reasoning and provided a theory on how embryos generate and develop. He originated the theory that an organism develops gradually from undifferentiated material, later called epigenesis.

Supply & Demand, the phrase speaks to the tango between college graduates seeking employment & employers seeking talent. Recruiters desire candidates with employability skills to lead, but report significant skill gaps among applicants. This thesis aims to (1) define the skills gap evidenced by employers, (2) determine students’ career preparedness, and (3) identify strategies to bridge the gap among undergraduate students as they prepare to join the workforce. Qualtrics, an experience management, and survey platform, was used to reach and collect information from nearly 1,200 students in order to quantitatively assess their career development skills and needs. As part of this thesis, I have partnered with the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development, a center of Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University in an effort to test and provide effective solutions to bridge the employability skills gap. Through this collaboration, we have constructed a Career Development Workshop Series for students using the data collected from students. The workshop was built to teach students about professional skill topics that they desired to learn about, but could not find on or off-campus. The Lewis Center Career Development Workshop is a 5-part series with topics ranging from negotiation and job interviewing to strength-building. In each workshop, an expert is selected as the guest speaker to share their experience and insights with students as they prepare for their career journeys. Guest speakers include CEOs, entrepreneurs, business executives, and more. The series is intended to deepen students’ business acumen, so they can enter the workforce with a sustainable advantage and ultimately supported the professional and personal growth of over 100 students. The series serves as an example of ways our university can improve its career development offerings to students. In an increasingly competitive labor market, the research collected and solutions presented are designed to empower students in their careers.