By Darren Johnson and Felicia Reich
Campus News
College offers students the place to discover their interests and plan for their goals. At St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC), the Student Career Services Center provides students with the support they need to launch fulfilling careers after college.
(Pictured: STAC President Ken Daly, left. at the ribbon cutting for the new building.)
According to the Career Center’s Director of Career Development Maureen Mulhern and Director of Experiential Learning Shannon Hargrove, it is never too early to begin thinking about your career, even suggesting students start as early as freshman year.
Having a polished resume on hand by freshman year can help set a student up for success in the long run.
“Our goal is to have all our freshmen get their resumes done and up to speed so that they’re ready for internships, part-time jobs, and summer opportunities,” encourages Mulhern. Through an introductory STAC 101 class, freshmen are made aware of all the services STAC’s Career Center offers and ways students can get involved as a freshman.
Americo Acevedo, a soon-to-be-graduating student at STAC, took advantage of the resume writing services available to him as a freshman. At the encouragement of a faculty member, Acavedo, an accounting major, had a resume prepared before his freshman summer, ready for the summer internship application at Deloitte, a role which he landed and has returned to every summer since. Acevedo now walks out of senior year with an offer letter from Deloitte in hand.
Sharing the goal of student success with faculty is central in STAC’s mission of success. The Career Center’s mission is to “embed career development and experiential learning into [the] co-curricular and academic offerings within STAC, and support students and alum within their career development journey,” says Hargrove. Students can also earn internship credits to fulfill degree requirements based on their major.
One of the benefits of a smaller private college like STAC is a faculty base with strong community-based networks. Americo found success because a faculty member pushed him to work with the Career Center to create a resume and apply. His job offer with Deloitte is an example of early involvement in experiential learning.
Getting hands-on career experience has other benefits. “Some students find it helpful to determine that they don’t want to do something. To say, ‘I had an idea of what this [career] was and it’s not that, so I’m going to pivot,’” Shannon points out. “But they’re glad they learned that earlier rather than committing to further study in a subject area or taking a full time job. There’s learning value either way.”
The Career Center works closely with faculty to help identify job and internship opportunities for students. Hargrove further emphasizes the useful role STAC’s tight-knit community plays in helping students land jobs and internships: “You start to know people over time. Being a smaller school, you see the same students taking advantage of programming or repeat faculty classes. You’re a person with a name. You’re not a number out of a hundred students potentially.”
STAC’s career services are available not only to freshmen, but also to transfer students and alumni. Transfer students are made aware of the Career Center and its resources, like a student resume template tailored specifically to transfer students, through a transfer student orientation.
The Career Center maintains a strong relationship with students after graduation. Alumni are invited to job fairs and career development programming, like the Career Center’s newly developed Skills Immersion Program. The Skills Immersion Program offers current students and alumni alike the chance to participate in a week-long career readiness program, including resume building, mock interviews, leadership and workplace wellness workshops, and a final presentation profiling a Forbes 100 Best Places to Work company. This summer’s session saw 34 participants. Another session will be offered this January.
With 92% of STAC’s 2020 graduates either currently employed or engaged in graduate study, it is common for alumni to come back and speak on informational panels for students and help students land a job or internship. A group of students were recently connected with an alum working with the FBI.
Amidst all that STAC’s Career Center has to offer, their location in the newly renovated Romano Student Alumni Center makes them now even more accessible to students.
“The key is we have visibility. We are at the entryway of the Student Alumni Center. And then, we have space,” says Hargrove. The renovation gave the Career Center an opportunity to improve and increase its offerings to students and alumni, from rooms for mock and real interviews and a conference meeting space for club meetings and workshops, to a flexible center area with high-top tables where students can take a break, do homework, or find some quiet. As the Career Center grows into a hub for student activity, students become more aware of and take advantage of the services they provide.
By offering hands-on exposure to potential career paths, connecting students to faculty and alumni in their field, and empowering students with skills to pursue fulfilling careers, STAC’s Student Career Services Center prepares students for success after graduation.
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