Office of Career Development Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2017 Vol 1, Issue 1

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1 Office of Winter 2017 Vol 1, Issue 1 Greetings from the Chatham University Office of Career Development! On behalf of our entire team I am pleased to share our quarterly newsletter with you. As I enter my second semester as the Director of Career Development, I am excited to bring my ten years of experience and education in the counseling and career development fields to continue to build upon the successes of the Office of Career Development and continue to serve the Chatham community. The Office of Career Development is committed to empowering students and alumni through the career development process and providing a comprehensive career education that incorporates academic learning, co-curricular involvement, and real-world experience. Through areas such as Student Employment, External Relations, and the Internship Program, the Office of Career Development provides a multitude of services that enhance the career development process. These services include one-on-one career counseling sessions, resume and cover letter critiques, major exploration, job and internship search tools, graduate and professional school planning, interview preparation, and connecting you with experiential learning opportunities. As of this past January we are also pleased to offer walk-in services to meet student and alumni career development needs! Whether you are coming in for a resume and cover letter critique, assistance with the internship or student employment process, we are here to help you during our walk-in hours which will held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-5:00pm. In addition to highlighting our services, this newsletter provides a quarterly glimpse into the professional and career development of students and alumni, features upcoming events, and highlights important information. This month we are excited to feature an interview with one of our community partners, Ashley Andrews, who served as a Welcome Aboard Program mentor this past fall; share career advice from Lesli Somerset, Coordinator of Student Counseling, Outreach, and Resources; and provide a glimpse at the many exciting events we have coming up this spring! Additionally, you can also find out about our programmatic events and programs via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Wishing all members of the Chatham Community a successful spring semester! Sincerely, Jessica Caolo, Ph.D. Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 1

2 Alums and Community Partners Welcome New Students Aboard The Welcome Aboard Program, formerly the World Readiness and Professionalism (W.R.A.P.) program, was revitalized this year with a more holistic approach in mind. The Office of Career Development and Office of Alumni Relations wanted the mentorship to go beyond professional development to include personal and academic support as well. First year student Diana Tallon, stated she benefited from her mentor s guidance during her adjustment to college, I learned a lot about how I can cope with stress as well as manage my time. Since college is a new experience, it was nice being able to have someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Her mentor, Janine Bayer, is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the English Department at La Roche College. Janine volunteered as a mentor in this program for the first time this past fall. Through her experiences as a college professor, Janine believes mentoring is an important part of the adjustment to college, Many students feel like they ve been thrown into a completely foreign system that they don t know how to navigate, and they don t know where to turn for help or guidance. The mentoring program gives each student a go-to person, a professional who understands what they re going through and knows how to guide them through the often-confusing university system. The program coordinators used information gathered from a questionnaire to match new 36 first year and transfer students with local professionals and Chatham alumni who acted as mentors during their first semester at Chatham University. The pairs were required to meet at least once a month throughout the fall semester. Janine and Diana chose to meet on Chatham s campus, I thoroughly enjoyed my Café Rachel meetings with Diana, whether we were working on her resume/cover letter, discussing career aspirations, or just chatting about how classes and college life were going for her. In addition to these meetings, pairs were encouraged to attend campus and/or community events, including the Welcome Aboard Closing Event held in conjunction with Chatham s annual Pre-Candlelight Reception. Both Janine and Diana remarked this reception was one of their favorite memories from their time together. Diana commented, attending candlelight was a great time to bond with my mentor without only focusing on school I got to meet some of her family and enjoy the semester being over. Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 2

3 The program coordinators are very thankful to individuals like Janine who volunteered their time as mentors during the fall semester. We are looking forward to next year s program which will begin with mentor recruitment in July For more information on the Welcome Aboard Program Website. Ask Lesli In our new Ask Lesli column, Lesli Somerset, Coordinator of Student Counseling, Outreach, and Resources addresses pressing questions from Chatham students. Have a question you d like Lesli to answer? Careers@Chatham.edu with the Subject Ask Lesli. Dear Lesli, I am feeling a little uncertain about what I should major in. Currently, I am an Exercise Science major and I came to Chatham because they have OT and PT and my mom told me that there are a lot of jobs available in those fields. However, after my classes this semester and my professional interview in SDE with a PT, I am no longer positive that this is the career for me. I feel lost and uncertain about what I should do. What are your thought? - Undecided first year Dear Undecided, First off, know that what your feeling is completely normal. Making a decision about the rest of your life when you re picking out prom dresses and applying for scholarships in high school is bound to cause some confusion down the line. Good news though- only 3/10 people are working in their degree field. There are theater majors who take prerequisites and go on to med school and biology majors who pursue careers in counseling. Does this mean you should drop out now and use your refund to buy a car? Of course not! What this does mean is that your Chatham degree will give you lots of options. The two most important things that you should focus on while you are in college are your classes and your experiences. Take classes that you find interesting. One of the benefits of a liberal arts education is that you need to take classes from different areas to fulfil your graduation requirements- use these experiences as you decide on a major and what you are passionate about. Also, be intentional about job shadowing and internships- both are great ways to discover careers that you love and careers you d rather see someone else do. When you graduate, employers will want to see that you did well academically and gained value experience that can transfer to the job market. Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 3

4 External Partner Spotlight: Ashley Andrews Start Planning NOW for your Internship! Now is the time to begin planning for an internship; No matter when you plan to complete your internship experience it s never too early to work towards finding the right opportunity! While searching and applying for internships, it is key to be intentional. Start early, and take the time to find meaningful, relative, and challenging experiences that will build your resume and make you marketable for future internships and jobs. What comes along with being intentional is also finding a stellar site supervisor and mentor within the internship. Read on to learn success tips from one of our very own dedicated internship sites and site supervisors, Ashley Andrews from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse! And be on the lookout for the Internship 101 workshops offered by Career Development throughout the semester these workshops will help you navigate and plan for the internship process! Name: Ashley Andrews Title/Position: Acting Executive Director Company/Organization: Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse Relationship to Chatham: Internship Site Supervisor and Welcome Aboard Mentor (Q): Please describe your position at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, as well as the mission of the organization. (A): It s been a curious journey. I started in 2010 as a program volunteer, then I became a program staffer, then a shop volunteer, then a shop staffer, then the assistant manager, then the manager, then the manager and curator, and now the acting executive director, all in 6 years! Perseverance does pay off! I am now responsible for keeping the organization afloat in every way, and advancing our mission through innovative, relevant, and creative methods. Our mission is to inspire creativity, conservation, and community engagement through reuse. We achieve this mission primarily through two ways: our retail shop, where people can donate unwanted materials and shop for the materials they need for their creative projects, and through our creative education programs that show people the benefits of reuse through creative play and hands-on making. We focus on exploring the potential of non-traditional materials like scraps, cut-offs, and surplus as useful materials for creativity. Upcycling, creative reuse, and DIY projects (do-it-yourself) are the names of our game! Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 4

5 (Q): What led to your interest in connecting with Chatham students through the Internship Program? (A): I have always felt that Chatham was a special place. It attracts incredible people. It has a certain je ne sais quoi about it that is mirrored in the quality of its students, faculty, staff, and campus. We have hosted over 15 Chatham students at our location in North Point Breeze, in the same building as Construction Junction, since The consistent creativity, energy, and quality of the students and their projects here have been undeniable. We partner with Chatham every chance we get! (Q): How did participation as a site supervisor help you support your professional development? (A): I learned so much more than just how to be a good supervisor. There s an interesting twist in hosting interns - you also get to play between the space of being a friend, a boss, and a mentor. I had no idea that I would be learning the skills necessary to make true, lasting connections with the students by investing energy into helping them in not only their internship projects, but also personal lives. Being in college is a lot more than just the classes and projects you do - it s a complete change of life, and one in which so many core values and assumptions are challenged and changed. The key is to make these changes for the better in this very special time, and I think having a great supervisor and mentor is so important to this growth. (Q): The Office of Career Development promotes the development of core professional competencies through our Professional Competency Model. Please share one competency that you believe students develop through their internship experiences with the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. (A): Wow, this is a hard one. The internships here touch every single one of these competencies. If I had to pick just one... Personal and Social Responsibility is a huge part of what goes on here. Our center is a 4,200 square foot space that s housed within a larger warehouse full of other organizations, many of which also promote reuse in one way or another. Because of our situation within this multi-use building, an amazingly diverse range of people find their way into our center. We re not just preaching to the choir here. To be able to switch between talking with someone who understands the importance of reuse for their community, economy, and environment, to talking with someone who s never really heard of the concept before can be a challenging adventure in social grace and professionalism. Our Chatham interns learn very quickly through real-life experience that you can never judge someone by the way the look, act, or talk - the content of their message is the thing to search for and engage with. (Q): Reflecting on your experiences with our students, how would you define the Chatham student? (A): The Chatham student is smart, fiercely smart. The Chatham student is also brave, adventurous, and a little idealistic - which are all good things. Their commitment to the environment and to Pittsburgh is unwavering. Their capacity for growth is astonishing. Their Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 5

6 creativity is boundless. I m honestly blown away every time I meet one. There must be something in the water up there. (Is it called integrity? Or maybe just excellence? You tell me.) (Q): What advice would you offer to current students seeking professional development experiences? (A): Use your preferred technological device to learn about the available internships and community service opportunities available to you as a Chatham student. Then, turn off your technological device. Visit the top three places that most appeal to you. Check them out as if you re an undercover investigator. Find out everything you can. If a place clicks with you somehow, pursue it until you feel intellectually satisfied. You may end up spending a lot of time there as an intern or volunteer, or you may just use the experience as one of learning and exploration. Either way, you can be proud of yourself for trekking out into the wild and physically exploring something new to you. If you ve met some people who you connected with along the way - bonus points! Stay connected with them and see where it takes you. Personal and Social Responsibility In our interview with external partner Ashley Andrews, she discusses the importance of Personal and Social Responsibility in her organization, and the impact it has on the ability of the center to better serve the community and its customers. The concept of personal responsibility has been explored and applied in the areas of human development and psychology, personal success and well-being, faith and spirituality, and even on the political stage. Research in higher education suggests that personal responsibility is both a critical learning outcome of a college education and a factor in predicting academic success. Business and organizations continue to build on ideas of personal and social responsibility that reflect a commitment to not only the organization s mission and purpose, but also how it impacts local and global communities. Read more about the importance of accepting personal responsibility in the article Why Personal Responsibility Is Important for Life Success by Raquel Villarreal. Career Development Events Calendar: Spring 2017 For a full listing of Career Development Events this spring, visit the Career Development Calendar or check out Happenings on My Chatham. Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 6

7 Chatham University Office of Career Development Dilworth Hall, 1st Floor Pittsburgh, PA Career Development Staff: Mary Utter, Ph.D. Assistant Dean of Students (412) Jessica Caolo,Ph.D. Director, Office of Career Development (412) Crystal Vietmeier, M.S., NCC Assistant Director of Career Development Internships and Experiential Learning (412) Kate Sheridan, M.A. Assistant Director of Career Development Student Employment (412) Lesli Somerset, M.A. Coordinator for Career Development Student Counseling, Outreach, and Resources (412) Lauren Tudor, M.A. Coordinator for Career Development External Relations (412) Vol. 1, Issue 1 Page 7