I took a tour through the new Student Professional Development Center at Elon University. The space is home to Career Services.
Career Services has moved into the new Student Professional Development Center in Moseley Center. With the move to the heart of campus, the office has a new energy to help students. The upgrades will propel the center to be the best in schools similar to Elon.
“The visibility of career services has improved, and we should see more interaction from students because of that,” Tom Brinkley, Executive Director of Corporate and Employer Relations, said.
The 5,000 square foot Student Professional Development Center is the new home to Career Services. It is located in the former campus bookstore. The space contains a welcoming lobby, the Elingburg Room for large-scale events, a recruitment lounge, sufficient offices for their growing staff, and more.
Several interview rooms are an important addition to the new center, where employers can conduct interviews with students for potential job positions. Two of the rooms will be equipped with web cameras for remote interviews. A classroom has even been added for job-enhancement courses. Career Services has expanded their selection of transition courses to about 25 classes, with a plan to add more in the fall.
“Our goal is to address the needs of the students at a higher level than ever before,” Brinkley said. “We think again, the combination of all these developments and all the effort and commitment the university has made will help prepare students for a long-term career, not just a first job.”
“It’s a very good resource to tap into,” senior Kristin Greene said about Career Services.
Greene has been taking advantage of Career Services since freshman year, and she has been visiting for an important reason.
“I am a first generation college student, so I didn’t know where to start and I didn’t really know what kind of direction I needed to be taking. I come from a small town in North Carolina. I was raised by my grandparents, neither of whom went to college,” Greene said.
Greene started out needing help with career-oriented tasks, such as creating a cover letter or resume. Now she also gets life-advice from the Development Center staff.
“This entire area of college and moving into the professional world were very new to me so I needed that extra push into the right direction and put on the right track,” she said.
Thanks to the help she’s received at the center, Greene says she feels confident about entering graduate school very soon.
“I want to make sure I’m getting as much help as possible in making sure I’m doing the right thing and staying on top of the things I need to be doing,” Greene said.
The staff of the new Student Professional Development Center encourages all students to make a trip into the office and schedule appointments for career help.
If you would like to see the new space yourself, an open house for students is scheduled for February 8, 2012.
