Tag: career services

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New VOCA Office Opens in Campus Center

A noticeable new edition to the Van Dyke Lounge, is the Fleming-Farver Vocational Opportunities and Career Advising (VOCA office). The office was made possible by a generous donation by Thomas, Ph.D. ’64 and Phyllis (Fleming ‘65) Farver. The VOCA office, lead by Director Kim Pool and Coordinator Brian Reitnour, including other staff such as Administrative Assistant, Cindy Hannigan, Vocational Specialist Rebecca Rowley, Dean Jordan, along with multiple VOCA counselors, offers services that were previously offered in the Career Services Office.

VOCAVOCA will support academic departments and advisors, as well as help students find internship opportunities and connect with Houghton alumni for potential career opportunities through the use of a service called Houghton Connects. According to Pool, the VOCA office hopes to streamline career resources for Houghton students as well as “significantly increase the number of internships and jobs in our online database, specifically in Buffalo and New York City. We also hope to launch an online system that will house internships and streamline the process for registering and receiving approval for an academic internship.” Although, she said, “academic content and approval of academic credit are under the jurisdiction of the Academic Records Office, academic departments, and faculty.

Reitnour stated, “We also hope to talk with students about the broader concept of vocation and God’s calling, which spans beyond one’s occupation to include civic responsibility, relationships with friends and family, church participation and extra curricular activities.” Reitnour also said, “Discovering one’s vocation is more than just searching within to identify unique interests and attributes. It also involves taking a deep look at the world’s needs. We hope to connect students with opportunities to use their skills to serve the needs of the world.”

“The previous location [of Career Services] was tucked away and too small to effectively reach out to 1,000 students. The new location is highly visible and accessible, not only to current students but also prospective students and parents,” Hannigan said. “Its visibility during campus tours communicates Houghton’s commitment and institutional priority to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to be prepared for life after college.” She said that the rest of the Van Dyk lounge will be receiving new furniture in the next few weeks to compliment the VOCA décor.

VOCA offers services to all Houghton students, not just upperclassman. Pool said, “First years and sophomores will definitely benefit from talking with a VOCA counselor early about choosing a major and career options.” In addition to this, students can take advantage of the career assessment tests available at VOCA, as well as Houghton Connects and workshops. Upcoming workshop topics include subjects such as networking, resumes and cover letters, and interviewing skills. A student can even request to do a mock interview with a VOCA counselor.

The new location has already seen in increase in student activity. Students can make appointments in person as well as online, at http://www.houghton.edu/students/voca/. Pool said, “Whatever your class year, we encourage you to make an appointment today to talk with a VOCA counselor who can assess where you are in the four year plan and make sure you are headed in the right direction.”

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HELP Day Gears Students Up for Future

This past Wednesday marked a continuation of the college’s yearly Houghton Life and Evaluation Planning (HELP) Day. The event, which spans the morning and most of the afternoon of a chosen Wednesday in the spring semester, cancels classes so that students may meet with their advisors to plan out their majors as well as attend various sessions throughout the day concerning topics such as career planning, graduate schools, and loan repayment.

Help_Day_WebPlanning for HELP Day began on the second Monday of this spring semester. A committee comprised of Sharon Mulligan, Marge Avery, Helena Oden, Greg Bish, Marc Smithers, Dan Noyes, Brian Reitnour, and committee chairman Mark Hunter met on a weekly basis to decide on what sessions and other services would be provided for students that day. Certain sessions geared towards underclassmen and upperclassmen, with a Grad Central Station set up for seniors to prepare for graduation and post-graduation plans. Dani Johnson of Career Services, who ran a booth at the station, explained that the purpose is to “give seniors a last chance to talk about job searching and graduate school and let them know we’re here to help.”

One of the new aspects of this year’s HELP Day, according to Hunter and Bish, was the morning sessions given to students in the dorms and townhouses, with each speaker unique to each residence hall. Speakers included Rick Melson, Vice President for Advancement; Eric Currie, Vice President for Enrollment; David Smith, Vice President for Finance, Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, and President Shirley Mullen. “We wanted to start off in the residence halls and give the vice presidents and the president a chance to interact with students on their own turf,” explained Bish.

Also new to this year’s activities were some of the sessions offered to students. “We added a few new sessions this year, one about loan forgiveness,” said Hunter. The college brought in Houghton alum Bruce Campbell ’81, currently Director of Graduate Admissions at St. Bonaventure University, to speak on Houghton’s loan forgiveness program and applying to graduate school. According to Hunter, the loan forgiveness session “was probably the most well-attended session. Our next best-attended session was preparing for graduate school, and then ‘Navigating Personal Finance.’”

Also added this year was a session on Gallup’s StrengthsFinder, which was made available to students through the career services office. “I think that’s an underlying big thing we brought this year–each person knowing their own strengths, getting to see others’ better … how together we form the body of Christ and are unique in what we bring to the table,” said Bish.

However, HELP Day isn’t solely a day for students. Faculty too attend sessions dealing with topics of professional improvement. Past HELP Days typically planned one session for faculty. However, this year, three were made available, one for a general faculty audience, one for department heads, and another for faculty in the process of writing for grants.

Hunter’s gauge of student response was positive. “We actually had greater attendance of our afternoon sessions this year than last year,” he said. As for planning for next year, he said that “we always welcome student input about how to improve HELP Day. We want it to be a thing that really is valuable for students when they think about the future, whether it’s next fall’s classes or a career or graduate school.”

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Programs Hope to Improve Transition to Life after College

As seniors graduate this year, Houghton College is revising and enhancing efforts to help students transition out of Houghton and into further education or the working world. Career Services and Student Life are directly involved in programs aimed at the goal of preparing students to enter the world.

December 2012 Graduates. Courtesy of http://www.houghton.edu/
December 2012 Graduates. Courtesy of http://www.houghton.edu/

Vice President for Student Life, Rob Pool, said, “One view is that every aspect of college prepares you to transition out.” In a broad sense, Houghton’s purpose throughout each student’s entire time at Houghton, from enrollment to graduation, is to prepare students for a life focused on and help them transition out of Houghton.

Pool believes that much of the preparation for leaving Houghton is organic—built into the entire Houghton experience—from formal academic and spiritual life activities to residence life and stress management. While Houghton has thus effectively helped students transition into college, it is less clear how successfully Houghton has aided them in transitioning out of college.

Because this preparation is hard to see, some of the new transition endeavors involve, in Pool’s words, “re-packaging”  existing programs so that students see the value of what they already have.  Last year, Career Services held a business-related fashion show to help students know what type of attire is needed for a professional career. Although Career Services gave away hundreds of dollars in professional clothing, only six students participated in the event. This year, the event has been restructured and will be part of the Campus Store’s fashion show on March 15.

There are also new programs, most notably a pilot program for a small group of current sophomores, who in March will attend a retreat designed to help them discover their future vocations and establish a plan for moving toward their goals for the future. Dr. Pool hopes that this program will serve as a model that may be replicated on a larger scale in order that all students can benefit from it.

Career Services is also working hard to make students aware of the opportunities and resources available through their office.

Brian Reitnour works as the Coordinator of Career Services to help students translate their liberal arts education, which encompasses academics, clubs, sports, and other activities, into vocational opportunities beyond Houghton.

As Reitnour designs events and services for students, he tries to figure out what students want, what employers want, and what he can do to bridge the gap between the two. He said, “On a yearly basis, we have to figure out and re-figure out where we want to put our time and energy.”

One connection between students and professionals is Houghton Connects, a feature of the online Job Shop. This service links current students with alumni who have similar interests so that they can develop a mentoring or advising relationship. Additionally, Houghton alumni who are now employers often return to campus to recruit Houghton students. On March 19, eleven employers will be on campus for the Career Fair from 11:00-2:00.

On HELP Day, March 13, Career Services will offer  job- and internship-search workshops, alternative chapels, and financial management workshops to give students knowledge they will need once they leave Houghton.

Other opportunities for students through Career Services include Teacher Recruitment Days in Buffalo, free transportation to the Rochester Area Career Expo, and individual appointments. Reitnour said he finds individual appointments the most effective because students can pursue the help they want, whether that be for resumes, cover letters, graduate school, application processes, or even choosing a major.

Reitnour stressed that Career Services is not only for seniors, although typically about 50% of each year’s graduating class will utilize their services. His word of advice, applicable to all students regardless of academic class, is “Don’t Wait.” Starting sooner—finding internships, writing resumes, applying for interviews—makes the whole process easier.

Likewise, Dr. Pool emphasized the value of starting early. He said that by the end of sophomore year, students should have finalized their academic plans, established clear vocational goals, know how to maintain high wellness levels, and be creating a network of people who can act as mentors and recommenders. These actions are embedded in the Houghton experience and other services such as the events and resources available through Career Services, but Pool hopes the re-working of Houghton’s transitions programs will make these structures more visible and effective.

Surveys show that Houghton students are prepared to encounter the world and become effective leaders in work, ministry, and missions, but Pool said, “We always want to do better.”