program – Houghton STAR

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/

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.”

Several members of the Houghton Physics Department introduced me a few weeks ago to Kerbal Space Program, an indie sandbox space flight simulator program. In this game, you can build various flying vehicles, including rockets and airplanes, and pilot them above the earth, into space, and even to other planets.

Courtesy of https://kerbalspaceprogram.com

Though it is still in the beta stage of its development, this simulation game has many features that create a worthwhile player experience. These game elements include a large toolkit of vehicle parts, numerous planets and moons to travel to and land upon, and a system of game elements that allow players to undertake a wide variety of missions.

Since it is still in beta, the developers continue to add features. Already, a vibrant player community has developed and has produced many game modifications and add-ons.

Once in the game, you have the option of building your own vehicle or selecting a pre-made sample rocket or airplane for modification and testing. In the building process, the program assists with the proper alignment and orientation of vehicle parts according to various symmetry modes. This means that rocket boosters, jet engines, fins, and other parts can be evenly spaced on the vehicle, allowing for balanced control during flight.

As soon as your ship is ready to fly, you can enter the launch mode of the game. In this mode, you have control over the engines, staging sequence, electronic systems, and other deployable items. The passengers of this craft are small, greenish-yellow aliens called Kerbals.

These strange little people do not provide assistance in the mission, but do provide some laughs as they react wildly to the player’s actions in controlling the ship. Some of these passengers become easily panicked by even subtle shifts in the ship’s trajectory. Others are in a constant state of ecstasy, even when their conveyance is on its way to a fiery and explosive demise.

Once your ship lands on a planet or moon, the Kerbals can explore. The universe provided to the player is currently limited to a solar system much like our own.

You begin your missions on Kerbin, an Earth-like world that has several moons. The other planets in this solar system mirror the planets in our own solar system, including several gas giants with many moons, and a few terrestrial planets. In the missions you design for yourself, you can visit the terrestrial worlds and the moons of this solar system.

In order to travel to the other celestial orbs in the Kerbal solar system, the game provides a system of flight mechanics that allows for easier orbit manipulation called the maneuvers system. This system allows you to reach almost anywhere in the solar system without performing calculations. Because of systems like these, it is not difficult to get started with space exploration in Kerbal Space Program.

Several of my friends have launched numerous rockets with a variety of payloads into orbit around Kerbin, and have docked their vehicles together to create space stations. The process of bringing the vehicles into the same orbit, and eventually docking them involves time and effort, but it is rewarding, as it allows for further exploration of the Kerbal solar system.

Currently, Kerbal Space Program, is available from the Kerbal Space program store at: www.kerbalspaceprogram.com in a demo version and a full version that costs $23. Because it is being constantly updated, has an active modding community, and already includes features that enable the player to perform a variety of missions that are only limited by the player’s imagination, this simulation game is certainly worth checking out.