Message From the Career Center

Do you find yourself serving as a mentor and/or advisor to students on a regular basis?  Do you keep in contact with some of your department’s alumni who you know would be an excellent mentor to current students?  If so, Career Connections is a valuable program to keep in mind! Career Connections is offered through the collaboration of Career Services and Alumni Programs as an online mentoring program that connects current students to LVC alumni for guidance on career exploration.  The program is simple to use and is accessible through every students’ JOB CENTER account.   

For Your Students:Career Connections is a valuable resource to direct students to who may be unsure of their current major or career plans.   They can engage in e-mail networking with mentors, conduct informational interviews, and possibly set up job shadowing or internship opportunities to learn more about a field.  For further details on the program, please contact Gwen Miller, assistant director of Career Services, at gmiller@lvc.edu or x6381, or encourage your student to stop by with any questions.  One initiative we are currently promoting, which uses the Career Connections database, is for freshman students, especially those with open majors.  The program, titled Project CLOSE-UP, is designed to allow first year students the opportunity to shadow an alumnus for a day to learn more about a profession of their choosing.  Any freshmen students you feel would benefit from a shadowing experience are encouraged to come to an info session on October 19th or 20th with Career Services. 

For Your Alumni:An alumni survey conducted in 2007 indicated that our graduates are most interested in providing career advice to students. Career Connections offers alumni from all over the world a way to give back to their alma mater. The program is currently comprised of over 400 alumni volunteers with a variety of educational backgrounds and career paths. While Career Connections grows as a popular source for students, our alumni volunteer numbers should increase as well. This is a great chance for you to engage your department’s alumni and we encourage you to inform graduates of this opportunity through any communication you have with them.   To help, the Office of Alumni Programs has pre-drafted text for e-mail and letter formatted communications. We would also be happy to prepare a list of any requested alumni contact information for you to use in these efforts.  To acquire more information, contact Michelle Krall, assistant director of alumni programs, at mkrall@lvc.edu or x6321.