Planners of the Career Speaker Series What are YOU into… hope to illustrate to Ohio State Mansfield and North Central State College students the bridge from academics to the world of work.
“The Career Speaker Series focuses on connecting local employer experts with students who are in the process of making important career choices,” said Troy Shutler, coordinator of career development at NC State. “Students can learn a great deal about careers by tapping into the knowledge and advice from local professionals and experts in the field.”
Themes for the series came from the Explore Careers section of bigfuture.collegeboard.org. Shutler, along with Pam Schopieray, coordinator of career services at Ohio State Mansfield, and Tracy Bond, internship coordinator for both institutions wanted to cross-reference the career themes with majors offered on campus to introduce students to the professional world before graduation.
Topics change each month. September included representatives from banking, sales, human resources and entrepreneurs. Those from communications-based careers spoke in October. Future sessions include engineering, computer-aided design, manufacturing and medicine as well as writing, photography, graphic design and environmental careers.
Then it was a matter of saying “who do we know,” to begin to build a speaker’s list, Schopieray said. The trio relied on relationships they have cultivated in the community – employers who have provided internships, as well as associates from Leadership Unlimited and Richland Young Professionals.
The goal is to provide networking and mentoring opportunities and words of wisdom for students as they further define their future careers. Many of the speakers have been interns in college and mentioned the value of adding real-world experience to a student’s resume.
“We want students to realize that there is a benefit to networking and completing internships early in their college career,” Schopieray said. “They are building relationships with employers during their college years that may lead to a future job in the community.”