| Division of Student Services Newsletter
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Message from the Vice Provost & Dean Dear Student Services Colleagues:
As I shared in my February communication, Division leadership held a retreat in December to discuss adaptive leadership, individual talents, and change management. We scheduled a follow-up retreat for January that was, subsequently, disrupted by the snow storm that closed the university (like so many other things)! It turns out disruption was a great test of our adaptability, and a wonderful metaphor for the retreat which we rescheduled and then held on March 6.
During our retreat this month we built upon our December conversation and spent time discussing disruption in higher education, evolving needs of our students, the changing landscape in Michigan at GVSU, and how we should respond… actually, how we should lead! This fruitful conversation resulted in the beginning elements of what will eventually be the Division’s:
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- Purpose (or, as Simon Sinek puts it: why we get up in the morning);
- Values (how we’ll behave in our roles);
- Priorities (3-year vision and 18-month priorities)
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As is often the case, dozens of flipcharts, post-it notes, and scratch paper now need to be converted into a clean set of documents which we’ll use to ask for your reactions. I anticipate we will finalize this work by early summer so that it can serve as a road map during the months ahead. Of course, as circumstances arise and needs change, we will be adaptive in our response! In general, I hope that we will simplify, clarify, and amplify: that is, simplify our plans, goals, and metrics; clarify our purpose, roles, and responsibilities; and amplify our impact, visibility, and credibility.
In the meantime, I invite you to ask your unit / area leader to share more about the December and March experiences, what is emerging as plans, or the readings and materials we used to frame our discussions. As we inch way (way too slowly for me!) from winter to spring, please know how much you are appreciated for who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
Be well.
Loren
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Free Professional Development:
NASPA Conference Live StreamAs a reminder, live streaming of the NASPA Conference will be available to the division on Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12 (see below). Session descriptions and times can be found on the Virtual Ticket website, toward the bottom of the page. Please note that the times listed on the website are listed in Pacific Time; therefore, streaming will begin at 11:00 a.m. and run until 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard time. (We will only stream sessions until 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard time.)
Monday, March 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern:
Kirkhof 1104 – Streaming Channel A
Kirkhof 1142 – Streaming Channel B
Tuesday, March 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern:
Kirkhof 2264 – Streaming Channel A
Kirkhof 2266 – Streaming Channel B
Presentations from Keynote Speakers will be occurring at 12:00 p.m. Eastern on both days and in both rooms.
Finally, there will be three Student Affairs Speaks presentations streamed as follows:
Monday, 4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Eastern
Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.- 2:45 p.m. Eastern
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Career Readiness at GVSU
By:
Lisa Knapp, Associate Director, Career Center
Megan Riksen, Assistant Director, Career Center
Meghan Veltri, Assistant Director, Career Center
GVSU students are encouraged to connect with the Career Center early and often. Career planning requires students to actively engage in their own career development and research shows those who do, are more likely to persist and graduate. Once students can envision their future career path, their academic focus improves which in turn reduces attrition (Niles and Harris-Bowlsby, 2005), deepens the classroom experience, and increases involvement in co-curricular learning.
Recognizing the importance of providing all students with the opportunity to actively engage in their career development, the Career Center provides services to meet the needs of first year students, graduate students, alumni, and everyone in between. Margaux Sellnau, a junior Liberal Studies major describes her experience with the Career Center: “Every time I interact with the Career Center, my confidence grows. I love that there are supports in place for each step of my journey.”
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A step beyond the traditional checklist of skills employers desire, these areas require time and action to develop. In response, the Career Center continues to develop pathways for students seeking career information and opportunities to engage in the world of work. This year that effort includes these new initiatives:
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- The Work Like a Laker Podcast, available to any student anywhere, has had 400+ downloads since its debut in September.
- CareerLab, a new drop-in program, provides more time and space for students to work with professional and peer advisors. This resulted in 70% more student drop-ins in fall 2018 compared to the previous fall.
- Handshake, the Career Center’s new online resource, provides GVSU students and alumni with an increased ability to connect with employer partners and opportunities locally and nationally.
- World of Work (WOW) Career Exploration program, gives students the opportunity to explore career options at employer sites. Emily Buettner, a fall 2018 WOW participant, shared: “WOW was honestly such a good opportunity. It opened my eyes and grounded me on expectations for the future, while still encouraging me how to use my skills.”
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Important InformationThis section will highlight important information for the division.
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Division of Student Services
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