Transform Carleton’s Career Center and establish a new national model in the liberal arts—that was the goal that a presidential task force presented to the Career Center staff in 2008. Since then, the Career Center has been moving away from the traditional model, which focused only on helping students secure their first job, and towards a new model of broader engagement in which students, alumni, faculty and staff members, and parents collaborate to increase awareness of career options and opportunities that extend far beyond commencement.
Two years into the transformation, the Career Center has made steady progress toward connecting the broader Carleton community with students. Eight programs, with varying levels of volunteer commitment, are in place to help alumni share their expertise, time, and experiences with students. Two more volunteer roles are in the final stages of planning. BUT, these programs can only reach their full potential and fulfill Carleton’s high standards with the help of active alumni, parent, and friend volunteers. We need you!
For example, the Career Center sponsored 20 hosted externships—short internships with home stays—in the 2009–10 academic year. Our goal is to sponsor 200 externships in the 2012–13 academic year. Clearly, we’ll need a lot more volunteers to make that happen.
Reunion is the best opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with staff members about Career Center programs and opportunities. We invite all alumni and friends attending reunion to visit us at the red tent adjacent to Sayles-Hill; together we can identify what volunteer roles might be a good fit for you. If you aren’t planning to attend reunion this summer, check out our programs on the Career Center web site and sign up to volunteer.
If you have questions or comments, please contact either Brent Nystrom ’92 (bnystrom@carleton.edu) or Jessica Mueller (jmuller@carleton.edu) in the Career Center, 507-222-4293.