The Office of Career Education and Development hosted its Career’s Summer Send-Off event on Tuesday.
They handed out popcorn and snow cones in the Quad to any students who wanted some while coming and going to classes.
Aubrey Rader, a career and life design coach who has been in the Career Development and Education department on campus for about a year, organized the send-off for many reasons.
“We had a couple [of] goals,” Rader said. “The first one was to congratulate students on surviving the year, [but] we also wanted to let students know that we are open during the summer.
“If students aren’t taking summer classes, they don’t know we are open.”
The office wanted to let alumni know that they can use their services even though they are no longer enrolled, according to Rader. They offered a first step survey via a QR code for those graduating to see what their plans were after graduation.
At the event, success coaches offered tips to encourage productivity over the summer break while handing out snacks.
Radar said students should reflect on the skills they built during the past year and think about what they would like to build and gain after the summer break. Reflection doesn’t just have to be based on profession or school, but it can be personal as well, she added.
Rader discussed ways to gain experience in the career that students may want to get into after graduation. This included going on LinkedIn and searching for people with similar majors or SRU alumni or doing informational interviews with people within the field they are looking at going into.
Job shadowing was mentioned as another option, as students would be able to get hands–on experience and see for themselves what it is like in the career they choose to pursue.
Another tip was about the networking aspect of connecting and meeting with people in the field they are looking at.
Broken down, networking is simply talking to people, whether it is on a platform like LinkedIn or just a family member or friend who may be in a similar field, she said.
Rader emphasized that students should not be afraid to ask questions and dig deeper, if needed, to get the information that they are looking for rather than settling for the surface information.
“Really just be curious,” Rader said. “Being curious is the best way to be proactive and to constantly have the mindset of a learner.”
Rader said she also felt the need to hold the event to let people know that the Career Development and Education staff are there during the summer, even while other faculty, who don’t teach during the summer, are off.
Everyone had a chaotic year, trying to get used to being back on campus. The staff wanted to celebrate with students, especially those who are graduating, by giving out free food.
“I think that a lot of students turn everything off for the summer,” Rader said about how summer affects productivity in students. “[They] deserve a break.
“I think that summer pauses productivity, I don’t think it necessarily hurts it.”
