The Career Center's Student Advisory Council is kicking off its second year by recruiting new members.
The Council was first started several years ago but has not existed for the past four years. Career Center staff members Adrienne Alberts and Cheryl Janowsky decided to start it up again last year to increase student involvement. Its primary focus is establishing a link to undergraduate students.
"The goal of the Council is to provide the Career Center with the student perspective as we evaluate and develop services and programs," said Alberts. "The Council will also serve as a liaison to the student body."
Although the Council has had only two meetings since its creation last year, members are optimistic about the future.
Senior Kemi Ajide, a member of the Council, has noticed a positive change in the Career Center in the past year alone.
"The amount of students using the career center have increased this year," she says. "[the Career Center is] more effective in getting information about themselves and events they are having to the students."
Students have become involved in the Council for a number of different reasons, but an underlying concern is the fact that many undergraduates don't know what the Career Center has to offer.
Ajide says that she was originally interested because of the positive experiences she has had with the Career Center, but she was encouraged by the fact that her friends did not know much about it. She became a member so that she could "do something to change that and give them a face on campus."
Many students have not used the Career Center simply because they are unaware of what it provides. Senior Dan Lupercio used it for the first time the summer after his junior year.
"I know I didn't use the Career Center because I thought it was like the Counseling Center, all fluff and nothing helpful," he says, "I think [the Student Advisory Council] sounds good."
However, the Career Center's presence is more prominent on campus than in previous years.
A large part of this is due to an interactive Website, which advertises many of the Career Center's features, including an online resume builder and information about post-graduation jobs.
The site includes different sections for students, alumni, parents and employers.
The student section contains a comprehensive set of links and articles ranging from information about graduate schools to networking with Hopkins alumni.
The site also houses information about future events hosted by the Career Center. Events advertised include workshops with job application tips, on-site recruiting by specific companies and seminars.
Although the Career Center offers wide range of activities and many opportunities for undergraduate students, students are unaware not only of how to take advantage, but also that opporunties even exist.
"Advertising is definintely something that the Career Center should work on," says Sophomore Defne Arslan. "I didn't even know they had a Career Center until this past summer."
It was this gap in communication that prompted the creation of the Student Advisory Council, with the hope of gathering input from current students as well as advertising and making the Career Center well-known.
Ajide says that their long term goal is "to make the career center a place where every student will know about their freshman year, and know the services it provides."
Because the past year yielded a positive response to the Council, their primary focus at this point is to expand. The advantage of greater student involvement is twofold: Aside from reaching out to a larger percentage of the student population, the fact that students have a say increases their involvement as a whole.
"In the past we have seen student knowledge and support of career-related activities grow when students are involved in the process," says Alberts.
"The Council gives us the means to formalize student participation in Career Center activities."
On Oct. 12, the Career Center sent out an e-mail to all freshmen, sophomores and juniors advertising the need for new Council members.
According to Director Cheryl Janowsky, their ideal Council will consist of two students from each class, half in Arts and Sciences and half in Engineering from diverse backgrounds and with different student connections.
The responsibilities of being a Council member include attendance at meetings, pre-established connections with different student groups, participation in Career Center activities and assisting with advertisement of future events by word of mouth.
Students can apply via paper application at the Career Center, or a web application is available at http://www.ugrad.cs.jhu.edu/~ntulsian/CCSAC, before the deadline on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The application inquires about the applicant's previous experience with the Career Center, suggestions they may have for improvement, future career goals and extra-curricular activities.
With the promise of new members, the Student Advisory Council has high hopes for the future.
Because the number of students utilizing the Career Center has already increased since the creation of the Council, there is nowhere to go but up. This year's group will be a landmark in the Council's evolution, because it is the first group to be selected by the current members.
"This is a great time for students to become involved," says Alberts, "because this years group will set the stage for how the group will work into the future."
