PD Scholarship Winners

SoACE 2019 was a very special experience for me, one that I may not have gotten the chance to enjoy if not for the professional development scholarship. This scholarship was valuable for me in many ways. As a member of a few different SoACE committees at the time of my application, it was exciting to know this was a possibility for me to meet all the fabulous people I had been collaborating with on the D&I and Social Media Committee. SoACE was the conference where I networked as a graduate student and those connections helped me land my first full time job.

Did you have any aha moments during your professional development experience? If so, what were they?

If you ever get the pleasure of attending SoACE, do more than simply attending the conference sessions. My most memorable experience was volunteering at the Diversity & Inclusion mixer at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, now a civil rights museum in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a beautiful, harrowing, and immersive monument to all the progress that has occurred for civil rights in America and inspired everyone there to contribute to the non-stop work and advocacy still needed for us to build an equitable nation.

Being in this space amongst colleagues reminded me why it’s so valuable to be an educator and to continue pushing our peers and students to become engaged, global citizens.

What are some tangible takeaways from your professional development opportunity that you brought back to campus with you?

I particularly enjoyed attending the pre-conference session for Emerging Leaders as it was my first of many refreshing reminders of why I entered higher education and how I can clarify and enact the impact I want to contribute to my team and my university. I had the honor of presenting at the 5@5 Career Advising panel, marking my first ever presentation at the regional conference level which led to many great conversations about public speaking and professional development.

Additionally, I applied to this with hope that with would help me realign my values and goals as an emerging professional, and winning the New Professional Award was the cherry on top of an energy-filled, intellectual week. I gathered a lot of great information specifically for career exploration, online student engagement, and accessibility that I am excited to see incorporated as my department has begun to create virtual resources in screen-reader formats. SoACE has left me refreshed and ready to spearhead more positive change as an advocate for my students. This conference was incredibly valuable and memorable as I got the chance to build new relationships, engage in intellectual conversations, and gained clarity for my own career trajectory through reflection and support of my peers.

Find more information about SoACE Professional Development Scholarships here. Apply for a Professional Development Scholarship by February 28th, 2020.

By Marisol Zacarias, Employer and Student Relations Coordinator, Agnes Scott College

In June, I attended the Employer Relations Summit in Tampa, FL thanks to the generous support provided by the SoACE Professional Development Scholarship.  Given our department’s current resources, I would not have been able to attend the Summit without the scholarship support.  The Employer Relations role at Agnes Scott College was a new addition to the campus community during the 2018 – 2019 academic year.  Therefore, having the opportunity to participate in a professional development activity directly related to my role was a timely resource.

I’m a mid-career changer that has spent the past 15 years working at non-profit organizations.  In transitioning to the world of higher education, I’ve learned many valuable lessons.  However, there are rarely small group opportunities to reflect and share best practices across institutions.  Each conversation at the Summit included perspectives from a diversity of school sizes and employer relations team models.  There were organic opportunities to connect with other individuals and learn about their work.  I am grateful to each of you that attended the Summit and shared your struggles.   A community that can share and normalize the wins AND struggles is validating.

Hands-down my experience at the Summit was most fulfilling when I heard from others about their transition to Handshake.  On July 1^st our school transitioned to Handshake, after having used College Central Network the past 5 years.  I found the presentation “Employer Relations 2.0:  Streamlining Essential Processes to Boost Student Attendance, Employer Engagement, and Campus Awareness” to be the most valuable.   Amanda Marshall and Pranam Parsanlal generously shared their tools for engaging faculty, students and employers on Handshake.   They shared University of South Florida engagement numbers and growth over time.   Quantitative data helps tell a story, and their data helped me accurately share with others the amount of time it can take to approve employers and jobs.  In a small Career Development Office, learning from other schools helps us plan and project the time and effort needed to sustain Handshake activity over time. Equally valuable were the employer and staff guides that Pranam shared during the presentation.   As soon as I got back to the office, I shared the guides with my team.  It was a great reminder to me, that no matter how intuitive tasks may seem, everyone learns differently.  Therefore, providing a good customer service experience needs to be coupled with detailed and quality resources for partners.

Since participating in the Summit, we have launched Handshake to 2^nd – 4^th year students.  The last week of August we launched to all 1^st year students.  To be transparent, I submit support questions every day and I look at the “help center” multiple times a day.  The more we can create spaces to share our work, the more we can learn from each other and help one another grow both personally, and professionally.   I look forward to connecting with all of you in the future.  I hope everyone has a terrific academic year!

Congratulations to the 2019 Professional Development Scholarship and Research Fellowship Winners!

Professional Development Scholarship Recipients

Each year we award two scholarships (up to $2000 each) to support professional development opportunities for SoACE members. This year we have the opportunity to offer an additional partial scholarship ($1000) as well.

Katie Ramirez

Director of Career Services and Co-Director of the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success

Trinity University

Katie Ramirez is the Director of Career Services at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she has worked over the years to connect students across disciplines to gap year opportunities.  She’s excited to explore more formalized gap year recruitment models and is grateful to SoACE for this award.

Ashley Rizzotto

Career Counselor II, FIU Online Student and Post Graduate Specialist

Florida International University

Ashley has been a career development coach since June 2017 and recently joined FIU’s team. Ashley has been actively involved with SoACE as the Marketing and Communications Chair for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She is excited to use this scholarship to attend the SoACE 2019 annual conference this December. She looks forward to networking, expanding her committee involvement and mentoring new professionals.

Angel Iverson

Director of Integrated Programs, University of Florida Career Connections Center

Angel Iverson has worked with the University of Florida Career Connections Center for nine years holding the roles of Assistant Director for Career Events, Senior Assistant Director for Employer Development, and currently Director of Integrated Partnerships. Within her latest role, Angel manages the center’s Employer Partnership program and the embedded liaison team in their effort to make collaborative, innovative, and customized connections and resources for their campus. She is passionate about learning industry trends and leadership best practices. Angel is proud that her team is changing lives, whether directly through one-on-one student engagement or indirectly through campus collaborations and employer engagement to bring more recruitment opportunities to students’ fingertips.

Employer Relations Summit Scholarship Recipient

We are excited offer a new $1000 scholarship to support a SoACE Member’s Attendance at the Employer Relations Summit.

Marisol Zacarias

Employee Relations Coordinator, Agnes Scott College

Marisol Zacarias, Employee Relations Coordinator at Agnes Scott College, hopes to learn creative ways other colleges engage both students and employers on their campus.  Equally important is the outreach and marketing after an employer is booked to visit the campus. She is eager to learn about the strategies her peers use to engage students and get them excited about the visit.

Research Fellowship Recipient

The SoACE Research Fellowship (up to $1500) promotes and supports research and study projects for SoACE members.

Annie Shealy

Employer Relationship Manager, University of South Carolina Career Center

Annie Shealy is an Employer Relationship Manager at the University of South Carolina.  She helps employers develop and implement a holistic recruitment strategy, and connect to the talented students at UofSC.  Annie’s academic pursuits and background in corporate development helped drive her research interests to develop a predictive model for employer relations.  When Annie is not on the job, she is chasing down her wild child pup, Woodford, or working on home improvement projects with her husband, Hunter. Annie is very excited to be the recipient of the SoACE Research Fellowship, and is honored by the opportunity!