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The SoACE Imaginative Spirit Award is presented to either an individual, team, or office in recognition of their contributions toward the implementation of a unique and creative approach relevant to student/alumni programming, advising, employer/university relations, recruiting and/or training. This award upholds the high standards of excellence in support of student/alumni/employer/university engagement and serves to encourage creativity in our profession.
At the 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, the SoACE Innovative Spirit Award was presented to Lynn Chisholm and Peter Thorsett from the University of South Florida. Lynn and Peter were recognized for innovation and creativity in developing the USF Career Readiness Badging Program. This program has provided a creative and scalable “career readiness” solution for the more than 50,000 University of South Florida students across all three campuses. Utilizing the university’s on-line learning platform, a framework was built using the NACE Career Readiness Competencies, organized by Learn It, Do It, and Show It components.
Utilization of this badging program has helped students build stronger resumes, become fully connected with job search tools, and iteratively practice and receive feedback on their performance in behavioral interviews. Furthermore, the badges they earn are made fully visible to employers and portable for students through the utilization of verifiable credentials based on the Open Badges standard through Badgr.
In support of student success beyond the University of South Florida, this team has been asked to share their program with higher education institutions across the country, as well as with high schools and communities, and have given many presentations and webinars, including at the SoACE Annual Conference.
As Director of Internships and Career Readiness, Lynn Chisholm is responsible for the overall administration and supervision of the Office of Internships and Career Readiness to develop, support, and manage student career-relevant experiential learning opportunities and programming. This office collaborates with Employer Relations and the Office of Professional and Career Development to offer internship opportunities for both on-campus and off-campus experiential learning including co-op, as part of a student’s progress toward graduation and obtaining full-time professional employment. Previously, Lynn was the Internship and Prior Learning Assessment Coordinator at Polk State College, Human Resources Specialist with the City of Lakeland in workforce and organization development, Clinic Director at the University of Georgia Speech and Hearing Clinic, and Speech and Language Clinic Coordinator at Florida State University in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. Lynn earned a Certified Public Manager Master’s Certificate through Florida State University, a master’s degree at Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida.
Peter Thorsett works within the Community Engagement and Career Readiness (CECR) unit at the University of South Florida. In his role, Peter directly supports the efforts of the Associate Vice President in strategic planning, evaluation and assessment, and programmatic integration across the unit’s individual teams to ensure that student career outcomes are linked to student and career success. Peter is also responsible for managing the team that provides marketing, outreach, and operations support to all of the teams in CECR. Peter has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of strategy, marketing, and technology related roles in both higher education and private industry, including work for Turner Broadcasting, Johnson Controls, Miami University (Ohio), UNC Charlotte, and Georgia State University. Peter holds an MBA from Georgia State University and a BSBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
