Award Receipient

PD Scholarship Winners

Professional Development Scholarship Recipient: Elizabeth Enck

April 19, 2019 by 0 Comments

This December, I was able to attend the SoACE 2018 Conference in Atlanta, GA thanks to the Professional Development Scholarship provided by SoACE. I was unable to attend previously due to budget cuts to higher education in our state and it felt like I was missing out on seeing family! This year’s conference did not disappoint and I had a great experience learning new things and seeing old friends.

Walking into the conference hotel, you could already feel the energy. (Granted, some of that could have come from a little football game that was being played down the road.) I have been a part of the Membership Committee helping with the New Member/First Time Attendee Session for the past several years and this year I was actually able to be there for it on Sunday night! We had a lot of fun meeting new people and getting to introduce them to SoACE and the conference. It’s a great way to set the tone and energy for the conference.

One of my favorite things about this field is the willingness of others to share their resources, best practices, new ideas, and challenges. Not only does this happen at the conference, but it is so nice to know I can reach out to other schools across the country and people are open to sharing their experiences. That’s definitely not something you find in every field and I think it’s what makes this community so special. We all have the same goals and many of the same challenges. I think ultimately that’s why the SoACE conference is so special to me. There is nothing quite like the feeling of being in the same room with people who “get it” and “get you.” We speak the same language and we are passionate about the work we do to help students find meaningful career paths.

I am so excited to continue to learn about the new ways we are helping students succeed. I think we are at a pivotal time in the field and it is exciting. What I continued to hear about are all of the ways departments are collaborating across, and outside, of the campus. We can’t do it alone and it’s great to see some of the shifts on campuses to implement career development and competency building into a variety of areas. While it may take time to see a shift in cultures, it’s promising to hear of the many ways this is already happening. I thank SoACE for offering a venue to meet face-to-face to continue to build relationships as well as the many ways we can all connect throughout the year to maintain them. I hope to see you all next year!

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Elizabeth Enck is the Director of the Career Development Center at the University of Central Oklahoma. In this role, she oversees the delivery of career development and readiness education for students as they navigate and complete college. She joined the Career Development Center at UCO in 2014 after relocating to Oklahoma. Prior to this, Elizabeth worked in Career Services at the University of Tennessee.

Elizabeth is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) where she is also on the new member committee, and the Oklahoma chapter, OkACE. She also serves on the InternOKC planning committee with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.

She is originally from St. Charles, Missouri and is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on career counseling. During graduate school, she worked at the MU Career Center.

 

 

 

Award Recipients

Myrna Hoover, 2018 Southern Star Award Recipient

April 12, 2019 by 0 Comments

The Southern Star Award may be presented to a person to recognize significant and outstanding contributions to the profession, to society, or to SoACE.  The Southern Star Award is a prestigious recognition of service and contributions exceeded only in significance within SoACE by the Founders Award. SoACE was very proud to present Myrna Hoover, Director of the Florida State University Career Center, with the 2018 Southern Star Award at the Annual Conference in December.

When Past President, Ray Rogers, presented Myrna’s award in December, he shared the following statement from one of her nominators, Alicia Smyth from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University:

When I think about the number of people that she has touched in her 30+ year career at Florida State University, I am overcome.  She is the epitome of leadership, mentorship, professionalism, and grace – and those characteristics rub off on everyone lucky enough to know her.  The year I graduated from college, she was President of FloridaACE.  When I joined the association in 2000, she was someone to look up to, admire, and want to be like. I was in awe of her positivity, energy, and ability to connect with others in a way that made them feel important and valued. Fast-forward nearly 20 years later and she is still mentoring, guiding, and helping professionals be successful – whether it be at FSU or within the professional associations of which she is such a vital part.  Of all her outstanding qualities, and there are many, the one that stands out most to me is her humility.  She is neither prideful nor boastful. She has won many professional awards and has been featured in syndicated newspapers as a person to know. But you won’t hear about it from her. It is her team that shares her successes and accolades because they are so proud of their fearless leader.

And speaking of her team, the Florida State University Program Director for Employer Relations and of one of the 2017 SoACE Honorary Lifetime Membership Award Recipients, Scott Maynard, shared the following:

I don’t know anyone more deserving of the Southern Star Award.  She has dedicated her career to making our profession better and showing others how to position their career centers to be viewed as a pivotal part of the campus environment.  She has demonstrated how to integrate career advising, experiential education, employer relations, and career development technology into a centralized model serving all students and alumni.  She has spent her career giving back to the profession and sharing ideas and resources with others.  Her kind demeanor and gentle nature make her approachable to everyone and she is always willing to jump in to make a project, an organization, or an individual – successful.

Myrna Hoover is the Director of the Florida State University Career Center and has over 32 years of career services experience. In this role, she leads a team of 39 professionals and 30 paraprofessionals who provide comprehensive career services to both students and alumni and coordinate university wide recruitment and employer relations programs. She has presented at national, regional and state conferences on best practices for both career services and employer relations, and has served as a program reviewer of university career centers at the national level. Myrna co-authored, the National Career Development Association published monograph, Employer Relations and Recruitment: An Essential Part of the Postsecondary Career Services. She has served on the NACE First-Destination Survey Standards and Protocols Taskforce and NACE Graduate Student Membership Taskforce. She is a Lifetime Honorary Member and past president of the Florida Association of Colleges and Employers and the recipient of that association’s 2002 Brownlee Award for outstanding service and excellence in the field of career services. Myrna served on the Product Development team for the Career Services Manager software developed by NACE and Direct Employers and served for three years as one of the seven “Go Team” consultants for NACE. During her career, she also taught Public Speaking and Business Communication at Valdosta State College and Florida State University. Prior to her work in the career services Myrna was an Instructor and the Director of Forensics at Manatee Community College. Myrna was recently named one of the 2018 25 Women you need to know in Tallahassee. Myrna also serves on the Board of Trustees for Capital Regional Medical Center and FSU Human Resources Management Center. Myrna has a Master’s degree in Communication from Florida State University.

Award Recipients - Conference Updates

Rachel King, 2018 President’s Award Recipient

March 8, 2019 by 0 Comments

Most of the awards presented by SoACE are received through a nomination process, vetted by committee, and then approved on by the board.  One annual award, however, is given at the sole discretion the sitting President, based upon his/her desire to recognize a member who has distinguished themselves by their service to the Association.  The President’s Award has been presented since SoACE’s founding in 2007.

During the President’s Reception at last year’s conference, Mark Colvenbach, the 2018-19 President, awarded Rachel King with one of two 2018 President’s Awards. Samantha Meyer from the University of Georgia also received the award. While on stage presenting the award, Mark shared the following about Rachel:

SoACE has experienced tremendous growth and success over the past few years. A large part of this success can be attributed to the creative, comprehensive and strategic work of Rachel King. Rachel spent a great deal of energy and time re-designing the Conference Newsletter which helped to transform the marketing and knowledge sharing associated with the Annual Conference over the past few years.  Rachel was constantly meeting deadlines despite needing to rely heavily on many individuals to meet her goals.  Despite this she remained extremely positive and elevated the professional nature of communication to membership regarding the upcoming conference. It is not a coincidence that the past 2 conference have been 2 of the most highly attended conferences in the eleven year existence of SoACE. We are forever appreciative to Rachel King for her role in SoACE’s continued success. 

Rachel serves as the Assistant Director of Peer Programming for the University Career Center at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In her role, Rachel provides career advising services to students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences while also managing the Peer Career Ambassador Program. Rachel’s primary responsibility is assisting students in all phases of career decision making, planning, and job search preparation. She also oversees the annual Liberal Arts and Sciences Summit hosted by the University Career Center.

A 2008 alumnus of UNC Charlotte, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Rachel comes to us with over four years of transferable work experience in the healthcare industry.  During her two years serving as Recruiting Specialist with the University Career Center, Rachel completed her Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration through Northeastern University in 2014 before moving into a career advisor capacity.

Rachel is native to Indiana and relocated to North Carolina as a youth. She loves her two labs, Callie and Calvin, all things crossfit, hiking and traveling!