conference

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.

 

 

 

PD Scholarship Winners

2018 Professional Development Scholarship Recipient: Dia Buchanan

March 29, 2019 by 0 Comments

“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This quote by Henry Ford is one of my favorite and embodies my experience in Atlanta at the conference. I was able to strengthen existing relationships and form new ones.

My love for career services began as a student employee in the department during my final year of graduate school. I am excited to be in the career services profession and grateful to be a part of the SoACE network. Participating in professional development opportunities awakens my passion and challenges me to think outside the box! My experience at the 2018 SoACE Conference this past December did just that.

I value making contributions to young adults’ development and cultivating collaborative relationships among individuals. I have been able to do just this through my roles in career services. For the past three years, my role(s) within career services has focused on employer relations. Attending the annual conference, allowed me the opportunity to broaden my knowledge in other areas, including leadership, coaching, and administration. I thoroughly enjoyed the breakout sessions and networking with colleagues. Oh, and let’s not forget about the food, it was awesome!

SoACE is a strong and influential regional association that connects colleagues who share my passion. I thank the Professional Development and Scholarship committee for this opportunity. If you are not actively involved in the organization, I encourage you to make connections and grow professionally. If you need assistance with funding for professional development, please consider applying for the scholarships and research fellowships available within the association. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.

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Dia Buchanan enjoys employer engagement and fostering collaborative relationships among employers, university representatives and students. She has 6 years of experience, exclusively focused in higher education administration with an emphasis on recruitment and relationship building. Her work has encompassed many aspects of student development, ranging from college admissions counseling to job search and career exploration advising. This experience has been obtained through undergraduate admissions and career services. Dia currently serves as Assistant Director of Employer Services in the Career Center at the University of Mississippi.

Dia holds a M. Ed in Higher Education Administration and a B.S. in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. Her credentials include Global Career Development Facilitation and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certification. She presently serves within SoACE as Chair of the Employer Relations Summit and Program Coordinator – In Person Networking for the Employer Relations Knowledge Group (ERKG). Connect with her on LinkedIn for collaboration.

Award Recipients - Diversity & Inclusion

Wake Forest University and Ernst & Young, 2018 Mosaic Award Recipients

January 11, 2019 by 0 Comments

At the 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, SoACE presented the Mosaic Award to Ernst & Young and the Wake Forest University Office of Personal and Career Development, who, in the spirit of diversity and inclusion, collaborated on a project entitled “Diversity Matters: Building Professional and Career Relationships.”  The focus of this program is to connect students from underrepresented groups (e.g., women, students of color, LGBTQ students, students with disabilities, and first-generation students) with employers who care about recruiting diverse talent.  Resources provided by this initiative ensured students would be well presented and prepared with fresh haircuts, counseling support and professional attire.

One of the students participating in the event shared the following: 

I have been feeling pretty lost lately when thinking about my plans for the future, and what I need to do in college to get there.  Just attending a prep workshop for Diversity Matters eased my mind.  And then attending the actual event, having a career coach at the table, and being coached and supported up until we started the actual event was so helpful.  I felt prepared and more confident, asking questions of employers and even branching out by looking into fields that people in my major don’t normally pursue.  I feel like I mattered to these employers, giving me a chance to stand out because of my diverse background, not disadvantaged by it.

The award was accepted by Ryan Emerson from Ernst & Young, along with Cheryl Hicks, Dana Hutchens, and Lori Sykes from Wake Forest University’s Office of Personal & Career Development (pictured below).

Criteria for the Mosaic Award includes a commitment to the spirit of diversity and inclusion through active participation in promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives within the last twelve months. In addition, the organization(s) must support positive communication and education that promote mutual respect, acceptance, cooperation or tolerance among people of different backgrounds. The Mosaic Award is presented to a group or organization that exemplifies these same commitments and intertwines them within their professional practice.