Announcing the SoACE 2018 Conference Keynote Speakers

Monday Keynote Speaker

Dr. Adam Peck has served as Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas since 2008 and has been a student affairs practitioner for more than 24 years. He is the author of more than forty scholarly publications and has presented more than 100 national and international webinars. He served as editor and co-author of the book, “Engagement & Employability: Integrating Career Learning Through Cocurricular Experiences in Postsecondary Education” (NASPA Press, March 2017). He is currently editing, “Leadership Development in Student Employment, New Directions for Student Leadership” with executive editors Susan Komives and Kathy Guthrie.

Dr. Peck is actively engaged in a number of professional associations. He is a former president of the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators, the former Texas State Director for NASPA and currently serves as Corporate Sponsorships Liaison for NASPA Region III. He serves as editor of the Research to Scholarship section of the Journal of Campus Activities Research and Scholarship. He has been named one of the “Champions of Assessment” by Campus Labs and received the “Founders Award” from NACA for contributions to the field of student activities.

Dr. Peck earned his bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Lewis University, a master’s degree in Communication Studies from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

Keynote Session Title: “Bridging Leadership Development in College with Professional Development in Careers”

 

Tuesday/Wednesday Keynote Speaker

Nalayini Thambar is the Director of Careers and Employability at The University of Nottingham which has campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia.  A Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and a qualified careers adviser, her work has involved teaching, professional practice and leadership across all areas of student employability.  Her doctoral thesis was an exploration of the professional identity of university careers advisers in a changing employability climate. Previously, Nalayini was Assistant Director at the University of Leeds Careers Centre, responsible for Business Engagement. Following significant expansion of Nottingham’s UK Careers and Employability Service in 2013, Nalayini established the delivery of expert services to students within Faculties and Schools, and the development of non-clinical placement activity across the UK campus. She is now leading work to develop the articulation of professional competencies within the curriculum across the University.  As Director of Quality for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), Nalayini is responsible for establishing professional standards, codes of conduct and quality assurance processes for careers and employability activity across UK higher education.

Keynote Session Title: “The Robots are Coming! Supercharging our Expertise to Futureproof our Profession.”

__________

Register for the conference by October 7, 2018 to get the Early Bird Rate! For more information on the 2018 Annual Conference, please visit the SoACE website.

Letter from the President – Mark Colvenbach

A Look Ahead: The Conference and Beyond.

SoACE leadership and the many volunteers who make this association so incredible are hard at work planning an amazing conference in Atlanta for members this December.  In addition, it’s becoming just as important to provide relevant resources and content throughout the year.  From webinars to best practices, SoACE has truly become a colleague you can rely on to assist you in meeting your goals.

Just last month, the new SoACE board met to discuss what’s going on with membership, Knowledge Groups (KGs), Diversity & Inclusion, professional development and everything in between.  It was during this time that we also discussed the next year and beyond.   A quick snapshot is included to provide you with some insight into the goals leadership will be focused on.

An exciting venture we are working on is how SoACE can continue to work collaboratively with state associations and related consortia.   This has always been critical to SoACE, but we are excited to further explore opportunities to learn from each other, share best practices and expand resource and leadership opportunities for our members.   We believe by doing this, SoACE will further develop its membership and create additional quality leadership opportunities within the organization.

It is imperative that SoACE continues to seek opportunities to strengthen our employer membership while providing an opportunity for employer members to both engage with each other and with career services partners.   A task force was appointed earlier this year to identify opportunities to expand employer services.  The Conference Planning Committee has done a tremendous job of focusing on this initiative, as exemplified by the planned reception at the Metro Atlanta Chamber during the conference.  Please register in advance to take advantage of this great opportunity to connect with current SoACE employer members as well as local Atlanta company reps.

For most, professional development and networking are the key reasons why members choose to join SoACE.   With this at the center of nearly everything we do, SoACE will continue to offer a variety of opportunities throughout the year, while focusing on what brings value to our members the most.  We want to ensure that your time is used wisely; whether it is participation on a webinar, KG, networking session or through a variety of other outlets.  We have taken steps to improve the sharing of best practices utilizing technology that our leadership and KGs are currently piloting.  We look forward to continued and newfound success in the near future.

In closing, I want to thank you for your membership in SoACE.   Your continued involvement and future interactions will help shape what’s next for SoACE in many ways.  I want to encourage you to register for the conference being hosted in Atlanta, GA, December 2-5, 2018. I can assure you this year’s theme of Activate | Transform | Lead will hit on everything you expect and more from a conference.  If early indications are correct, we are in for a truly amazing conference as registrations are up, keynotes are set and events are being planned.  Don’t miss out – we look forward to seeing each of you there.

 

Mark Colvenbach
2018-2019 SoACE President
The University of Tampa

Activate, Transform, and Lead in ATL with SoACE!

by Rachel Wages, UNC-Charlotte and SoACE Conference Marketing Liaison

We are just over 6 months out from the 2018 SoACE Annual Conference, and if there is one thing I know, the next 6 months are going to fly by!  Are you excited? As a member who’s been fortunate to attend the conference three years in a row, I know that this is one event I look forward to all year long.  Here’s why: the SoACE Annual Conference allows members the awesome opportunity to network with career services and college recruiting colleagues, get up-to-date information on trends and issues affecting the profession, learn best practices that you can adapt for your own programs and events, and explore new and emerging technologies! Beyond all of those great benefits, it’s also a lot of fun!

So what should you know about the conference at this point?

  1. Our theme for the 2018 year is Activate, Transform and Lead (ATL = Atlanta, get it?!). Join us as we Activate, Transform and Lead our members with innovative resources and forward-thinking presentations and conversations.
  2. Call for Proposals is open through June 30th! We encourage members to submit Breakout Session and Roundtable Discussion proposals that align with our Knowledge Groups and will empower our SoACE members. Submit your proposal here!
  3. Registration for the conference is live! Sign up for the conference here! The early bird rate for members is $479 through October 7th.
  4. Book your hotel early! The conference group rate is $155.00! This special will run through November 15th! To book your hotel and read more about transportation and parking, visit this link.

Also, we want to give a shout-out to the vendors attending the conference! We are extremely excited for their participation! Read on to learn a little bit more about their companies.

CareerShift:
Recognizing the need for more systematic, effective tools for online job hunters, CareerShift was created to help job seekers successfully navigate the published and hidden job market to find career opportunities. CareerShift has offered an online set of integrated applications proven to help job seekers since 2007.

GoingGlobal:
GoinGlobal helps new and experienced job seekers find opportunities both at home and abroad. As the market leader in online career and employment resources for more than 16 years, our website has helped millions of new and experienced professionals expand their horizons.

CareerSpots:
CareerSpots delivers concise, compelling career readiness videos to help students learn and develop the competencies and job search skills needed to achieve career success as they transition to life after college.

PeopleGrove:
PeopleGrove’s mission is to help every student and professional realize their full potential by connecting them with the mentors, advisers and network needed to make that possible.

Career Fair Plus:
We are the #1 Career Fair App.

Educational Housing Services:
The leader in New York City student housing & student lodging, EHS offers safe and affordable lodging for students or summer internships in New York City.

StandOut:
The StandOut Video Recruitment Network uses the latest supercomputer technology to expand and energize the entire job search and hiring process for Employers, Students and Campus Career Centers. StandOut lets every candidate be seen, rather than judged merely on a resume.

So are you intrigued yet? We hope that you will join us in Atlanta this year! The conference will be held December 2nd-5th at the Marriott Marquis. Read more information about the conference here! See you then!

__________

Rachel Wages 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. Additionally, Rachel volunteers her time as the SoACE Conference Marketing Liaison.

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!