1 00:00:01,370 --> 00:00:04,400 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:04,430 --> 00:00:06,310 I'm your host, Kelli Driscoll. 3 00:00:06,610 --> 00:00:11,310 In this episode, you'll hear part one of my conversation with Christa Matlack, 4 00:00:11,350 --> 00:00:14,329 career coach STEM at Bucknell University. 5 00:00:14,790 --> 00:00:19,860 More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 6 00:00:19,940 --> 00:00:22,080 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 7 00:00:22,540 --> 00:00:26,560 Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations can be found on 8 00:00:26,570 --> 00:00:29,260 YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 9 00:00:30,935 --> 00:00:33,835 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 10 00:00:33,865 --> 00:00:37,825 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll, and today I'm so pleased to 11 00:00:37,825 --> 00:00:39,565 introduce Christa Matlack. 12 00:00:39,635 --> 00:00:43,845 She is the Career Coach STEM at Bucknell University. 13 00:00:43,875 --> 00:00:45,374 Welcome, Christa. 14 00:00:46,124 --> 00:00:46,745 Hi, Kelly. 15 00:00:46,754 --> 00:00:47,995 It's great to be here. 16 00:00:48,055 --> 00:00:49,385 Thanks for inviting me. 17 00:00:49,385 --> 00:00:51,315 I'm excited about the conversation. 18 00:00:51,565 --> 00:00:52,835 Well, me too. 19 00:00:52,925 --> 00:00:58,765 So I thought it would be fun to start our conversation kind of back at the 20 00:00:58,775 --> 00:01:05,364 beginning of your connection to Bucknell University, uh, because I have learned 21 00:01:05,365 --> 00:01:09,425 and Getting ready for a conversation today that you were a student there 22 00:01:09,445 --> 00:01:14,905 first and had some really incredible Achievements there during your time as a 23 00:01:14,905 --> 00:01:20,545 student before you returned as a career coach So could you tell our listeners 24 00:01:20,545 --> 00:01:22,325 a little bit about your background? 25 00:01:22,325 --> 00:01:28,054 maybe how you came to Bucknell University and what your Experiences were like 26 00:01:28,054 --> 00:01:31,945 there as a student and some of your involvement in sports there too. 27 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:33,770 Sure, sure. 28 00:01:33,789 --> 00:01:37,560 Um, so I actually grew up just down the road from Bucknell in 29 00:01:37,570 --> 00:01:39,140 South Waynesport, Pennsylvania. 30 00:01:39,179 --> 00:01:41,229 Um, so I knew Bucknell very well. 31 00:01:41,549 --> 00:01:47,570 Um, I ended up at Bucknell because I was recruited there to play soccer. 32 00:01:47,930 --> 00:01:51,810 And so, um, out of the ordinary, my, hey! 33 00:01:52,030 --> 00:01:55,650 uhm college soccer coach, he had actually come to one of my high school games, which 34 00:01:55,650 --> 00:01:59,880 is not typical, but because I was local, um, it was a little bit easier for him 35 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:01,770 to attend a high school game than it was. 36 00:02:02,175 --> 00:02:06,275 For us to match up my travel soccer with his recruiting schedule. 37 00:02:06,275 --> 00:02:09,634 So I did end up going, um, to Bucknell. 38 00:02:09,664 --> 00:02:11,905 I played soccer there for all four years. 39 00:02:11,945 --> 00:02:14,954 Um, we had a great four years of soccer. 40 00:02:14,954 --> 00:02:18,734 We made our, uh, conference tournament all four years that I was there. 41 00:02:19,085 --> 00:02:21,445 First year we came in second place. 42 00:02:21,965 --> 00:02:24,815 Unfortunately, we never made it to the NCAA tournament or won a 43 00:02:24,815 --> 00:02:26,335 championship while I was there. 44 00:02:26,375 --> 00:02:30,525 But, um, you know, I had great teammates around me that really 45 00:02:30,534 --> 00:02:32,325 set me up for success on the field. 46 00:02:32,345 --> 00:02:35,275 Um, so it was a lot of time and commitment. 47 00:02:35,295 --> 00:02:39,900 Um, On my part and on my teammates part, you know, weightlifting, going 48 00:02:39,900 --> 00:02:44,380 to practice, and trying to balance that with the rigorous academic schedule. 49 00:02:44,380 --> 00:02:50,979 I was a biology major, and I also have a studio art and philosophy minor, um, so 50 00:02:50,980 --> 00:02:56,999 they're really wide array of interests that I had, um, while I was there, but. 51 00:02:57,340 --> 00:03:02,100 You know, I had a very successful soccer career there, but I think 52 00:03:02,100 --> 00:03:07,349 the academics really prepared me for going to grad school and also, you 53 00:03:07,350 --> 00:03:13,805 know, in my career and looking back now having such a wide background 54 00:03:13,815 --> 00:03:15,605 from the liberal arts education. 55 00:03:15,905 --> 00:03:19,355 I think I just look at problems in such a different light because I have 56 00:03:19,355 --> 00:03:23,485 the, the really organized systematic way of doing things from the science 57 00:03:23,485 --> 00:03:25,574 mindset, but I'm also very creative. 58 00:03:26,015 --> 00:03:27,994 Um, and I question a lot of things. 59 00:03:27,994 --> 00:03:31,575 I think that's all speaks to what I studied while I was there. 60 00:03:31,995 --> 00:03:35,265 Um, but following that, I ended up. 61 00:03:35,545 --> 00:03:37,085 Going to get my master's degree. 62 00:03:37,085 --> 00:03:41,515 And so I do have a master's in biology from, um, it's now PennWest Clarion. 63 00:03:41,515 --> 00:03:44,245 It was Clarion University of Pennsylvania when I attended. 64 00:03:44,675 --> 00:03:45,675 Um, but. 65 00:03:46,245 --> 00:03:49,415 Beyond that, um, I don't know if you want me to get into my career path a 66 00:03:49,415 --> 00:03:51,285 little bit or if you want to hold off. 67 00:03:51,285 --> 00:03:52,116 I would love that! 68 00:03:52,116 --> 00:03:57,995 Like, no, I would love it because I think it has such a beautiful kind of connection 69 00:03:58,005 --> 00:04:01,354 to the kind of steps that you've taken. 70 00:04:01,404 --> 00:04:02,435 So, yes, please do. 71 00:04:02,445 --> 00:04:02,925 Yes. 72 00:04:03,220 --> 00:04:07,160 Um, my career path 100 percent set me up for what I'm doing now. 73 00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:14,560 Um, so following, um, my graduate degree, the completion of my graduate degree, I 74 00:04:14,570 --> 00:04:19,699 didn't know what I wanted to do, um, and so I ended up applying to coaching soccer. 75 00:04:19,860 --> 00:04:22,219 Um, so collegiate soccer coaching positions. 76 00:04:22,219 --> 00:04:27,820 I also applied to biology positions, um, to try to find a research opportunity. 77 00:04:28,380 --> 00:04:32,590 And I was getting tons of callbacks for soccer, but nothing for biology. 78 00:04:32,620 --> 00:04:35,430 So I ended up coaching soccer first at the University of Scranton. 79 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:36,620 I absolutely loved it. 80 00:04:36,659 --> 00:04:40,949 Um, for personal reasons, financial reasons, student loans, stuff like that. 81 00:04:41,510 --> 00:04:45,179 I, I chose to try to do something within my major. 82 00:04:45,179 --> 00:04:48,490 And so I shifted to Geisinger for a little bit as a research tech. 83 00:04:49,340 --> 00:04:53,320 I knew there was very little advancement unless I went and got a PhD, but I 84 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:54,680 had made the decision for myself. 85 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,319 I wasn't ready for a PhD at that point in my life. 86 00:04:57,410 --> 00:04:59,425 Um, I couldn't choose, right? 87 00:04:59,465 --> 00:05:03,385 I was, I loved science, I loved biology, but I loved so much of it that I was 88 00:05:03,385 --> 00:05:05,265 like, I don't know what my focus would be. 89 00:05:05,365 --> 00:05:05,745 Yeah. 90 00:05:05,895 --> 00:05:10,075 And so I decided, you know, this Geisinger position, while it's great 91 00:05:10,075 --> 00:05:11,934 right now, I know it's not long term. 92 00:05:12,075 --> 00:05:15,565 I ended up stumbled upon a product development role at 93 00:05:15,574 --> 00:05:16,955 First Quality Enterprises. 94 00:05:17,485 --> 00:05:21,575 Um, Where I got to design tampons for four years. 95 00:05:21,854 --> 00:05:24,104 Um, so that was a really cool job. 96 00:05:24,125 --> 00:05:30,005 Um, it was exciting and it, I felt like I was using my education every day. 97 00:05:30,025 --> 00:05:32,224 And I think that's what I love the most about it. 98 00:05:32,224 --> 00:05:36,094 But I really realized that the business environment wasn't for me. 99 00:05:36,154 --> 00:05:40,895 Um, you know, it can be really rough at times and, um. 100 00:05:41,370 --> 00:05:44,730 So I decided, you know, maybe this isn't right for me. 101 00:05:45,309 --> 00:05:48,450 I ended up, it fell in my lap to be an interim head coach at 102 00:05:48,479 --> 00:05:50,929 Penn College, um, in my hometown. 103 00:05:50,989 --> 00:05:55,839 And I took the opportunity to work full time at First Quality while 104 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,299 also being the interim head coach, um, part time at Penn College. 105 00:05:59,419 --> 00:06:02,380 They ended up offering me that job and I ended up taking it. 106 00:06:02,590 --> 00:06:08,355 So then I coached college soccer again for three years about that time. 107 00:06:08,355 --> 00:06:11,744 I ended up having my son and that's where my life pivoted again. 108 00:06:11,775 --> 00:06:17,734 And, you know, college coaching full time is a lot of time, a 109 00:06:17,734 --> 00:06:19,785 lot of nights, a lot of weekends. 110 00:06:19,885 --> 00:06:25,150 And, um, You know, I wanted to see my son grow up, and I was realizing that 111 00:06:25,150 --> 00:06:28,700 there was a lot of days where I was only seeing him two hours in the day, and it 112 00:06:28,700 --> 00:06:35,100 just wasn't sitting well with me, um, so I started looking, and I stumbled across 113 00:06:35,269 --> 00:06:42,119 a, um, job posting that looked like my resume fitted into job requirements, and 114 00:06:42,509 --> 00:06:47,730 so I applied to be a career coach, um, with a STEM background, so that's where 115 00:06:47,730 --> 00:06:53,215 the career coach STEM job title comes from, Um, it required higher education 116 00:06:53,215 --> 00:06:54,955 experience, working with students. 117 00:06:55,375 --> 00:07:01,025 Um, it required, you know, a background in STEM with a major in the STEM field. 118 00:07:01,044 --> 00:07:04,185 Also, some STEM industry experience was preferred. 119 00:07:04,195 --> 00:07:08,214 And I said, I would be silly if I didn't apply to this right now. 120 00:07:08,604 --> 00:07:13,865 Um, and so I ended up landing it and I moved back to Bucknell in 2021. 121 00:07:14,265 --> 00:07:15,705 And now I get. 122 00:07:15,725 --> 00:07:18,475 To help students through their career paths. 123 00:07:18,475 --> 00:07:21,255 So my experience of navigating it and also. 124 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:25,260 Having a similar feeling of not knowing what you want to do. 125 00:07:25,740 --> 00:07:29,340 Um, and so how do I navigate that? 126 00:07:29,350 --> 00:07:32,789 So teaching them how to navigate it and letting them understand that like 127 00:07:33,140 --> 00:07:37,739 your major doesn't have to be what you do at the end of the day for a career. 128 00:07:37,739 --> 00:07:39,460 It may not even line up. 129 00:07:39,690 --> 00:07:44,610 For what's meaningful to you at the end of the day, um, and what your values mean. 130 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,009 And so through my whole experience, I realized, you know, I like 131 00:07:48,009 --> 00:07:52,690 working with young people, um, and I like working in higher ed 132 00:07:52,700 --> 00:07:55,490 and I, I like just helping people. 133 00:07:55,810 --> 00:07:59,780 And so, but it took all of those jobs for me to figure it out. 134 00:07:59,780 --> 00:08:04,080 So I'm hopefully helping students figure it out earlier rather than 135 00:08:04,510 --> 00:08:07,370 later, um, and in their career. 136 00:08:07,390 --> 00:08:12,320 So hopefully they Start the process now as a student, so that way it's 137 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,780 a little bit easier for them to pivot once they're out of Bucknell. 138 00:08:16,609 --> 00:08:17,639 Thank you so much. 139 00:08:17,679 --> 00:08:24,689 And I, I do think that your, your story and your experience must be of 140 00:08:24,829 --> 00:08:30,559 so much value when you're communicating with the current students at Bucknell. 141 00:08:30,580 --> 00:08:35,489 You know, you, you just don't know what various experiences 142 00:08:35,489 --> 00:08:37,270 are going to lead you to next. 143 00:08:37,809 --> 00:08:46,350 And, um, so often I find that when students are in college and, you know, 144 00:08:46,420 --> 00:08:50,500 kind of put with that decision that they have to choose their major and or minors, 145 00:08:50,939 --> 00:08:56,640 that there's a certain trajectory that they feel like they need to be on or 146 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,455 that they just have to kind of, You know, check the boxes to get to the next thing, 147 00:09:01,835 --> 00:09:06,935 and I think having conversations with someone like yourself as they're kind of 148 00:09:07,565 --> 00:09:11,355 completing the certain requirements at school to really just kind of embrace the 149 00:09:11,355 --> 00:09:16,385 various experiences that they're having and try to enjoy being in the moment 150 00:09:16,425 --> 00:09:20,725 without thinking too far ahead about what they're going to be doing next. 151 00:09:21,145 --> 00:09:21,715 Um, yeah. 152 00:09:22,325 --> 00:09:26,365 And it's, I have five kids, too, and I have these conversations 153 00:09:26,405 --> 00:09:28,235 with them all the time. 154 00:09:28,425 --> 00:09:33,184 Um, I actually majored in textile design, did not have plans to 155 00:09:33,185 --> 00:09:36,154 get involved with the software. 156 00:09:36,154 --> 00:09:41,554 So you just don't know what, you know, how life is gonna, uh, kinda unfold for you. 157 00:09:41,555 --> 00:09:45,815 And, and that's really, I think, kind of the, um, the fun part. 158 00:09:46,219 --> 00:09:48,339 Uh, so thank you for sharing your story. 159 00:09:48,339 --> 00:09:53,960 I love this kind of soccer coach to career coach and all of your background 160 00:09:53,970 --> 00:09:58,990 in STEM and your love for science and, but it really just sounds like you 161 00:09:58,990 --> 00:10:05,210 found the, this incredible opportunity to return to Bucknell and now, you 162 00:10:05,210 --> 00:10:09,310 know, continue coaching, but in a different, in a different capacity. 163 00:10:09,970 --> 00:10:16,110 So, uh, you mentioned that it sounds like you joined the institution in, uh, 2021, 164 00:10:16,460 --> 00:10:22,460 um, so it's only been two years and I would love to hear, uh, you know, what it 165 00:10:22,460 --> 00:10:26,340 was like in some of your early days there. 166 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:33,310 Um, you know, I've, uh, connected with Christa on LinkedIn, so I've seen some of 167 00:10:33,310 --> 00:10:38,810 her, uh, Hostings reflecting on how much has happened since those first weeks. 168 00:10:39,020 --> 00:10:42,980 And I would love for you to share a little bit about that with our listeners too. 169 00:10:43,060 --> 00:10:43,720 Yeah. 170 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:44,600 Yeah, of course. 171 00:10:44,630 --> 00:10:50,330 Um, so it was, it was literally, I think the third day I was on the job. 172 00:10:50,370 --> 00:10:53,960 Um, I had gone to a Friday learning series. 173 00:10:53,970 --> 00:10:58,300 So Bucknell hosts the Friday learning series for faculty and staff to attend. 174 00:10:58,610 --> 00:11:00,549 And there's usually a presentation by. 175 00:11:00,689 --> 00:11:06,329 Another faculty or staff member, um, or department on on some sort of a topic 176 00:11:06,340 --> 00:11:09,960 but it's Designed to really, like, allow you to get to learn either what's 177 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:17,250 happening on campus or, um, what other people are doing, um, and so the Friday 178 00:11:17,250 --> 00:11:21,420 Learning Series that week was actually, uh, Joe Tranquillo, who's our Associate 179 00:11:21,420 --> 00:11:25,590 Provost, he um, was presenting on the new Pathways program, which uses the 180 00:11:25,590 --> 00:11:30,639 Digication software, um, and how, you know, they were launching Pathways 181 00:11:30,639 --> 00:11:36,720 that year to try to get students to, um, start to engage with ePortfolios 182 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:38,560 as a high impact practice on campus. 183 00:11:38,990 --> 00:11:42,460 And so he kind of went through the presentation, and as he was 184 00:11:42,460 --> 00:11:45,480 talking, I said, there are so many connections, but we're trying to 185 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:47,620 tell students about career here. 186 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:53,295 Um, That, you know, the reflection and the self reflection piece and self awareness 187 00:11:53,295 --> 00:11:58,885 that comes in it, uh, comes along with that and, um, you know, starting to 188 00:11:58,895 --> 00:12:04,254 really think about themselves and how they relate to not only what they're 189 00:12:04,254 --> 00:12:08,365 learning in school but things outside of school in society and beyond that into 190 00:12:08,365 --> 00:12:13,065 their career and I was just, I was so excited about it that I went right back 191 00:12:13,065 --> 00:12:17,955 to my office and I got on the Digication, the Bucknell Digication website and I 192 00:12:17,984 --> 00:12:19,685 just started Playing with it, right? 193 00:12:19,694 --> 00:12:25,234 Just to see what it could do, um, and how we might be able to see using it 194 00:12:25,665 --> 00:12:27,744 in the Center for Career Advancement. 195 00:12:28,225 --> 00:12:34,605 And Within the first week, I developed, it looked more like a website, um, than 196 00:12:34,605 --> 00:12:40,074 an e portfolio, but I had developed something that, um, looked like a website 197 00:12:40,074 --> 00:12:44,594 where I was integrating our resources in and, but after talking with Joe, he 198 00:12:44,594 --> 00:12:48,564 was like, it'd be nice if we could make it more of an e portfolio, like more 199 00:12:48,564 --> 00:12:53,254 of a template for students to grab and to do things in, things that they can, 200 00:12:53,264 --> 00:12:58,060 they can actually used to do something rather than just a website because we 201 00:12:58,060 --> 00:12:59,690 could always make a website in WordPress. 202 00:13:00,150 --> 00:13:05,920 Um, and I said, okay, so I went back and I kind of started recreating it 203 00:13:05,959 --> 00:13:11,039 into more of a reflective practice ePortfolio and it resulted in. 204 00:13:11,725 --> 00:13:16,325 Um, a template that my colleague Sarah Bell uses, um, in her 205 00:13:16,325 --> 00:13:17,995 Foundation Seminar class visits. 206 00:13:18,005 --> 00:13:22,405 So a Foundation Seminar is for first year students, and so she'll go in, 207 00:13:22,425 --> 00:13:25,635 um, if she's invited by the professor and, and talk a little bit about the 208 00:13:25,635 --> 00:13:29,775 CCA, our resources, but now she's incorporating this My Career Journey, 209 00:13:30,115 --> 00:13:33,255 um, as part of that presentation. 210 00:13:33,695 --> 00:13:38,045 And so some of the faculty will assign it as an optional assignment beforehand. 211 00:13:38,430 --> 00:13:42,660 Some of the faculty are assigning it, but she still kind of touches on it because 212 00:13:42,670 --> 00:13:48,190 she can use that to show them some of our current resources, because there are 213 00:13:48,190 --> 00:13:49,929 still some resources linked in there. 214 00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:54,409 But, it does walk them through looking at some of our resources like, the 215 00:13:54,410 --> 00:13:58,520 Bucknell career paths, or what can I do with this major, which is one of the. 216 00:13:59,155 --> 00:14:04,805 Subscription resources and then have them reflect on it, right? 217 00:14:04,805 --> 00:14:07,995 So there's some reflective activities at the bottom of the 218 00:14:08,275 --> 00:14:09,954 template where they can actually. 219 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:15,220 Um, start looking at these resources and figure out what careers were 220 00:14:15,230 --> 00:14:18,890 interesting that I saw in this resource that I might want to pursue. 221 00:14:18,900 --> 00:14:21,740 So, creating like, some of it's just creating lists of 222 00:14:21,749 --> 00:14:24,780 potential careers or absolutely not, I do not like these things. 223 00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:28,950 And, um, and just starting to get that ball rolling, right? 224 00:14:28,990 --> 00:14:34,349 Um, other things like exploring themselves like, what does success mean to me? 225 00:14:34,410 --> 00:14:36,099 What does it look like for me? 226 00:14:36,189 --> 00:14:40,829 Um, and so it's just each page is a little bit different. 227 00:14:40,859 --> 00:14:44,249 And so she's been utilizing that, um, that one, but we've. 228 00:14:44,690 --> 00:14:50,430 Definitely evolved, um, into really using ePortfolios elsewhere. 229 00:14:50,479 --> 00:14:56,890 Um, so when we launched our in person for credit, um, career courses, we actually 230 00:14:56,910 --> 00:15:02,480 are using an ePortfolio as, like, a learning, the learning center for them. 231 00:15:02,899 --> 00:15:06,650 So they create a learning ePortfolio throughout the entirety of the course. 232 00:15:06,650 --> 00:15:08,410 That's where all of their assignments go. 233 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:13,500 And so some of it is reflective practices, some of it Take pieces from class 234 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:18,740 discussions or readings and start talking about how you see this like playing out 235 00:15:18,770 --> 00:15:21,439 in your future or for your future career. 236 00:15:21,789 --> 00:15:25,710 Um, and then some of it's like uploading their resume in there 237 00:15:25,710 --> 00:15:31,439 and really starting to build a basis of career knowledge for them. 238 00:15:31,449 --> 00:15:35,869 Something that they can look back on and try to remember something that, 239 00:15:35,900 --> 00:15:37,819 you know, sparked an interest in them. 240 00:15:37,819 --> 00:15:43,069 Maybe an art course that they can address later on in their career decision making. 241 00:15:44,540 --> 00:15:46,349 Wow, that's wonderful. 242 00:15:46,410 --> 00:15:53,130 So when you first got in there and started, uh, kind of experimenting with 243 00:15:53,130 --> 00:16:02,489 the tool and envisioning how this might help career services, uh, when you were 244 00:16:02,490 --> 00:16:06,179 starting to make that kind of transition from it being something that was more of a 245 00:16:06,179 --> 00:16:12,489 resource to becoming a place for beginning more of this reflective practice. 246 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:19,730 How are you kind of designing the prompts for the students and thinking about, 247 00:16:20,930 --> 00:16:27,880 you know, what people looking at that portfolio might want to know about the 248 00:16:28,059 --> 00:16:32,280 students, or what were you hoping that the students might start to discover 249 00:16:32,290 --> 00:16:34,640 about themselves as part of that process? 250 00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:37,199 Very often when we're working with institutions. 251 00:16:37,685 --> 00:16:42,795 You know, they really want students to engage in this reflective practice, but 252 00:16:42,845 --> 00:16:47,945 so often it's the, the quality of the prompts that help get the students there. 253 00:16:47,975 --> 00:16:51,414 So I'd love for you to just share a little bit about what kind of guided 254 00:16:51,414 --> 00:16:53,055 you in developing those prompts. 255 00:16:53,055 --> 00:16:55,494 And if you can recall some that you could share with the 256 00:16:55,494 --> 00:16:57,135 listeners, that would be great too. 257 00:16:57,715 --> 00:16:58,194 Yeah. 258 00:16:58,245 --> 00:17:03,994 Um, so when, with the My Career Journey, um, template, really what 259 00:17:03,994 --> 00:17:11,565 the goal was, was just the start of let's understand ourself, right? 260 00:17:11,594 --> 00:17:13,464 It's, it's all about self awareness. 261 00:17:13,474 --> 00:17:20,200 So majority of the micro journey prompts would relate to thinking more deeply about 262 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:25,980 their self, their values, their interests, their expectations for their future, 263 00:17:26,250 --> 00:17:32,650 um, where they see themselves going, um, so, you know, some of the prompts 264 00:17:32,670 --> 00:17:37,830 might be related to career, so thinking about what, one of the prompts is, what 265 00:17:37,830 --> 00:17:40,290 career paths can you cross off the list? 266 00:17:40,605 --> 00:17:40,905 Right? 267 00:17:40,925 --> 00:17:45,985 Like, what's something that is absolutely, absolutely nothing you want to pursue, 268 00:17:46,315 --> 00:17:48,375 um, and, and reflecting upon that? 269 00:17:48,375 --> 00:17:50,185 Like, what can I cross off and why? 270 00:17:50,625 --> 00:17:57,090 And then, Other, others are what topics and ideas are sparking my curiosity? 271 00:17:57,100 --> 00:17:59,280 Like what really makes me tick? 272 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,900 Like what are these things that I get really excited about? 273 00:18:02,380 --> 00:18:06,840 Um, you know, I think I mentioned before the definition of success to 274 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:08,420 them, like a personal definition. 275 00:18:09,129 --> 00:18:10,570 Also what's important to them. 276 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,210 So starting to think more about personal values. 277 00:18:13,210 --> 00:18:14,770 So what is important to you? 278 00:18:15,209 --> 00:18:21,490 Um, and then also they're thinking about strengths and weaknesses, right? 279 00:18:21,490 --> 00:18:22,659 Like, what am I good at? 280 00:18:22,719 --> 00:18:25,950 What skills do I have that I'm really good at? 281 00:18:26,010 --> 00:18:29,370 And, um, also, what activities do I like to do? 282 00:18:29,909 --> 00:18:32,715 Because those things all play into. 283 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,550 Whether they like it or not into what career is going to be meaningful to them. 284 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:42,019 So just really basic reflections on themselves is 285 00:18:42,259 --> 00:18:43,539 really where this one starts. 286 00:18:44,099 --> 00:18:48,549 Um A couple of the pages in will be a little bit more 287 00:18:48,549 --> 00:18:50,159 geared towards our resources. 288 00:18:50,159 --> 00:18:55,345 So that's where we rope in some of our our your career center resources? 289 00:18:55,765 --> 00:19:04,245 Um, but some of them are reflections that are, you know, looking at what your majors 290 00:19:04,264 --> 00:19:10,844 are, you know, is there an area within your major that really stands out to you? 291 00:19:10,884 --> 00:19:13,024 You know, computer engineering is huge, right? 292 00:19:13,024 --> 00:19:16,715 So, which part of computer engineering are you most interested in? 293 00:19:16,735 --> 00:19:20,085 So, it gets a little bit more specific, um, as you go 294 00:19:20,085 --> 00:19:22,085 through into the later prompts. 295 00:19:22,105 --> 00:19:23,945 The first one's kind of really general. 296 00:19:24,350 --> 00:19:27,299 But then it's starting to get, break it down a little bit. 297 00:19:27,740 --> 00:19:35,279 Um, and then another one that we have them do is looking at one of our resources has 298 00:19:35,399 --> 00:19:40,969 all of the alumni from their major listed and their job title and the location 299 00:19:40,989 --> 00:19:42,689 and the company that they work for. 300 00:19:43,060 --> 00:19:48,949 So the cool thing about that resource is when you look at the recent grads, they 301 00:19:48,949 --> 00:19:53,249 tend to trend towards something that is really in line with their major, right? 302 00:19:53,279 --> 00:19:55,555 But as you scroll, Down. 303 00:19:55,575 --> 00:20:00,245 And get into the alum that are further into their career journeys. 304 00:20:00,584 --> 00:20:03,294 You see some departure from that. 305 00:20:03,595 --> 00:20:07,544 So you see, like you said, you were in textile design, right? 306 00:20:07,594 --> 00:20:09,994 And now, not even remotely close to that. 307 00:20:10,005 --> 00:20:12,765 So, as people go through, they change. 308 00:20:12,775 --> 00:20:15,105 And, and so, some of the prompts are. 309 00:20:15,550 --> 00:20:16,760 What surprised you? 310 00:20:16,930 --> 00:20:18,040 What did you notice? 311 00:20:18,250 --> 00:20:22,750 Did you see any of these careers in the later classes of alumni, 312 00:20:22,750 --> 00:20:26,010 like the older alumni, that are any of those of interest to you? 313 00:20:26,010 --> 00:20:26,560 You know, what? 314 00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:30,530 You know, it's, it was a design to really get them to start thinking 315 00:20:30,540 --> 00:20:35,529 that, Oh, maybe I don't have to do something that lines up with my major. 316 00:20:35,570 --> 00:20:38,040 Like it doesn't have to be a straight path. 317 00:20:38,410 --> 00:20:41,300 It can, you can go straight for a while and then veer 318 00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:42,540 off to the left or the right. 319 00:20:42,589 --> 00:20:45,180 And you could always circle back like I did, right? 320 00:20:45,339 --> 00:20:50,429 Um, and end up figuring out for themselves what the right career is. 321 00:20:50,439 --> 00:20:52,889 So that's kind of the, my career journey. 322 00:20:52,959 --> 00:20:55,129 Um, template in a nutshell. 323 00:20:55,739 --> 00:20:56,549 I love that. 324 00:20:56,580 --> 00:21:01,249 And are there opportunities for the current students to connect with 325 00:21:01,279 --> 00:21:07,399 some of those alumni as well to kind of learn about the different 326 00:21:07,419 --> 00:21:11,399 paths that they embarked on and maybe what they're doing today? 327 00:21:12,455 --> 00:21:15,395 Uh, yes, so we do have an alumni directory. 328 00:21:15,415 --> 00:21:21,425 So, um, some of the students, you know, the alumni are in that directory and 329 00:21:21,524 --> 00:21:23,604 we obviously use LinkedIn as well. 330 00:21:23,635 --> 00:21:26,905 So, LinkedIn is a really good place, a good starting point to find 331 00:21:26,905 --> 00:21:30,395 people that are doing the job that you want to do or working at the 332 00:21:30,405 --> 00:21:31,719 company that you want to work in. 333 00:21:31,870 --> 00:21:35,900 Work at, um, and so, you know, they do have the opportunity 334 00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:37,330 to network with alumni. 335 00:21:37,330 --> 00:21:41,720 So we do have the alumni directory, which helps directly connect them to 336 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:46,249 some of the alumni, but then we also do a lot of on campus programming. 337 00:21:46,269 --> 00:21:50,830 So we do have alumni panels, alumni, alumni come back to campus. 338 00:21:50,849 --> 00:21:56,609 It could be a math specific panel or we've done physics panels across campus. 339 00:21:56,619 --> 00:22:01,115 They're doing them in a wide range of the academic departments, but then We also 340 00:22:01,115 --> 00:22:03,965 like to do, you know, industry specific. 341 00:22:03,965 --> 00:22:07,455 So one we're working on this year is based on data analytics 342 00:22:07,455 --> 00:22:09,845 across multiple industries. 343 00:22:09,934 --> 00:22:13,344 So it's going to be a series of, um, employer panels. 344 00:22:13,355 --> 00:22:18,334 So we're trying to find different alumni or employers that we can connect 345 00:22:18,334 --> 00:22:20,374 with that are different industries. 346 00:22:20,374 --> 00:22:22,885 And each month we're going to do a virtual panel. 347 00:22:23,219 --> 00:22:27,649 That will kind of, they can talk about data analytics within their industry 348 00:22:27,699 --> 00:22:29,529 and within their specific employer. 349 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:34,069 So, uh, Christa, one of the ways that we were able to get connected was 350 00:22:34,069 --> 00:22:40,490 that I saw that you were presenting at the AAEEBL annual conference. 351 00:22:41,169 --> 00:22:45,770 And, uh, the title of the session was really about this kind of 352 00:22:45,879 --> 00:22:48,669 transforming of career services. 353 00:22:49,260 --> 00:22:53,730 And, uh, I wanted you to kind of tell the listeners a little bit 354 00:22:53,730 --> 00:22:59,800 about maybe why Bucknell, or maybe why you personally feel like Career 355 00:22:59,810 --> 00:23:02,889 Services needs a transformation. 356 00:23:04,140 --> 00:23:06,620 Yeah, I think it's just like anything else. 357 00:23:06,629 --> 00:23:08,680 It's keeping up with the times, right? 358 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,860 Um, so keeping up with the changes in technology, um, changes in resources, 359 00:23:13,879 --> 00:23:16,754 changes in, The hiring process. 360 00:23:17,235 --> 00:23:22,985 So, in the last, I don't know, a few decades, I assume, um, there has been 361 00:23:22,995 --> 00:23:27,474 a shift, right, from less of the one on one focus to we have to be able to 362 00:23:27,474 --> 00:23:32,744 reach more students than what, than doing this one on one, um, attention. 363 00:23:32,975 --> 00:23:37,304 Well, we still do that because it's still imperative that the students have that 364 00:23:37,805 --> 00:23:44,405 opportunity, right, to sit down one on one and really talk about their career path. 365 00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:50,780 Getting the basics out there to more people on a broader 366 00:23:50,780 --> 00:23:52,400 scale is going to help. 367 00:23:52,695 --> 00:23:54,305 More students in the long run. 368 00:23:54,665 --> 00:24:00,114 Um, so there's been this big shift to a one to many approach, and that's 369 00:24:00,114 --> 00:24:04,455 what we've been kind of trying to do since I started there to now, um, 370 00:24:04,485 --> 00:24:08,274 is try to shift our focus while we offer the one on one appointments. 371 00:24:08,824 --> 00:24:13,024 What are ways that we can collaborate across campus to get our resources or 372 00:24:13,024 --> 00:24:15,735 get ourselves in front of more students? 373 00:24:16,304 --> 00:24:16,844 Um. 374 00:24:17,070 --> 00:24:19,629 So that's resulted in a lot of different things. 375 00:24:19,639 --> 00:24:25,060 Some are class visits or collaborations with student groups or reaching 376 00:24:25,060 --> 00:24:29,209 out to faculty to try to find, you know, department connections. 377 00:24:29,209 --> 00:24:35,190 Can we come into certain classes, um, for your major that are required, right? 378 00:24:35,230 --> 00:24:37,819 Or it's, do you want to do a panel? 379 00:24:38,159 --> 00:24:39,659 Can we collaborate on a panel? 380 00:24:39,659 --> 00:24:43,570 And we've recently had a faculty member reach out about, a student 381 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,389 project that she's hoping to have. 382 00:24:45,689 --> 00:24:49,600 And we would be kind of roped into that where the students would be required to 383 00:24:49,679 --> 00:24:54,249 meet with us to talk about networking and employer relations and stuff 384 00:24:54,249 --> 00:24:56,280 like that in, in the course project. 385 00:24:56,799 --> 00:25:02,629 Um, so finding new ways that we can reach students to talk about career 386 00:25:02,629 --> 00:25:06,989 things, to prepare them for the next level has definitely transformed, 387 00:25:07,129 --> 00:25:12,290 um, from what it used to be, where it was we ran standalone programs. 388 00:25:12,535 --> 00:25:14,055 We saw attendance dropping. 389 00:25:14,055 --> 00:25:15,325 We couldn't get the students there. 390 00:25:15,325 --> 00:25:19,745 So now instead of competing with their time, we're meeting them in their 391 00:25:19,745 --> 00:25:25,374 time and space, and we're hitting more students by doing that than if we would, 392 00:25:25,675 --> 00:25:27,924 um, hold a standalone resume workshop. 393 00:25:28,895 --> 00:25:34,395 Um, and one of the things my presentation was on was our four credit courses. 394 00:25:34,415 --> 00:25:38,295 The, it was really focused on our general career readiness course, which 395 00:25:38,305 --> 00:25:42,995 is called Jumpstart Your Career, and, um, that's the one where we have this. 396 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:48,160 Really in depth learning ePortfolio, which they build throughout the entire course. 397 00:25:48,830 --> 00:25:52,530 Um, and it, it really runs them through everything they need. 398 00:25:52,940 --> 00:25:58,019 And it starts with the self awareness, the career exploration, but then it evolves 399 00:25:58,019 --> 00:26:01,919 into, okay, now we're going to work on a targeted job search, and then we're 400 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:06,464 going to move into Okay, once we applied, we need a resume and a cover letter for 401 00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:10,514 that application, so let's work on those things, let's practice interviewing, 402 00:26:10,845 --> 00:26:14,764 and let's talk about how we negotiate and what's negotiable in job offers. 403 00:26:15,184 --> 00:26:18,955 And so they really get a snapshot of everything they need to know, 404 00:26:19,245 --> 00:26:23,764 so that way it's a little less intimidating when they go to start 405 00:26:23,764 --> 00:26:25,435 applying to internships and jobs. 406 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:26,920 Yeah, yeah. 407 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:32,270 And so at what point, um, it sounds like the kind of template that you've 408 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:37,270 created that has all these wonderful prompts is often integrated into certain 409 00:26:37,389 --> 00:26:39,730 courses that the students are taking. 410 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:44,539 And it sounds like they're beginning this process not just in their 411 00:26:44,769 --> 00:26:49,459 senior year when they're already kind of starting interviews or 412 00:26:49,479 --> 00:26:51,329 maybe doing some internships. 413 00:26:51,409 --> 00:26:55,780 How are, you know, at what point are they being Introduced to this, because 414 00:26:55,780 --> 00:27:00,420 I think that that's another important piece about transforming career services. 415 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:04,809 I know when I was going to college, that was not even a topic of 416 00:27:04,810 --> 00:27:07,570 discussion until senior year. 417 00:27:07,570 --> 00:27:09,050 And I don't think it was just me. 418 00:27:10,439 --> 00:27:15,570 So, you know, how soon are they being introduced to this kind of thinking 419 00:27:15,580 --> 00:27:17,500 when they join the university? 420 00:27:18,389 --> 00:27:22,649 Yeah, so we are doing our best to reach out to first years. 421 00:27:22,820 --> 00:27:26,700 Um, so we do, uh, try to target them. 422 00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:30,290 So we went, and this year what we did was we went to, we got a 423 00:27:30,290 --> 00:27:31,969 table at the resource fair, right? 424 00:27:32,330 --> 00:27:36,449 And so we had a table at the resource fair, and we had some handouts. 425 00:27:36,449 --> 00:27:40,199 We revamped our handouts to be like, here's the three things you need to know 426 00:27:40,199 --> 00:27:42,290 about our office and how to work with us. 427 00:27:42,639 --> 00:27:46,469 And trying to limit the information because knowing as first years are 428 00:27:46,469 --> 00:27:53,199 coming in, it's It's hard, right, um, but using the ePortfolios in the 429 00:27:53,199 --> 00:27:57,219 Foundation Seminars with the My Career Journey that I think this year we're 430 00:27:57,219 --> 00:28:02,030 going to reach approximately a thousand students, um, you know, there's a lot 431 00:28:02,169 --> 00:28:06,530 of students that Sarah will be in front of and are So, Other colleague, Marilyn 432 00:28:06,570 --> 00:28:11,540 Schull, has had to jump in, um, to kind of manage the number of requests that 433 00:28:11,860 --> 00:28:13,639 they received about the class visits. 434 00:28:13,649 --> 00:28:19,649 So, they're going to be taking over those, but then our career course is 435 00:28:19,649 --> 00:28:25,000 actually designed for the fall semester, designed for sophomores, right? 436 00:28:26,045 --> 00:28:28,895 Because first years, their schedule is already picked for them. 437 00:28:28,895 --> 00:28:31,255 They don't really have a whole lot of flexibility there, 438 00:28:31,595 --> 00:28:33,505 um, when they come in, right? 439 00:28:33,545 --> 00:28:37,644 So, the sophomores are primarily who we target, um. 440 00:28:38,090 --> 00:28:41,889 In that general career readiness course in the fall, the spring is 441 00:28:41,889 --> 00:28:44,700 geared directly at first year students. 442 00:28:44,830 --> 00:28:47,830 Um, so at this point they have the option to choose to take it. 443 00:28:48,179 --> 00:28:54,499 So we are trying to, we, basically what we do is in the registration process, we hold 444 00:28:54,499 --> 00:28:58,830 more seats for those class years because that's what the course is designed for. 445 00:28:59,110 --> 00:29:02,080 Um, it's not necessarily designed for juniors and seniors. 446 00:29:02,725 --> 00:29:06,044 But it's so valuable to many of them, especially the ones that haven't 447 00:29:06,054 --> 00:29:08,644 thought about career at all yet. 448 00:29:09,054 --> 00:29:14,725 Um, so we do see juniors and seniors taking the course, um, so it, it does 449 00:29:14,735 --> 00:29:20,794 speak to is there a need for us to create another one, um, that we can provide 450 00:29:20,794 --> 00:29:25,904 more room for juniors and seniors to learn and maybe learn more in depth 451 00:29:25,904 --> 00:29:28,324 advanced career readiness pieces. 452 00:29:28,895 --> 00:29:29,465 I don't know. 453 00:29:29,475 --> 00:29:32,305 That could be a future endeavor we, we explore. 454 00:29:32,615 --> 00:29:37,555 Um, but we do see students of all class years attending and across all 455 00:29:37,555 --> 00:29:39,385 three of the colleges at Bucknell. 456 00:29:41,115 --> 00:29:44,235 This concludes part one of our conversation. 457 00:29:44,525 --> 00:29:48,145 To hear part two, be sure to subscribe to Digication Scholars 458 00:29:48,275 --> 00:29:53,965 Conversations on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. 459 00:29:55,050 --> 00:29:58,980 Digication Scholars Conversations is brought to you by Digication, 460 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:03,840 a technology platform powering the most innovative ePortfolio programs 461 00:30:03,940 --> 00:30:06,190 in K 12 and higher education. 462 00:30:06,790 --> 00:30:09,440 Our website can be found at digication. 463 00:30:09,460 --> 00:30:09,930 com. 464 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,380 If you enjoyed today's conversation, please like, 465 00:30:13,390 --> 00:30:15,350 subscribe, and share with a friend. 466 00:30:15,730 --> 00:30:16,870 Thanks for tuning in!