Lately, I’ve been reading at least an article a day from the online publication: Inside Higher Ed.

Every article in the student success section relates to being a College Coach. Today’s article highlights something that I experienced firsthand yesterday.

Shawn VanDerziel, President and CEO of National Association of Colleges and Employers, stated that, “We have to catch students where they are and not just rely on them seeking out the services.” ​(Flaherty, 2023)​

The article focuses on students’ use of career centers on college campuses. This is a topic I am very interested in. In the beginning of the semester, I scheduled workshops on topics ranging from career exploration to preparing for the Job Expo in September. No one came. The workshops were listed in the campus calendar and the weekly newsletter. I put up flyers, TRiO and MT 10 sent out reminder notices to their participants. The workshops were scheduled for 4:00 on Wednesdays. I realized this might be an inconvenient time, after a day of going to class and studying, who wants to go to a workshop. TRiO and MT 10 offer workshops on the same subject twice a day; once at 10:00 am and again at 2:00pm. They seem to have a few students attend.

Then I decided to try Cookies and Careers. I set up the event much like a workshop from 11:20-12:10. The premise was simple, come by career services ask or answer a career question get a cookie. I bought cookies and waited for students to come. Again, no one came.

From others in AmeriCorps, I heard about tabling, going out on the campus and setting up in a place where large numbers of students pass by. I decided to try that. Yesterday, I went to Main Hall. It’s the oldest and coolest building on campus, in my opinion. I put up my sign and got cookies ready. I started with a simple question, “Do you know where Career Services is located?” In the SUB? In the Dorm? No and no, so I told them it’s in the basement of the Library in the Learning Center or online. Three of 25 students knew that. The next question was, “If you could find career services, what would you do there?” “Look for a job.” “I’m not sure.” “Get help with a resume.” What I learned is that I still have a lot of work to do in making Career Services location and function known. I will also continue to go look for students instead of waiting for them to come find me.