É«ÀÇÉçÇø

For many students across the country, finding the right career quite possibly feels like the scariest and most difficult thing in the world. The struggle for students to find a major that appeals and translates to the professional world has always been a prevalent issue. Tackling it is notoriously difficult. At É«ÀÇÉçÇø, this is changing.

Nearly two years ago, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Career Advancement implemented a new program called É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW (Guided Reflection on Work). This professional development initiative for student employees encourages supervisors and students to engage in conversations that are focused on applying student work and academic learning to a future career.

Based in a large part of the University of Iowa’s program of the same name, as well as the book A Good Job: Campus Employment as a High-Impact Practice, É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW’s mission is to promote student success by creating purposeful activities beyond the scope of the classroom. The program aims to make student employment a highly-impactful experience that would help É«ÀÇÉçÇø students better transition into the working world and address their anxieties about career fulfillment.

Robert Bullard, director of É«ÀÇÉçÇø’s Office of Career Advancement and one of GROW’s staff leaders, has witnessed the difficulties some students experience when they attempt to translate the knowledge they’ve gained in college to potential employers.

“What I usually see and hear is that some of the students feel that they have nothing to put on their resumes for future employers,” Bullard said. “I sit down with them and we talk about some of the skills that he or she might have. We try to focus on what intrigues them and what doesn’t. Once we do that, we try to come up with ideas and goals that are best suited for a certain student’s aptitude.”

Bullard believes that É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW can help further a student’s success by providing them with the opportunity to work alongside supervisors and grow their professional skills. “It’s important that students try to find work that’s engaging to them,” Bullard said. “Once we have paired a student up with the right supervisor, we have the supervisor consider some of the skills and knowledge their student employees should gain. We also try to have supervisors casually ask the following questions: ‘How is this job fitting into your academics? What are you learning here that’s helping you in school? What are you learning in class that you can apply here at work? Can you give me a couple of examples of things you’ve learned here that you think you’ll use in your chosen profession?’”

“This initiative,” Bullard continued, “will not only further student’s resumes, but also develop necessary skills. I think students will definitely succeed in the future if they choose to participate in the program.”

Drew Tinnin, Associate Vice President of Student Life and fellow staff partner of É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW, goes one step further with his student worker philosophy. He believes campus employment should be a purposeful component in any higher education institution’s efforts to support student success.

“Though our program is based on the success of the University of Iowa’s program, the whole idea was influenced by the book A Good Job: Campus Employment as a High-Impact Practice.” Tinnin said. “It makes a very compelling case that engaging campus employment helps students succeed in ways no one realized. Avid participants were more likely to gain work-related skills, as well as problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and general work habits as a student employee. We hope to create really exciting ways to further student success as this program continues at É«ÀÇÉçÇø.”

Among the early progress stories for É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW is the student worker team of Lara Roberts LeBeau in Testing Services. Lara was a GROW supervisor last year and believes the program greatly impacted both her and her student workers. 

“I used the questions to meet with each of the graduate students who worked in Testing Services,” LeBeau said. “I was able to identify key skills that they wanted to develop, as well as experiences they wanted to have. Using that information, we worked together to develop a project that they were able to use to expand their skills and have a meaningful work experience directly related to their major.

“I also encouraged them to keep a list of the activities that they performed,” LeBeau continued, “so that their resume would be robust with direct work experience. I think É«ÀÇÉçÇø Grow helped me be a better supervisor! I hope that they [students] found the experience as meaningful as I did.”

As É«ÀÇÉçÇø continues to expand, and more and more students search for ways to improve their college experience, there’s no doubt that É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW will have a powerful and lasting impact in the years to come.

For those interested in participating as a supervisor, you can learn more about the program by visiting the É«ÀÇÉçÇø GROW site.