24 September 2019
Annika Schmidt
After a SGA senate resolution voting in favor of moving the Career Center into University Center (UC), university administration is developing a timeline to move the office to the game room in UC.
“We don’t have a timeline yet, so that will be our next step,” said Vice Chancellor of Success Sentwali Bakari. “We wanted to make sure the students supported it first.”
Bakari said that the resolution that SGA voted in favor of shows that students support the move. “By placing the career center in a hub where there is a lot of activity, many students will visit the career center going forward,” said Bakari.
The Career Center will be moved to the area in UC that houses pool tables and vending machines, and the game area will be moved to a different area of UC.
“We’re not eliminating the social space, just putting it in a different location,” Bakari said.
Administration is considering removal of the meeting rooms across from Clyde’s in favor of preserving the game area.
“Students could possibly be affected by the loss of a meeting room,” said Alejandro Dejesus, associate director of University Center and event production. “They are mostly used by student organizations. Ideally [the game room] would stay on the first floor.”
While administration has not settled on a timeline for the Career Center move, the impact of construction is a consideration in how the changes will happen.
“It may be a little inconvenient at times with the noise or dust, but construction has never caused any trouble because in the end we have a better building facility,” said Dejesus. “We try to accommodate renovations without impacting daily operations.”
The Career Center lacks a director and according to Bakari a search committee is searching for candidates.
“We may have a director on board before the end of the semester. There is still time for the director to be involved.” Bakari said. “The new director will be able to think and create a plan or set of strategic goals in terms of delivery of the services. They will help with the model and find the best trends around the country with career services within a career center.”
Surveys were sent to students in December and over the summer semester attempting to gauge student desire for services and usage for the Career Center.
“A lot of the students were not aware of the services offered by the career center and a lot of the students didn’t access it,” Bakari said. “There was minimal use or they were not sure of location and services. I do applaud SGA for wanting to help more students get into the career center.”
Bakari said that having the Career Center in a central building like the UC will send a message that UCCS is preparing students to find jobs.
As part of the move to a new location, the Career Center will receive upgrades, with plans to increase collaboration across campus in regards to internships, job shadowing opportunities and volunteer endeavors.
The new Career Center will have more conference rooms and meeting spaces than the current location. “There will be a space for employers to come in and interview students,” Bakari said. “We currently have that, but this will be a nicer area within the new facility.”
The Career Center staff has been collaborating with the colleges on campus to develop an app called Handshake to help connect students and recent graduates with jobs and internships according to Bakari.
“The new facility is an exciting prospect for students to get excited about,” Bakari said. “We want our students to be prepared upon graduation.”