January 2020
William Pham
Danny Pape, from the University of Tennesee, Knoxville (UTK), will be taking over as director of Career Services and Student Futures in February. Pape has spent years of his career working with university career services programs.
Pape intends to take a watch-and-learn approach when he arrives on campus and focus on learning about campus for the first six months. Afterward, he plans to step into what he called a leadership role, not a commanding role. He said that he sees his job as an opportunity to raise awareness of career initiatives on campus with students, faculty and staff.
“It would be a mistake to come in and try to make large changes before learning context, history and the direction campus is going,” said Pape. “My goal will be to not duplicate services but add value for all UCCS students.”
Pape said UCCS is filled with great opportunities, and that is one of the many reasons he chose to work at this campus.
“As I went through the application and interview process, every single person I interacted with had passion for the students or constituents they serve,” said Pape.
He does not want to alter the career services already in place but is instead attempting to enhance and expand the services already in place.
“My goal is to scale career services to as many students as possible so we can help students achieve career success,” said Pape.
Pape currently works at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) as the associate director of Employer Development in their Career Center. Before his current position at UTK, Pape was a business consultant at UTK’s Career Center and helped business students for five years.
Although possessing a degree in business finance, most of Pape’s work experience has been in career services.
The UCCS Career Center provides services for current students and alumni regarding prospects and plans. As part of their duties, the Career Center interacts with students and alumni to aid and inform them on various opportunities after gaining an undergraduate degree.
Some provided services include major exploration, resume and cover letter help, interview preparation and job search guidance.
These job, internship and career events that are presented through and by the university are all managed and run by the Career Center.
The Career Center is located at Cragmor 101 and their hours are from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, but its location may change since the Student Government Association (SGA) approved a resolution to move the Career Center to the University Center.