CONWAY, Ark. (January 9, 2018) – Hendrix College
sophomores will get intensive career preparation through a new program called Career
Term: Skills for Success after Hendrix.
Career Term will feature a series of experience-based workshops
designed to help students get a head start on their career goals and put
professional skills into practice.
While other colleges offer job skills programs on
an a la carte basis, Hendrix is making an intensive career and professional
skills program part of its academic calendar.
The Hendrix Office of Career Services will host a
two-and-a-half-day pilot version of Career Term during winter break for a
limited number of sophomores. Career Term will expand to include more students
the following year, and in January 2020 will be available to all Hendrix
sophomores (the Class of 2022) at no additional cost.
“Career Term is a new model in higher education.
And it’s a much better one for all students,” said Hendrix President Bill
Tsutsui. “With one-off skills workshops, students tend to take advantage of
them only as graduation approaches. But waiting until senior year puts students
at a real disadvantage in the job market.”
“We don’t want to see the deer-in-the-headlights
stare from seniors during their final semester when we ask them what they’re
doing after commencement,” said Tsutsui. “With Career Term, we want students to begin to
think about their goals and practice the professional skills they will need to
reach their goals before they finish their degree and enter the job market.”
Hendrix took a similar approach to hands-on
learning when it launched the Odyssey Program in 2005, Tsutsui said. Through
Odyssey, every Hendrix student completes at least three hands-on learning
experiences before they graduate.
“Hendrix was one of the first colleges to really
make hands-on learning a core part of its curriculum,” Tsutsui said. “By making
Career Term something that every student participates in, we’re applying the
same model to career preparation skills that Hendrix pioneered with Odyssey.”
Career Term supports the College’s current strategic
plan goal of 100 percent student participation in an internship or summer
research experience by the time they graduate, Tsutsui said. One of the
College’s $110 million Be Hendrix
campaign priorities is a new Center for Career Services that will be “at the
forefront of liberal arts colleges nationwide in graduating students ready for
graduate training or career-focused employment,” he added.
This
year’s pilot Career Term will begin on Thursday, January 11, 2018, and will conclude on
Saturday, January 13, 2018, following a morning of service projects in the
Conway community.
Workshops
will cover topics such as résumé writing and job interview skills, graduate
school planning and preparations, how to find an internship, professional dress
and etiquette, networking and personal branding, and professional
communication. Career Term session leaders will include Hendrix
alumni, staff, and trustees with expertise in particular areas of skill
development.
A
panel of Hendrix alumni will share their professional experiences and answer
students’ career questions, and an alumni networking event will help students
make vital connections in the professional world.
Connecting Hendrix students with Hendrix alumni
is one of Career Term’s biggest benefits, Tsutsui said.
“Our alumni are an incredible professional
resource for students, and they are very eager to help students sharpen skills
that will appeal to potential employers,” said Tsutsui. “They’re proof positive
that a broad,
hands-on, rigorous liberal arts education from Hendrix prepares
students for success after graduation.”
One of the priorities of the Hendrix College
Strategic Plan 2015-2020 is to increase the proportion of students
who have an internship or summer research experience by the time they graduate,
with an ultimate goal of 100 percent participation, and the College’s $110 million Be Hendrix campaign
includes fundraising for a new Center for Career Services, Tsutsui added.
To learn more about Career Term, visit www.hendrix.edu/careerterm.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas,
Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading
liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40
Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic
quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture
in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has
been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more,
visit www.hendrix.edu.