Spring 2022 EditionAlumni & Friends Magazine
Hub for student support
Kaley Norris came to Ohio University as a first-year student—but with enough credits earned in high school to make her a junior. She was ahead of the curve academically but started her college journey with only two years to define her post-graduation goals and secure the experiences that would set her up to achieve them.
Carly Keeler Leatherwood, BSJ '96 | March 9, 2022
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After just one semester, Kaley Norris has built a resume that has landed her a full-time summer internship as a data analyst at Union Home Mortgage in Strongsville, Ohio—all thanks to a new OHIO office that is helping students customize and achieve plans designed to ensure their success on campus and after graduation.
Known as the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning, the office is bringing together OHIO’s Allen Advising, Career Network and Experiential Learning Hub, creating a comprehensive, no-cost student support system.
“This office, in collaboration with colleagues across the institution, is reconceptualizing the student experience at Ohio University,” says Dr. Jen Murphy, associate vice provost for OHIO Guarantee+ Graduation Plans who, after running a similar program in the College of Business, now oversees the center. “Through our office, students truly have an entire support system from day one to graduation.”
The center was launched during Bobcat Student Orientation when incoming first-year students were given the choice to opt in to the OHIO Guarantee+ Graduation Plan , through which the center’s student success advisors in each college partner with students to create individualized pathways to graduating on time and on plan. Those advisors track the students’ progress, marking them on or off plan after each semester and intervening when students stray from their plan.
The center also aims to ensure students are career ready as they transition to successful alumni. Career Network personnel work with students to explore career options and then connect them with career engagement opportunities in specific industries. And the office’s experiential designers help students access experiential learning opportunities—from internships and community engagement to research and study-away programs.
Ohio University students attend the Business, Retail and Hospitality Career Fair held Feb. 2 in the Baker University Center Ballroom. Photo by Joe Timmerman, BSVC ’23
Norris, a mathematics major, came to the center needing help in narrowing down her career focus. She worked with Holly Seckinger, BA ’02, MED ’19, an assistant director of career and employer engagement.
“We were building Kaley’s resume, and I helped her identify opportunities on campus to build experience,” Seckinger says. “She sent me her resume the other day, and it is amazing. It looks like a junior, and she just finished her first semester.”
Seckinger also helped Norris establish her profile on Handshake, a career platform used by more than 250,000 employers, and encouraged her to search the platform for OHIO alumni who might be able to connect her with opportunities.
“There’s not a job title I know I want,” says Norris. “The internship this summer will help give me the experience and knowledge to figure out what I do and don’t like.”
OHIO alumni have an important role to play in the success of students and the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning.
“The best way to get involved is to hire a Bobcat, turning around and giving a hand to the people behind you,” Seckinger says. “Help them with an internship experience or consider helping a student like Kaley who needed an internship but also might need a day at your company to learn about what you do. Sometimes it can be as simple as an email conversation.”
Bob Redd, BBA ’09, knows firsthand the power alumni have to launch a student’s post-graduation success. When he was a student, Bobcat connections helped Redd secure an interview with Dell.
“Dell was starting a new development program,” Redd recalls. “They were looking for students who might be interested.”
Redd landed that job at Dell and today is the company’s director of sales planning and strategy. He credits his experience at OHIO with his success and urges fellow alumni to consider ways to pay it forward.
Alumni looking to get involved can contact the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning at acel@ohio.edu or 740.566.8888.
Feature image: Chloe Irish, assistant director for experiential design, meets with a student outside McGuffey Hall, which houses the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02
