Welcome Home!
With conference season upon us, many of us feel a great sense of “home” when we arrive at the conference hotel and see our friends. Or as a new professional I remember wondering, what are all these people doing here and how will I EVER find MY place… but they all seem real nice! Personally, I have called ACPA and more specifically the Commission for Career Services my home for the past 7 years. This is my home, these are my people! I have attended other professional and student affairs conferences, but I never felt the same connection and sense of purpose as when I met commission members Michael Cronk and Farouk Dey as a first year grad student.
Fast forward 7 years and today I write this as the Chair of the Commission for Career Services, and in my final year of leadership service with the commission.
By connecting with a commission, standing committee, or state division during the annual ACPA conference you are able to make meaningful connections, friendships, and grow professionally. Obviously my focus is career services, but I really encourage anyone interested in trying to intentionally build their network and create their own professional development to consider becoming more involved with an ACPA entity. Sure, you may go on to find other organizations or professional development that bring added value as your experience grows, but especially if you are looking for a place to start and need a foundation… welcome home!
If you are wanting to get more involved as a career services professional within higher education, our commission would love to connect with you and help you develop as a professional. The ACPA Commission for Career Services vision is to be the leading influential and engaging community for career services educators. Our mission seeks to examine, address, and impact the changing and diverse role of career services in higher education within the student development framework. We achieve this mission through:
- Recruitment, Retention, and Mentoring of dynamic career educators.
- Knowledge and Scholarship to enhance the field of career services.
- Engagement through supportive on-line and in-person communities and networks of career services educators.
The commission has an active membership that engages by hosting webinars, writing blogs, contributing on social media, volunteering at the ACPA conference, leadership as commission directorate members, collaborating with state and international divisions of ACPA, presenting at conferences, developing career scholarship, and many, many other activities. Annually we recognize commission members for their contributions to our career services community, and support our colleagues by sponsoring educational programs at the ACPA conference. Finally, our members continually build a professional network and community that establishes a supportive foundation for their own careers and provides a home where they are always welcome.
If you are attending ACPA and would like to learn more, or network with us, please consider attending our Open Meeting Saturday, March 7th from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm in the Tampa Convention Center – Room 32.
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This post is part of our #SACareer series, addressing careers in student affairs, careers outside of student affairs, and the work of career services professionals. Read more about the series in Jake Nelko’s intro post. Each post is a contribution by a member or friend of the Commission for Career Services from ACPA. Our organization exists to benefit the careers of career services professionals, student affairs professionals, and anyone supporting students in the career endeavors. For more information about how to get involved with the Commission for Career Services or the #SACareer blog series, contact Jake Nelko at jnelko@uw.edu.
> BONUS <
Podcast With Eric Lambert on the History of Student Activities
