Ready for the real world?

By Jessica Walendukanis
Courier Staff

One hundred days to graduation…and counting. Seniors, you have only 100 days left until you walk across that stage, accept your diploma and bid farewell to Monmouth College.

Then what? What is the next step for you? Grad school? Travel? Time off? For many of you the next step is to enter the world of work.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Wackerle Career and Leadership Center, 83% of 2005 Monmouth College graduates chose to pursue employment as their next step.

If employment is the next step you have chosen, ask yourself, “Am I fully prepared?” If your answer is no, then it is time that you get prepared!

Preparing for the transition from the college experience to the career experience can be overwhelming. Fortunately, all of you have access to a valuable, yet often untapped, resource for all of your career needs.

Located at the top of Poling Hall is the Wackerle Career and Leadership Center. Now wait, don’t stop reading yet!

Yes, the Wackerle Center is widely known for stuffing your mailbox with flyers and postcards that you quickly crumble up and drop on the floor. However, it is time to put that image behind you and give them a chance.

Michelle Shawgo, Wackerle Career Development Program director, stated the objective of the Wackerle Center is “to prepare students for life after Monmouth College. The Monmouth College faculty provides an exceptional educational experience for students, and we want to build off of that. We really promote identification of interests and career exploration. Although it is an evolving process, we work hard to support Monmouth College’s mission and values and also the liberal arts education with our efforts.”

In the working world sometimes a degree is just not enough. “The Wackerle Center can help students connect their interests to their education and then to a suitable career objective,” said Shawgo.

Even if you are a Senior, it is not too late. Get help in moving from the college experience to the career experience.

If you are not a Senior, then come and see what you can be doing do stand out from everyone else.

Though students mostly use the Wackerle Center for resume critique, you may also receive assistance in many other areas, such as locating an internship, developing interview techniques, meeting professionals in your field of interest and much more.

According to Shawgo, the Wackerle Center is the first college career center in the United States offering both career and leadership services.

In 2001, the Wackerle 4-Year Intentional Career and Leadership Program was selected as one of the 250 leading edge programs at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) national conference in Seattle, Wash.