One of the benefits of a liberal arts education is that graduates from any major go on to pursue a wide variety of interests in their careers. An art history major may go on to be a lawyer. An anthropology major may pursue a career in education. A trombone major may decide to pursue a career in business. The Center for Career, Life, and Community Engagement (CLC) is excited to announce the launch of eight new Career Communities that help students explore career industry areas, regardless of their major:
- Business & Entrepreneurship
- Communication, Journalism, & Written Arts
- Education & Community Engagement
- Government, Law, & International Affairs
- Health Care & Life Sciences
- Physical & Natural Sciences
- Technology & Data Science
- Visual & Performing Arts
The Career Community initiative was a recommendation from the Life after Lawrence Final Report. Staff in the CLC worked together with faculty to develop the eight Career Communities based on job and industry trends and student interest. Student feedback during the testing phase supported the idea behind Career Communities, “I think it (career communities) will help students explore different options associated with their interests. I also like how the individual pages are set up… the pages are easy to navigate and information is easy to find.” In addition to being a resource for students, the CLC hopes the new Career Community web pages will support faculty, coaches and other staff in their career discussions with students.
The Career Communities, located on the CLC webpage, offer unique content such as related job functions, internships, alumni contacts, experiential learning opportunities such as research and volunteer experiences, student organizations, funding opportunities and upcoming events. The Career Communities also link to relevant Lawrence academic pages to help students explore courses related to a career area. When students set up their Lawrence Link (Handshake) profile and indicate their Career Interests, these interests will be aligned with one or more of the eight Career Communities. CLC staff will then be able to use that information to send targeted emails to those students with relevant information on job postings, internships and events. Over time, the CLC plans to add a student interest group component, information on graduate school programs, and additional career advisors to support the Career Communities.
“The Career Communities are an important step in becoming a more student-centered organization and in supporting all students to achieve their Life after Lawrence goals,” says Anne Jones, Interim Dean for the CLC. “We hope students will explore multiple communities that align with their interests, goals and post-graduation plans.” Any alumni that are interested in being listed in a career community as an alumni contact are asked to please email Amanda Netzel at amanda.g.netzel@lawrence.edu.