Left: PEL student Chalet Johnson, who is majoring in Human Development, uses one of the computers available at the Tampa campus. (Photo from July, 2016)
Article and photos by Anne W. Anderson
Note: Classes will continue to be held at the Tampa campus through Spring 2017.
Driving over one of the Bay area bridges can make short drives seem like long journeys, especially if it is to a place we've never been before. That may be why we sometimes hear "But it's so far away!" when we suggest students take a course at a campus other than their home campus.
The slide show below focuses on the Tampa campus, which is just down the road from International Plaza (Mall) and just up the road from Westshore Plaza -- places many Pinellas-side people have visited for their many shopping and/or dining opportunities.
Right: PEL students Madeline Fugate and Christel Dykes work in Pinellas County
Eckerd College's Tampa campus will be hosting a career transition workshop on August 31 for people considering making some kind of career change. PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood said the invitation grew from a conversation between the executive director of TampaBay-Job-Links (TBJL), a non-profit organization that provides low-cost career counseling, and Kathy McDonald, PEL's director of admission and recruitment.
"We both serve on the board of Encore Tampa Bay, another non-profit organization whose slogan is "Connecting Boomers to their 'encore' careers,'" McDonald explained. "Eckerd's Tampa campus space is mostly available to such groups during the day, so we offered to host a TBJL event."
Whether someone needs help getting started, are thinking about changing careers, or are returning to work, "Switching Gears: A Roadmap for Career Transition" is designed to kick-start career transitions into high gear.
Led by Robyn Winters, M.A., a career strategist with TampaBay-Job-Links, this full-day comprehensive, interactive program can help attendees maximize the skills, values, and interests they already have and identify the next steps to take to get where they want to be.
Among the topics covered are:
Developing a customized “roadmap” for successful career transition
Ensure that résumés and LinkedIn profiles are dynamic and engaging to the reader
Navigate the career transition process using state-of-the-art tools and strategies
Increase networking and interviewing proficiencies
Attendees should bring their résumés and, if available, cover letters and/or business/networking cards. Lunch is on-your-own. The host site has a refrigerator and microwave, and various eateries are within walking distance.
For more information or to register, call (813) 344-0200 or email nikki@tbjl.org. Note: This workshop is exclusively under the auspices of TampaBay-Job-Links and is their sole responsibility, although located at Eckerd College.
Employers filled Fox Hall at a 2015 Career Services fair.
by Anne W. Anderson Lunch & Learn photos by Craig Anderson
Looking for new career opportunities? More than 30 area businesses already have reserved space at the Eckerd College Career & Internship Fair to be held Wednesday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Fox Hall.
Director of Career Services Grant Bailey said in an email he anticipates another 20 or so employers also will register. The companies attending represent a variety of fields including finance, marine science, research, technology, and sports.
"Currently registered employers include the Tampa Bay Rays, Tech Data, Northwestern Mutual, The Florida Aquarium, Statistics Solutions, and Mote Marine Aquarium," Bailey wrote.
Employers attend the Eckerd College Fair because they value Eckerd's reputation for fostering skills such as "collaborative leadership, innovation, analysis and critical thinking, problem solving, research, oral and written communication skills, and a commitment to service," according to the information sent to interested employers.
PEL students are welcomed, and students do not need to register for the event.
"Simply show-up in professional attire, as if you were going to an interview," Bailey wrote. He also suggested students bring copies of their resume, preferably in a nice folder.
Finding the right path to long-lasting career satisfaction
Kathy McDonald welcomes people to the Lunch & Learn.
Finding a job is only the first step to building a career. And there are different paths to building a satisfying career.
Not
everyone is an Organizational Climber who needs to become CEO of their
company to achieve career success and fulfillment, according to Kathy
McDonald, PEL's director of admissions and recruitment, and Mary E.
Anderson, career specialist with Eckerd College's Center for Career Planning and Applied Learning.
Two other career paths, McDonald explained, are those of the Continuous
Learner and the Master Craftsman (see condensed slide presentation
below).
McDonald and Anderson spoke to almost 30 PEL
students, alumni, and interested community friends who filled a
conference room at the PEL Tampa campus on Westshore Blvd. this past
month.
"Some people are organizational climbers,"
McDonald told the group as they lunched on a variety of wraps. "But
there's only so much room at the top. Plus, not everyone enjoys being in
management."
McDonald
noted that most of us follow more than one path depending on the
setting and on where we are in life. A person may be an organizational
climber as a community advocate but find success as a continuous learner
at work. Someone who begins a career as a continuous learner may
discover a particular area of focus and become a master craftsman in
that area.
Mary Anderson explains how to develop a personal brand.
"There's
no line in the sand that says we must be one or the other," McDonald
said in a follow-up interview. "What's important is that we consider the
question of what is right for me at this stage of my career."
Anderson
agreed. "In today's age of global living and learning, everyone has to
have traits of the continuous learner," she said. As jobs and fields
become obsolete and as what defines a career changes, we need to retool
ourselves to meet new conditions."
Anderson explained
how to develop a personal brand based on the particular path one is
following and then how to use that brand in a focused networking
strategy.
Tampa campus office manager Craig Anderson
(no relation to Mary) observed the free, Thursday noon session and found
the information about networking particularly useful. "It wasn't just
about career paths but also about how to work those paths into things
like using social media effectively," he said.
PEL students and alumni have access to career help
Both current PEL students and PEL alumni can access the services provided through Eckerd College's Center for Career Planning and Applied Learning, Mary Anderson noted.
"We help students and alumni connect what they are
learning or have learned in the classroom with how it applies in developing career
strategies," Anderson said.
Both Anderson and McDonald, who identify themselves as continuous learners, maintain close
connections with the business community and bring an immediacy to their
presentations. McDonald, for instance, presented a
similar workshop at the SuncoastHR chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) later in January.
"And I am continually monitoring emerging trends to spot new best practices in developing resumes and CVs," Anderson added.
To learn more about Eckerd's career planning services, contact Mary Anderson at
727-864-7832 (andersme1@eckerd.edu).
The Tampa Campus is at 1300 Westshore Blvd. (south side).
Yes, there is such a thing as a FREE LUNCH! Thursday, January 21 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Eckerd PEL Tampa Campus at 1300 Westshore Blvd. (2nd floor) -- park and enter in back.
Students, alumni, friends, and employers are invited to attend.
RSVP by calling 813-813-282-0002 or by emailing PEL@eckerd.edu.
Why do so many professionals reach mid-career and find they
are not as satisfied with their career as they’d like to be?Many people have heard the expression “up or out”
and think that moving up in their organization is their only career path
option, regardless of whether managing others is of interest.
"We
all have seen it happen in businesses, where someone who is strong as
an individual contributor gets promoted
into a management role and fails miserably," said Kathy McDonald,
Director of Admisions and Recruitment for Eckerd College's Program for
Experienced Learners (PEL). "Not everyone has the desire or interest to
manage others, and moving up is not the only way to have a successful
career."
Plus,
McDonald noted, most organizations only have a small number of leaders.
Most people will not end up in one of those positions via the Organizational Climber path. But that means most people need find other ways to succeed and to find personal satisfaction in their work.
“Some people prefer to build an
expertise in one functional area to do so via the Master Craftsman path," McDonald explained. "And for those people who seek to constantly learn
and grow, the Continuous Learner path recognizes that learning is what keeps work stimulating.”
McDonald
and Mary Anderson '10, a career specialist in Eckerd College's Career Services department, will discuss the three paths to career growth as
well as provide direction in building successful networking strategies
and in developing a personal brand at
a January 21st Lunch & Learn. The free event will be held at
Eckerd’s Tampa Campus at 1300 Westshore Blvd. and is open to anyone who
would like to attend.
A light lunch will be
provided.To RSVP for the event, call
813-282-0002 or email PEL@eckerd.edu. Career paths are not one-size-fits-all. Find out which path is for you!
The Tampa Campus is in an office building at 1300 Westshore Blvd.
PEL students now will be able to complete 50% or more of
their courses at the Tampa Center, thanks to a successful proposal submitted to
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges
this past September.
Tampa Center advisor Alaina
Tackitt, noted the success of the proposal should help current students
and should attract new students.
"Because we now can
offer more capstone courses at the Tampa Center," Tackitt said,
"students won't face as much travel time to the St. Petersburg campus,
making this a more convenient location for Hillsborough area people."
The success of this proposal represents the tireless efforts of the Eckerd
faculty members and staff who worked to compile lengthy supporting documents
and to answer the many questions posed by the SACS site committee.
Before departing, the committee praised
President Eastman and Dean Harrison for the high quality of the Program for
Experienced Learners, noting that the students they interviewed cited both
academic rigor and personal growth as significant parts of the PEL experience.
