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Living in Community Student Services Service Learning and Career Development Center The Earlham College Service Learning and Career Development Center, a resource-rich center for the exploration of vocation and service, serves the mission of the College through its collaborations with faculty, local service agencies, and national and international partner organizations. Utilizing regular workshops, technological resources, community partnerships, challenging internships, academic linkages, and a kind and attentive professional staff, we strive to assist students and alumni as they develop skills, make connections and build confidence to engage the world. Self-Understanding The first step involves deepening one's understanding of self. Developing an understanding of self includes exploring and learning about one's values, interests, aptitudes, abilities, passions, personal traits and desired life style, and becoming aware of the interrelationship between self and occupational choice. It enables the ability to make informed decisions in the context of growing knowledge of oneself, one's values and one's community in a constantly changing world. To develop deeper self-understanding, Earlham students can participate in one-on-one or group counseling, create autobiographical sketches and use FOCUS, an online assessment tool to identify interests, skills, values and goals. A student comes to Earlham already knowing a great deal about him or herself. However, a student may not realize how that self-knowledge informs vocational choice and the range of choices available. Vocational Information During this step students begin to investigate the world of work in greater depth. It is an opportunity to find out about the myriad pathways that exist and how those fit with what each student is learning about him or herself. It is often easy and tempting to make assumptions about a career field, based on testimonials from one or two people students have met in the field, or on what they have heard or encountered in the media. We encourage students to gather concrete information from objective sources; thereby, students can make better decisions about their future. Vocational Exploration Individuals evaluate vocational choices and gain practical experience through opportunities such as internships, service learning engagements, summer jobs, volunteer work, off-campus study and co-curricular activities. By engaging in these different opportunities students are able to begin assessing how choices fit with their sense of self and what they feel called to pursue. Service Learning opportunities are rich experiences, which allow students to explore their vocational pathways and gain awareness of the skills, and experiences needed and assist them in gaining clarity about their own strengths and challenges, learning styles and their workplace preferences. Students are encouraged to address local issues concerning housing, hunger, homelessness, literacy, mental illness, domestic violence, and other identified needs. Volunteer orientations, leadership training, specialized workshops and process/evaluations seminars are offered to ensure that significant learning occurs as part of the community service experience. Reflection A critical step in this process is reflecting on what has been learned through vocational exploration opportunities in light of one's self-understanding. Through reflection the process comes full circle by helping the student grow in his or her understanding of self and by assisting the student to uncover and explore potential vocational options. Earlham assists students in the reflecting process through programs in which students build electronic portfolios, create personal journals, develop resumes and participate in special presentations. To assist students in final preparations for leaving the College, Earlham has pioneered the development of a unique program, Senior Disorientation. Offered before the second semester of a student's senior year, this three-day series of workshops and seminars provides interaction with professionals and experts (many of whom are alumni) from many career areas. Upcoming graduates have given this intensive program high marks for helping them refine resumes for job searching and personal statements for graduate school, hone their interviewing skills and sharpen their networking techniques. |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |