Improving Career Skills One Seminar at a Time
One of the many goals of new Athletics Director Tonia Walker is to prepare Bluefield College student-athletes for more than just competition. Her desire is to prepare BC students for life after college and to show them how to succeed in the workplace.
One way she is doing that is through a series of Career Readiness Seminars, which started in January 2020. The first of the Career Readiness Seminars discussed how students can present their image and manage their social media while looking for or maintaining a career. Required for student-athletes, but open to all students, additional seminars covering a variety of other topics have been planned for later in the semester (see full schedule below).
“Students who want to build their career portfolio and equip themselves with necessary tools for career readiness should be in attendance,” said Walker about the purpose and benefits of the seminars. She added that the seminars are designed to help students gain sustainable job opportunities.
“The goal is to provide students with the tools necessary to build a solid foundation,” she said, “and to prepare them to represent themselves to be sought after in the corporate arena.”
Topics to be covered by the Career Readiness Seminars include professional etiquette, communication skills, networking, interviewing, resume writing, and personal finance.
“It is my desire that BC students build a strong sense of confidence and the attainment and demonstration for requisite competencies that broadly prepare college graduates for a successful transition into the workplace,” Walker said, which is why she added the seminars are open to all students.
Some BC students are already seeing the benefits of the seminars, including men’s volleyball player Devon Robinson.
“I learned how to dress appropriately for business casual and everyday outfits and how to be a student-athlete,” Robinson said. He added that he hopes to learn from future seminars how to prepare a successful resume for job searches.
Joining Walker in the planning and implementation of the seminars are BC staffers Josh Cline, Nikole Kaklis, and Ruth Blankenship. Speakers so far have been Rebecca Kasey, alumna and marketing coordinator for the City of Bluefield; and Connie Elkins, a BC psychology professor and director of the Center for Counseling and Wellness. Many other community leaders are scheduled to serve as speakers for future seminars.
Seminar Schedule
- March 23, 2020 – Interview Skills and Career Fair Preparation
- March 26, 2020 – TBA
- April 20, 2020 – Dollars and Cents
- April 27, 2020 – Field Affair