About 4,000 students and alumni are expected to attend some portion of the fifth annual Career Discovery Week, which runs Jan. 26-Jan. 30 on the Seattle and Bothell campuses. It鈥檚 not an overwhelming number, but a significant one to the small group of dedicated staff and faculty who have nurtured the event from a modest attempt to help College of Arts and Sciences students broaden their career horizons to a potpourri of the career world that any interested student or alum can sample.
鈥淚t started with a bunch of academic advisers trying to answer the frequent question, 鈥榃hat can I do with a liberal arts major?鈥欌�� said Melissa Wensel, director of academic services for the English Department. 鈥淲e worked with the Center for Career Services to put together something we called the Liberal Arts Seminars back in 1992, which consisted of three sessions in a one-week period.鈥�
This year鈥檚 event, in contrast, will feature more than 60 free sessions. Now as then, though, the idea is to provide something more than a typical job fair. Career Discovery Week is designed not to help participants find jobs, but to allow them to learn about a variety of careers. Each of the sessions presents a panel of 91探花alumni or friends of the University from a particular career area.
For example, some of the sessions on Monday鈥檚 schedule include 鈥淐areers in Forensics,鈥� 鈥淐areers in Social Services鈥� and 鈥淚ntroduction to International Careers.鈥� Panelists talk about what they do and how they got their jobs.
The format is a result of student feedback from those early Liberal Arts Seminars, Wensel said. 鈥淪tudents told us they wanted the panels to be focused 鈥� several people from one career field.鈥�
About 100 students attended the seminars most years. The planners recognized that sessions of that type could be beneficial to many more students and alumni too, but they didn鈥檛 have the resources to expand.
鈥淚 was aware of other campuses that had sessions over a week鈥檚 time, but I knew how much work that would be,鈥� said Susan Templeton, senior career counselor in Career Services.
Nevertheless, the group took the plunge in 2000, staging the first Career Discovery Week and opening it up to non-A&S students. The Alumni Association chipped in for the first time by having a representative on the planning committee and lending its graphic artist to design the brochure.
鈥淚t was pretty successful 鈥� we had about 1,400 students attend 鈥� but it was the full participation of the Alumni Association in 2001 that really put us over the top,鈥� Templeton said.
The association agreed to provide an 鈥渁dministrative home鈥� for Career Discovery Week by developing and administering the budget and taking the lead role with regard to marketing, graphics and Web design.
鈥淲e found corporate sponsors to chip in and worked with departments on campus to get some additional support,鈥� said Don Gallagher, manager of the Alumni Association鈥檚 Husky Career Advantage. He said that Student Affairs provides substantial support, but that 27 other departments give anywhere from $100 to $500 each.
2001 was also the first year for the Husky Career Lunch. At the lunch, two 91探花alumni sit at each table and talk to students informally about their work.
鈥淚鈥檓 in charge of finding table hosts, and it鈥檚 wonderful how easy it is,鈥� Gallagher said. 鈥淢any alumni are eager for opportunities to stay connected with the 91探花and make a difference for students.鈥�
This year鈥檚 Husky Career Lunch is sold out, with more than 300 students registered.
Despite the multi-unit collaboration, Career Discovery Week is still an event that requires a lot of time and energy. According to Templeton, planners have preliminary meetings in the spring, then work intensely through the fall. There鈥檚 a debriefing in February, then the cycle begins all over again a few months later.
But a core group, Wensel among them, continues to work on the event year in and year out. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a great opportunity for me to work with colleagues all over campus,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I think there continues to be a real need for this kind of career education. It鈥檚 well worth my time to help make it happen.鈥�
For a complete schedule of Career Discovery Week events, consult the Web site: