1

VOLUME 37 ISSUE 1 2009

Commission for Student Involvement Newsletter

Whatrsquos Inside

CHAIRrsquoS CORNER PAGE 2

BOOK REVIEW PROMOTING

REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS PAGE 3

LEADERSHIP amp EMPLOYABILITY

PAGE 6

SERVICE amp SPIRITUALITY PAGE 10

COMMISSION CORNER

PAGE 13

Greetings Commission for Student Involvement I am very pleased to present the first issue of the Interchange for the current year I must thank David the Chair of CSI for helping me get the tools to put this together I also want to thank Dan Stypa and Cindy Price Verduce for being so quick to write articles I finally want to thank those of you who had previously written articles which were included in the materials that were transitioned to me Irsquove used one in this issue from Shaunna L Payne I still need your help This issue is only a scratching of the surface of what can be produced Without more articles I cannot publish more newsletters I have a small handful left but not enough to produce another newsletter let alone three more If you have any interest in writing anything please e-mail me at aviokstateedu I can help you get started suggest topics even assist you with any APA style questions you might have If yoursquove never written a newsletter article before itrsquos a great time to start And even if you have we could always use the experienced assistance Irsquove made a few changes to the format but for the most part the newsletter is the same as itrsquos always been One change I am looking to implement in the future is QampAs with experts in our area Another is including pictures of programs and events you have put on at your own institutions If you have any photos to contribute e-mail them to me with a caption I hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to many more in the future Avi Vice Chair for Publications 2009-2010

A Word from the Editor

Interchange

2

Happy Summer CSI

Hard to believe that convention was three months ago How the time flies when you are busyhelliphellipand CSI has been busy I want

to take just a quick few lines to let you know what took place last year and where we‟re going this year

As I stepped into the role of chair at the Atlanta Convention in 2008 I charged the commission with creating ldquoproductsrdquo Now that

can be an ugly word and conjure up thoughts of trying to run the commission like a business Some might even quickly be

reminded of the ongoing conversation we have with faculty about treating our students like customers a conversation that is about

as fun as trying to explain how co-curricular activities enhances the educational outcomes in the classroom

But creating products for the commission really is about the bigger picture and about ensuring that we as practitioners have the

tools necessary to truly be partners with our faculty friends The CSI leadership has been asking the question ldquoWhat DOES the

commission offer to our membersrdquo It‟s very easy for us to quickly rest our laurels on the wonderful listserv the research awards

and on the great programs we offer at convention And there is one product that we continue to get praises for ndash the Advisor

Handbook I wish I had a nickel (actually I‟d take a dollar) for every time someone compliments us on that handbook It‟s

great And that‟s what I‟m talking about it‟s a great product that we‟re able to offer our commission members and something they

can use over and over again something very tangible

CSI has a fantastic leadership pool and your directorate leadership took my charge to heart and developed some great new

opportunities this past year to move us closer to our goal

Our Greek Affairs area provided a Web Conferencing experience for our members whose responsibilities include this student

population It was an opportunity outside of the convention for members to share and learn in an interactive environment on

line We had over 75 participants and several presenters

The Leadership Education committee pulled together our first ever national webinar with teacher and author Dr Denny

Roberts Dr Roberts shared wonderful insight on his book ldquoDeeper Leadershiprdquo and his experiences as an administrator oversees

in Qatar

Our Activities committee has started this year off early by co-sponsoring our first ever ldquodrive-inrdquo workshop Commission

members outside of the directorate have coordinated a drive-in workshopmeeting at St Cloud State University in the Minneapolis

Metropolitan area where they are collaborating to create partnerships and discussing issues within the student activities arena

By briefly sharing these few examples with you I hope you have a better idea of what I mean when I use the word products I

hope that rather than conjuring up negative impersonal thoughts of tough strategic business practices you visualize instead

opportunities for CSI to be meaningful and useful Not just at the annual convention but all year long I also hope that it spawns

your creative juices and helps you to think of other ways we as a service organization can better serve you with programs

monologues events white-papers Interchange articles webinars web conferences etc I invite you to not only do some creative

thinking but also challenge you to step up to the plate and create a product that the commission can share to our entire

membership Have an idea and want to make it happen Let us know and we‟ll work towards creating an opportunity

Just has quick as summer has come summer will go Be sure to take some time for yourselfhellipand while you‟re relaxing think

ldquoproductsrdquo

Have a great summer

David

Chair 2008 - 2010

Chairrsquos Corner Pushing

Product Productivity

By David Rachita

3

Campus leaders entrusted with

cultivating the success of today‟s

increasingly diverse student population

will find valuable insights in Miller

Bender and Schuh‟s thought provoking

w o r k P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations (2005) Believing that too

little research has been focused on

understanding students‟ expectations

the authors argue that institutions must

be more cognizant of these expectations

in order to ensure that all students are

able to succeed achieve their goals and

experience little dissonance between

their expectations and experiences The

authors assert that it is primarily the

responsibility of the higher education

community to meet rather than change

students‟ expectations except when

ldquosome students have what would be

c o n s i d e r e d u n r e a s o n a b l e

expectationsrdquo (p 2) The text describes

that students‟ expectations vary based

on a number of factors including level

of involvement and engagement

environmental influences type of

institution and personal characteristics

such as race and gender In addition the

authors discuss how expectations are

created and the role of multiple

stakeholders Finally the text closes

with commentary and recommendations

from leaders in the higher education

community such as presidents of

universities and different national

associations The comprehensiveness of

this text and its practical suggestions

and applications make it a valuable

work in the field of higher education

Educational leaders cannot

afford to have students decide to leave

the institution The responsibility to help

students persist to degree completion

along with the economic constraints

imposed upon higher

education in recent

y e a r s s e r v e a s

motivating forces to

e n s u r e s t u d e n t

expectations are being

met Students begin

the i r educat ional

pursuit at varying

levels of what Marcia

(1980) calls identity status Ranging

from those in the identity diffusion

status where students are not committed

to a personal identity to those students

in the identity achievement status who

have explored different identities and

made a commitment to one all students

are at different developmental levels

When students are subjected to different

experiences they not only further

develop their personal identity but also

reexamine their expectations As a

result the authors argue that student

expectations ldquoare always in flux and are

continuously revised in the face of new

experiencesrdquo (p 23) Given that data

from the College Student Expectations

Questionnaire (CSXQ) administered

either prior to or immediately upon

students‟ arrival to campus indicate that

students ant icipate meaningful

interactions with diverse individuals

becoming involved in co-curricular

activities and establishing relationships

w i t h f a c u l t y

members it is only

natural that as these

experiences do or do

n o t o c c u r

expectations evolve

and change (Kuh amp

P a c e 1 9 9 9 )

Educational leaders

must be aware of the

changing nature of student expectations

and realize that although students

enter ing the higher educat ion

community may bring a certain set of

expecta t ions wi th t hem these

expectations will change as new

experiences are lived

There is a need for more

longitudinal research that would

illustrate how and why expectations

change over time The authors argue

that longitudinal studies would allow for

the detection of trends over time rather

than collecting data at only one point in

Book ReviewmdashPromoting Reasonable Expectations The Role of Institutional Leaders

By Dan Stypa

Educational

leaders cannot

afford to have

students

decide to leave

the institution

(Continued on page 4)

4

time Most existing research provides

data on students‟ initial expectations and

their lived experiences on campus For

example data from the College Student

Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ)

administered at the

conclusion of a

student‟s first year

of college shows

t h a t s t u d e n t s ‟

experiences are

often different than

their expectations as

measured by the

CSXQ (Pace amp Kuh

1998) Although

leaders know that

these differences

exist a direct

correlation cannot be made between

students‟ expectations and their

experiences using these two surveys

Longitudinal research would fill this gap

in research and allow for university

leaders to better understand how and

why expectations change rather than just

having data from two different points in

time The authors provide valuable

reasons why such information would be

helpful such as guiding the design of

student services that meet students‟

expectations learning how to best reach

out to different types of students and

determining how campus constituencies

can work together to create a holistic

experience that is congruent with the

expectations that are created on

websites brochures campus tours and

summer orientation programs

Being aware that students

experiences are often different than their

expectations and that these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take steps

to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible Institutions

can ldquoassess the

quality of service

programs and adapt

services as needed

ensure that effective

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

channels are in place

and working and

create an institutional ethos that makes

student expectations and student

learning core institutional valuesrdquo (p

96) By doing so campus administrators

will demonstrate their commitment to

student success Because the media

continue to depict colleges in a negative

light and politicians and community

members focus on perceived dissonance

between what students expect and

colleges deliver an institution‟s

commitment to student success will

show that ldquowhat parents and taxpayers

want from the college experience is

pretty much what the colleges want as

well [Institutional leaders] want

students to meet their goals succeed in

college and enter the workforce and

civic life with appropriate skillsrdquo (p

230) Given that leaders often have the

best interest of students at the core of

the institution it is necessary that as the

authors argue on several occasions

institutions ensure that all members of

the university community work together

to create an environment that promotes

success engagement and achievement

starting with summer orientation and

lasting until well after graduation

The environment created on

college campuses should foster an

experience that always meets the

changing expectations of students

Astin‟s Input-Environment-Output

Model (1993) serves as a solid college

impact model for student affairs

practitioners who are intentional about

creating experiences that are as

congruent with expectations as possible

Leaders must understand that students

come to college with different

experiences and have different post-

college outcomes in mind The

environment created by institutional

leaders influenced by such factors as

institutional characteristics student

behaviors and outside forces must

prepare students for success both in and

out of the classroom Institutions need to

encourage students to think about what

will be expected of them upon

graduation and promote campus

resources such as academic advising

career counseling and campus

activities all of which help to

Being aware that

students experiences

are often different

than their

expectations and that

these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take

steps to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible

(Continued on page 5)

5

successfully prepare students for

experiences after graduation

P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations provides strong support

for the importance of eliminating

d i s s o n a n c e b e t w e e n s t u d e n t

expectations and experiences Although

there are undoubtedly instances when

students‟ expectations must be modified

to be more realistic the authors

successfully articulate that much of the

responsibility lies in the hand of the

higher education community to create

experiences that match student

expectations By having their

expectations met students will be

equipped with the skills and confidence

needed to succeed and persist through

graduation experience personal growth

and be prepared to live as engaged

citizens in today‟s world As the

President of California State University

ndash Monterey Bay states in his reflections

on the text ldquonow [university leaders]

need to do [their] workrdquo (p 239) This

highly accessible and very practical text

should serve as a catalyst for change

and inspire readers to engage in

creating a student experience that is

congruent with reasonable expectations

References

Astin A (1993) What matters in

college Four critical years revisited

San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Kuh G D amp Pace C R (1999)

Co l l eg e s tu d en t e xp e c t a t i o ns

questionnaire (2nd ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Marcia J E (1980) Identity in

adolescence In J Adelson (Ed)

Handbook of adolescent psychology

(pp 159-187) New York Wiley

Miller T E Bender B E amp Schuh J

H (2005) Promoting reasonable

expectations Aligning student and

institutional views of the college

experience San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Pace C R amp Kuh G D (1998)

C o l l e g e s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

questionnaire (4th ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Dan Stypa is a graduate student at the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

pursuing a Masters Degree in College

Student Personnel He is currently an

Assistant Hall Director

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

2

Happy Summer CSI

Hard to believe that convention was three months ago How the time flies when you are busyhelliphellipand CSI has been busy I want

to take just a quick few lines to let you know what took place last year and where we‟re going this year

As I stepped into the role of chair at the Atlanta Convention in 2008 I charged the commission with creating ldquoproductsrdquo Now that

can be an ugly word and conjure up thoughts of trying to run the commission like a business Some might even quickly be

reminded of the ongoing conversation we have with faculty about treating our students like customers a conversation that is about

as fun as trying to explain how co-curricular activities enhances the educational outcomes in the classroom

But creating products for the commission really is about the bigger picture and about ensuring that we as practitioners have the

tools necessary to truly be partners with our faculty friends The CSI leadership has been asking the question ldquoWhat DOES the

commission offer to our membersrdquo It‟s very easy for us to quickly rest our laurels on the wonderful listserv the research awards

and on the great programs we offer at convention And there is one product that we continue to get praises for ndash the Advisor

Handbook I wish I had a nickel (actually I‟d take a dollar) for every time someone compliments us on that handbook It‟s

great And that‟s what I‟m talking about it‟s a great product that we‟re able to offer our commission members and something they

can use over and over again something very tangible

CSI has a fantastic leadership pool and your directorate leadership took my charge to heart and developed some great new

opportunities this past year to move us closer to our goal

Our Greek Affairs area provided a Web Conferencing experience for our members whose responsibilities include this student

population It was an opportunity outside of the convention for members to share and learn in an interactive environment on

line We had over 75 participants and several presenters

The Leadership Education committee pulled together our first ever national webinar with teacher and author Dr Denny

Roberts Dr Roberts shared wonderful insight on his book ldquoDeeper Leadershiprdquo and his experiences as an administrator oversees

in Qatar

Our Activities committee has started this year off early by co-sponsoring our first ever ldquodrive-inrdquo workshop Commission

members outside of the directorate have coordinated a drive-in workshopmeeting at St Cloud State University in the Minneapolis

Metropolitan area where they are collaborating to create partnerships and discussing issues within the student activities arena

By briefly sharing these few examples with you I hope you have a better idea of what I mean when I use the word products I

hope that rather than conjuring up negative impersonal thoughts of tough strategic business practices you visualize instead

opportunities for CSI to be meaningful and useful Not just at the annual convention but all year long I also hope that it spawns

your creative juices and helps you to think of other ways we as a service organization can better serve you with programs

monologues events white-papers Interchange articles webinars web conferences etc I invite you to not only do some creative

thinking but also challenge you to step up to the plate and create a product that the commission can share to our entire

membership Have an idea and want to make it happen Let us know and we‟ll work towards creating an opportunity

Just has quick as summer has come summer will go Be sure to take some time for yourselfhellipand while you‟re relaxing think

ldquoproductsrdquo

Have a great summer

David

Chair 2008 - 2010

Chairrsquos Corner Pushing

Product Productivity

By David Rachita

3

Campus leaders entrusted with

cultivating the success of today‟s

increasingly diverse student population

will find valuable insights in Miller

Bender and Schuh‟s thought provoking

w o r k P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations (2005) Believing that too

little research has been focused on

understanding students‟ expectations

the authors argue that institutions must

be more cognizant of these expectations

in order to ensure that all students are

able to succeed achieve their goals and

experience little dissonance between

their expectations and experiences The

authors assert that it is primarily the

responsibility of the higher education

community to meet rather than change

students‟ expectations except when

ldquosome students have what would be

c o n s i d e r e d u n r e a s o n a b l e

expectationsrdquo (p 2) The text describes

that students‟ expectations vary based

on a number of factors including level

of involvement and engagement

environmental influences type of

institution and personal characteristics

such as race and gender In addition the

authors discuss how expectations are

created and the role of multiple

stakeholders Finally the text closes

with commentary and recommendations

from leaders in the higher education

community such as presidents of

universities and different national

associations The comprehensiveness of

this text and its practical suggestions

and applications make it a valuable

work in the field of higher education

Educational leaders cannot

afford to have students decide to leave

the institution The responsibility to help

students persist to degree completion

along with the economic constraints

imposed upon higher

education in recent

y e a r s s e r v e a s

motivating forces to

e n s u r e s t u d e n t

expectations are being

met Students begin

the i r educat ional

pursuit at varying

levels of what Marcia

(1980) calls identity status Ranging

from those in the identity diffusion

status where students are not committed

to a personal identity to those students

in the identity achievement status who

have explored different identities and

made a commitment to one all students

are at different developmental levels

When students are subjected to different

experiences they not only further

develop their personal identity but also

reexamine their expectations As a

result the authors argue that student

expectations ldquoare always in flux and are

continuously revised in the face of new

experiencesrdquo (p 23) Given that data

from the College Student Expectations

Questionnaire (CSXQ) administered

either prior to or immediately upon

students‟ arrival to campus indicate that

students ant icipate meaningful

interactions with diverse individuals

becoming involved in co-curricular

activities and establishing relationships

w i t h f a c u l t y

members it is only

natural that as these

experiences do or do

n o t o c c u r

expectations evolve

and change (Kuh amp

P a c e 1 9 9 9 )

Educational leaders

must be aware of the

changing nature of student expectations

and realize that although students

enter ing the higher educat ion

community may bring a certain set of

expecta t ions wi th t hem these

expectations will change as new

experiences are lived

There is a need for more

longitudinal research that would

illustrate how and why expectations

change over time The authors argue

that longitudinal studies would allow for

the detection of trends over time rather

than collecting data at only one point in

Book ReviewmdashPromoting Reasonable Expectations The Role of Institutional Leaders

By Dan Stypa

Educational

leaders cannot

afford to have

students

decide to leave

the institution

(Continued on page 4)

4

time Most existing research provides

data on students‟ initial expectations and

their lived experiences on campus For

example data from the College Student

Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ)

administered at the

conclusion of a

student‟s first year

of college shows

t h a t s t u d e n t s ‟

experiences are

often different than

their expectations as

measured by the

CSXQ (Pace amp Kuh

1998) Although

leaders know that

these differences

exist a direct

correlation cannot be made between

students‟ expectations and their

experiences using these two surveys

Longitudinal research would fill this gap

in research and allow for university

leaders to better understand how and

why expectations change rather than just

having data from two different points in

time The authors provide valuable

reasons why such information would be

helpful such as guiding the design of

student services that meet students‟

expectations learning how to best reach

out to different types of students and

determining how campus constituencies

can work together to create a holistic

experience that is congruent with the

expectations that are created on

websites brochures campus tours and

summer orientation programs

Being aware that students

experiences are often different than their

expectations and that these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take steps

to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible Institutions

can ldquoassess the

quality of service

programs and adapt

services as needed

ensure that effective

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

channels are in place

and working and

create an institutional ethos that makes

student expectations and student

learning core institutional valuesrdquo (p

96) By doing so campus administrators

will demonstrate their commitment to

student success Because the media

continue to depict colleges in a negative

light and politicians and community

members focus on perceived dissonance

between what students expect and

colleges deliver an institution‟s

commitment to student success will

show that ldquowhat parents and taxpayers

want from the college experience is

pretty much what the colleges want as

well [Institutional leaders] want

students to meet their goals succeed in

college and enter the workforce and

civic life with appropriate skillsrdquo (p

230) Given that leaders often have the

best interest of students at the core of

the institution it is necessary that as the

authors argue on several occasions

institutions ensure that all members of

the university community work together

to create an environment that promotes

success engagement and achievement

starting with summer orientation and

lasting until well after graduation

The environment created on

college campuses should foster an

experience that always meets the

changing expectations of students

Astin‟s Input-Environment-Output

Model (1993) serves as a solid college

impact model for student affairs

practitioners who are intentional about

creating experiences that are as

congruent with expectations as possible

Leaders must understand that students

come to college with different

experiences and have different post-

college outcomes in mind The

environment created by institutional

leaders influenced by such factors as

institutional characteristics student

behaviors and outside forces must

prepare students for success both in and

out of the classroom Institutions need to

encourage students to think about what

will be expected of them upon

graduation and promote campus

resources such as academic advising

career counseling and campus

activities all of which help to

Being aware that

students experiences

are often different

than their

expectations and that

these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take

steps to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible

(Continued on page 5)

5

successfully prepare students for

experiences after graduation

P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations provides strong support

for the importance of eliminating

d i s s o n a n c e b e t w e e n s t u d e n t

expectations and experiences Although

there are undoubtedly instances when

students‟ expectations must be modified

to be more realistic the authors

successfully articulate that much of the

responsibility lies in the hand of the

higher education community to create

experiences that match student

expectations By having their

expectations met students will be

equipped with the skills and confidence

needed to succeed and persist through

graduation experience personal growth

and be prepared to live as engaged

citizens in today‟s world As the

President of California State University

ndash Monterey Bay states in his reflections

on the text ldquonow [university leaders]

need to do [their] workrdquo (p 239) This

highly accessible and very practical text

should serve as a catalyst for change

and inspire readers to engage in

creating a student experience that is

congruent with reasonable expectations

References

Astin A (1993) What matters in

college Four critical years revisited

San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Kuh G D amp Pace C R (1999)

Co l l eg e s tu d en t e xp e c t a t i o ns

questionnaire (2nd ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Marcia J E (1980) Identity in

adolescence In J Adelson (Ed)

Handbook of adolescent psychology

(pp 159-187) New York Wiley

Miller T E Bender B E amp Schuh J

H (2005) Promoting reasonable

expectations Aligning student and

institutional views of the college

experience San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Pace C R amp Kuh G D (1998)

C o l l e g e s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

questionnaire (4th ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Dan Stypa is a graduate student at the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

pursuing a Masters Degree in College

Student Personnel He is currently an

Assistant Hall Director

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

3

Campus leaders entrusted with

cultivating the success of today‟s

increasingly diverse student population

will find valuable insights in Miller

Bender and Schuh‟s thought provoking

w o r k P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations (2005) Believing that too

little research has been focused on

understanding students‟ expectations

the authors argue that institutions must

be more cognizant of these expectations

in order to ensure that all students are

able to succeed achieve their goals and

experience little dissonance between

their expectations and experiences The

authors assert that it is primarily the

responsibility of the higher education

community to meet rather than change

students‟ expectations except when

ldquosome students have what would be

c o n s i d e r e d u n r e a s o n a b l e

expectationsrdquo (p 2) The text describes

that students‟ expectations vary based

on a number of factors including level

of involvement and engagement

environmental influences type of

institution and personal characteristics

such as race and gender In addition the

authors discuss how expectations are

created and the role of multiple

stakeholders Finally the text closes

with commentary and recommendations

from leaders in the higher education

community such as presidents of

universities and different national

associations The comprehensiveness of

this text and its practical suggestions

and applications make it a valuable

work in the field of higher education

Educational leaders cannot

afford to have students decide to leave

the institution The responsibility to help

students persist to degree completion

along with the economic constraints

imposed upon higher

education in recent

y e a r s s e r v e a s

motivating forces to

e n s u r e s t u d e n t

expectations are being

met Students begin

the i r educat ional

pursuit at varying

levels of what Marcia

(1980) calls identity status Ranging

from those in the identity diffusion

status where students are not committed

to a personal identity to those students

in the identity achievement status who

have explored different identities and

made a commitment to one all students

are at different developmental levels

When students are subjected to different

experiences they not only further

develop their personal identity but also

reexamine their expectations As a

result the authors argue that student

expectations ldquoare always in flux and are

continuously revised in the face of new

experiencesrdquo (p 23) Given that data

from the College Student Expectations

Questionnaire (CSXQ) administered

either prior to or immediately upon

students‟ arrival to campus indicate that

students ant icipate meaningful

interactions with diverse individuals

becoming involved in co-curricular

activities and establishing relationships

w i t h f a c u l t y

members it is only

natural that as these

experiences do or do

n o t o c c u r

expectations evolve

and change (Kuh amp

P a c e 1 9 9 9 )

Educational leaders

must be aware of the

changing nature of student expectations

and realize that although students

enter ing the higher educat ion

community may bring a certain set of

expecta t ions wi th t hem these

expectations will change as new

experiences are lived

There is a need for more

longitudinal research that would

illustrate how and why expectations

change over time The authors argue

that longitudinal studies would allow for

the detection of trends over time rather

than collecting data at only one point in

Book ReviewmdashPromoting Reasonable Expectations The Role of Institutional Leaders

By Dan Stypa

Educational

leaders cannot

afford to have

students

decide to leave

the institution

(Continued on page 4)

4

time Most existing research provides

data on students‟ initial expectations and

their lived experiences on campus For

example data from the College Student

Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ)

administered at the

conclusion of a

student‟s first year

of college shows

t h a t s t u d e n t s ‟

experiences are

often different than

their expectations as

measured by the

CSXQ (Pace amp Kuh

1998) Although

leaders know that

these differences

exist a direct

correlation cannot be made between

students‟ expectations and their

experiences using these two surveys

Longitudinal research would fill this gap

in research and allow for university

leaders to better understand how and

why expectations change rather than just

having data from two different points in

time The authors provide valuable

reasons why such information would be

helpful such as guiding the design of

student services that meet students‟

expectations learning how to best reach

out to different types of students and

determining how campus constituencies

can work together to create a holistic

experience that is congruent with the

expectations that are created on

websites brochures campus tours and

summer orientation programs

Being aware that students

experiences are often different than their

expectations and that these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take steps

to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible Institutions

can ldquoassess the

quality of service

programs and adapt

services as needed

ensure that effective

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

channels are in place

and working and

create an institutional ethos that makes

student expectations and student

learning core institutional valuesrdquo (p

96) By doing so campus administrators

will demonstrate their commitment to

student success Because the media

continue to depict colleges in a negative

light and politicians and community

members focus on perceived dissonance

between what students expect and

colleges deliver an institution‟s

commitment to student success will

show that ldquowhat parents and taxpayers

want from the college experience is

pretty much what the colleges want as

well [Institutional leaders] want

students to meet their goals succeed in

college and enter the workforce and

civic life with appropriate skillsrdquo (p

230) Given that leaders often have the

best interest of students at the core of

the institution it is necessary that as the

authors argue on several occasions

institutions ensure that all members of

the university community work together

to create an environment that promotes

success engagement and achievement

starting with summer orientation and

lasting until well after graduation

The environment created on

college campuses should foster an

experience that always meets the

changing expectations of students

Astin‟s Input-Environment-Output

Model (1993) serves as a solid college

impact model for student affairs

practitioners who are intentional about

creating experiences that are as

congruent with expectations as possible

Leaders must understand that students

come to college with different

experiences and have different post-

college outcomes in mind The

environment created by institutional

leaders influenced by such factors as

institutional characteristics student

behaviors and outside forces must

prepare students for success both in and

out of the classroom Institutions need to

encourage students to think about what

will be expected of them upon

graduation and promote campus

resources such as academic advising

career counseling and campus

activities all of which help to

Being aware that

students experiences

are often different

than their

expectations and that

these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take

steps to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible

(Continued on page 5)

5

successfully prepare students for

experiences after graduation

P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations provides strong support

for the importance of eliminating

d i s s o n a n c e b e t w e e n s t u d e n t

expectations and experiences Although

there are undoubtedly instances when

students‟ expectations must be modified

to be more realistic the authors

successfully articulate that much of the

responsibility lies in the hand of the

higher education community to create

experiences that match student

expectations By having their

expectations met students will be

equipped with the skills and confidence

needed to succeed and persist through

graduation experience personal growth

and be prepared to live as engaged

citizens in today‟s world As the

President of California State University

ndash Monterey Bay states in his reflections

on the text ldquonow [university leaders]

need to do [their] workrdquo (p 239) This

highly accessible and very practical text

should serve as a catalyst for change

and inspire readers to engage in

creating a student experience that is

congruent with reasonable expectations

References

Astin A (1993) What matters in

college Four critical years revisited

San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Kuh G D amp Pace C R (1999)

Co l l eg e s tu d en t e xp e c t a t i o ns

questionnaire (2nd ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Marcia J E (1980) Identity in

adolescence In J Adelson (Ed)

Handbook of adolescent psychology

(pp 159-187) New York Wiley

Miller T E Bender B E amp Schuh J

H (2005) Promoting reasonable

expectations Aligning student and

institutional views of the college

experience San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Pace C R amp Kuh G D (1998)

C o l l e g e s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

questionnaire (4th ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Dan Stypa is a graduate student at the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

pursuing a Masters Degree in College

Student Personnel He is currently an

Assistant Hall Director

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

4

time Most existing research provides

data on students‟ initial expectations and

their lived experiences on campus For

example data from the College Student

Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ)

administered at the

conclusion of a

student‟s first year

of college shows

t h a t s t u d e n t s ‟

experiences are

often different than

their expectations as

measured by the

CSXQ (Pace amp Kuh

1998) Although

leaders know that

these differences

exist a direct

correlation cannot be made between

students‟ expectations and their

experiences using these two surveys

Longitudinal research would fill this gap

in research and allow for university

leaders to better understand how and

why expectations change rather than just

having data from two different points in

time The authors provide valuable

reasons why such information would be

helpful such as guiding the design of

student services that meet students‟

expectations learning how to best reach

out to different types of students and

determining how campus constituencies

can work together to create a holistic

experience that is congruent with the

expectations that are created on

websites brochures campus tours and

summer orientation programs

Being aware that students

experiences are often different than their

expectations and that these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take steps

to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible Institutions

can ldquoassess the

quality of service

programs and adapt

services as needed

ensure that effective

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

channels are in place

and working and

create an institutional ethos that makes

student expectations and student

learning core institutional valuesrdquo (p

96) By doing so campus administrators

will demonstrate their commitment to

student success Because the media

continue to depict colleges in a negative

light and politicians and community

members focus on perceived dissonance

between what students expect and

colleges deliver an institution‟s

commitment to student success will

show that ldquowhat parents and taxpayers

want from the college experience is

pretty much what the colleges want as

well [Institutional leaders] want

students to meet their goals succeed in

college and enter the workforce and

civic life with appropriate skillsrdquo (p

230) Given that leaders often have the

best interest of students at the core of

the institution it is necessary that as the

authors argue on several occasions

institutions ensure that all members of

the university community work together

to create an environment that promotes

success engagement and achievement

starting with summer orientation and

lasting until well after graduation

The environment created on

college campuses should foster an

experience that always meets the

changing expectations of students

Astin‟s Input-Environment-Output

Model (1993) serves as a solid college

impact model for student affairs

practitioners who are intentional about

creating experiences that are as

congruent with expectations as possible

Leaders must understand that students

come to college with different

experiences and have different post-

college outcomes in mind The

environment created by institutional

leaders influenced by such factors as

institutional characteristics student

behaviors and outside forces must

prepare students for success both in and

out of the classroom Institutions need to

encourage students to think about what

will be expected of them upon

graduation and promote campus

resources such as academic advising

career counseling and campus

activities all of which help to

Being aware that

students experiences

are often different

than their

expectations and that

these expectations

continue to change

leaders can take

steps to ensure that

students experience

as little dissonance as

possible

(Continued on page 5)

5

successfully prepare students for

experiences after graduation

P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations provides strong support

for the importance of eliminating

d i s s o n a n c e b e t w e e n s t u d e n t

expectations and experiences Although

there are undoubtedly instances when

students‟ expectations must be modified

to be more realistic the authors

successfully articulate that much of the

responsibility lies in the hand of the

higher education community to create

experiences that match student

expectations By having their

expectations met students will be

equipped with the skills and confidence

needed to succeed and persist through

graduation experience personal growth

and be prepared to live as engaged

citizens in today‟s world As the

President of California State University

ndash Monterey Bay states in his reflections

on the text ldquonow [university leaders]

need to do [their] workrdquo (p 239) This

highly accessible and very practical text

should serve as a catalyst for change

and inspire readers to engage in

creating a student experience that is

congruent with reasonable expectations

References

Astin A (1993) What matters in

college Four critical years revisited

San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Kuh G D amp Pace C R (1999)

Co l l eg e s tu d en t e xp e c t a t i o ns

questionnaire (2nd ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Marcia J E (1980) Identity in

adolescence In J Adelson (Ed)

Handbook of adolescent psychology

(pp 159-187) New York Wiley

Miller T E Bender B E amp Schuh J

H (2005) Promoting reasonable

expectations Aligning student and

institutional views of the college

experience San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Pace C R amp Kuh G D (1998)

C o l l e g e s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

questionnaire (4th ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Dan Stypa is a graduate student at the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

pursuing a Masters Degree in College

Student Personnel He is currently an

Assistant Hall Director

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

5

successfully prepare students for

experiences after graduation

P r o m o t i n g R e a s o n a b l e

Expectations provides strong support

for the importance of eliminating

d i s s o n a n c e b e t w e e n s t u d e n t

expectations and experiences Although

there are undoubtedly instances when

students‟ expectations must be modified

to be more realistic the authors

successfully articulate that much of the

responsibility lies in the hand of the

higher education community to create

experiences that match student

expectations By having their

expectations met students will be

equipped with the skills and confidence

needed to succeed and persist through

graduation experience personal growth

and be prepared to live as engaged

citizens in today‟s world As the

President of California State University

ndash Monterey Bay states in his reflections

on the text ldquonow [university leaders]

need to do [their] workrdquo (p 239) This

highly accessible and very practical text

should serve as a catalyst for change

and inspire readers to engage in

creating a student experience that is

congruent with reasonable expectations

References

Astin A (1993) What matters in

college Four critical years revisited

San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Kuh G D amp Pace C R (1999)

Co l l eg e s tu d en t e xp e c t a t i o ns

questionnaire (2nd ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Marcia J E (1980) Identity in

adolescence In J Adelson (Ed)

Handbook of adolescent psychology

(pp 159-187) New York Wiley

Miller T E Bender B E amp Schuh J

H (2005) Promoting reasonable

expectations Aligning student and

institutional views of the college

experience San Francisco Jossey-Bass

Pace C R amp Kuh G D (1998)

C o l l e g e s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s

questionnaire (4th ed) Bloomington

Indiana University Center for

Postsecondary Research

Dan Stypa is a graduate student at the

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

pursuing a Masters Degree in College

Student Personnel He is currently an

Assistant Hall Director

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

6

Leadership amp Employability How Students can Leverage Their Experiences to Increase Employability

By Cindy Price Verduce

In a tough job market students

and new graduates are all looking for

ways to differentiate themselves from

other job applicants Theyre looking

for ways to show employers that of all

the applicants theyre the one for the

job But in my position as the Director

of the Career Center at Indiana Tech I

fall back to my days as a recruiter for a

large medical center and encourage

students to think from the other side of

the desk Students need to change their

approach and to prepare their materials

to appeal to the desires of an employer

One great strategy for making yourself

stand out is to highlight student

leadership experiences as part of your

resume cover letter and in the

interview Students need to take

advantage of the natural assets of being

a student leader and the leg up it gives

them in the job search process

To help reiterate these points

students should look to the recently

released report The Job Outlook 2009

Survey from the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

which surveyed employers from across

the country asking them what skills

they valued most in new hires

Among the skills attributes

and qualities employers prize most are

communication skills a strong work

ethic ability to work in a team and

initiative says Marilyn Mackes

(2009) NACE executive director

Today‟s employers have an extensive

list of attributes skills and qualities

they look for in their job candidatesrdquo

Sounds like a student leader to

me

But to take it a step further the

report also goes on to state that

employers also emphasize leadership

experience ldquoThese are the type of

skills and qualities that will help a new

hire succeed as an employee and

contribute to the organizationrdquo the

report continued

So how do we help our

students frame their experiences as

student leaders How

do they translate their

work as an RA to the

skills necessary to

excel in the work

place How does

being a Student

Ambassador help new

hires manage other

employees Here are a

few tips for working

with your students

l e a d e r s a n d

encouraging them to

change their focus

from student centered to responding

and thinking like an employer

More and more in a global market

place employers are seeking

employees who know how to work

with a diverse group of people

Employers recognize they serve a

diverse consumer base and they want

their workforce to look like and know

how to relate to their clients One goal

of including student organizations on

your resume is to show that you have

leadership abilities and can easily work

with diverse groups of people The

more diverse your experiences the

more comfortable an employer will be

with your interactions with others

Employers also recognize that

student organizations are a great way to

acquire job-related skills As a

recruiter I

never once

asked anyone

how much

money they

m a d e i n

positions they

held It wasnt

about whether

t h e i r

e x p e r i e n c e

was paid or

unpaid it was

a b ou t t h e

quality of the

experience It was about how that

experience translated to the skill I

Among the

skills attributes

and qualities

employers prize

most are

communication

skills a strong

work ethic ability

to work in a team

and initiative

(Continued on page 7)

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

7

needed for the position I was looking to

fill The long and the short students

should list extensive leadership

positions as they would other work

experiences or internships especially if

they spent a significant amount of time

energy and resources to be successful -

and achieved great results Remember

recruiters and hiring managers want to

see that a student has made valuable

contributions to organizations in the

past

Another way to frame this is to

make student memberships and

leadership positions relevant on their

resume in the same way they would

describe any job they might hold As a

recruiter many times I felt a student‟s

involvement on campus held much more

meat and potatoes than their part time

non-degree related work experience at

say a fast food restaurant In some

instances many leadership positions

offer opportunities to participate andor

conduct team-building activities goal

setting sessions and organizing or

a t t e n d i n g n e t wo r k i n g e v e n t s

Remember employers are looking for

entry-level professionals and interns that

possess the traits and abilities that their

companies value - traits and values that

are much more easily correlated in the

work of a student leader than in some

part time jobs

But do recognize that employers

are savvy as to what constitutes real

involvement on campus verses just

filling a resume Theyre looking to

see a lot more than just a list of groups

and organizations the student belonged

to It is better to belong to one or two

student organizations and make

significant contributions versus

belonging to five as a member only

To do that students need to

recognize that means getting involved

beyond simply attending meetings

Students should

seek positions on

c o m m i t t e e s

s i g n i f i c a n t

c h a i r m a n s h i p

posi t ions or

executive officer

positions In

these important

roles student

leaders learn the

skills necessary

to faci l i t a te

c o o p e r a t i o n

network with a

variety of people

and organizations plan events

encourage younger members motivate

fellow group members and work

through problems and accomplish goals

A college campus is a nurturing

environment with trained advisors and

mentors who are there to assist student

leaders in gaining skills that are equally

important on campus as they are in

professional office setting skills most

employers are hungry for in new

employees

Employers also emphasize leadership

experience noted Mackes of the recent

NACE survey Asked to compare two

otherwise equally qualified candidates

employers chose the one who had held a

leadership position over the candidate

who s imply was involved in

extracurricular activities says NACEs

Mackes (2009)

In addition

students need to

also recognize that

employers want to

see initiative on a

student‟s resume

They want to see

that theyve stepped

out and beyond

their comfort zone

that theyve taken

risks set goals and

been creative in

problem solving

Being involved in

s t u d e n t

organizations gives a student a

multitude of opportunities to do just

that Did they come up with a great new

theme or marketing plan to promote

their organizations fundraiser resulting

in an increase in funds raised Did your

student create a new program that added

a significant number of new members

All of these are just examples of how

students can take their work in student

organizations and translate those

To do that students

need to recognize that

means getting

involved beyond

simply attending

meetings Students

should seek positions

on committees

significant

chairmanship

positions or executive

officer positions

(Continued on page 8)

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

8

experiences into the skills attributes

and talents employers are looking for in

new hires and adding these skills to their

resume cover letter and in interviews

But many students don‟t know

how to get started and my best advice is

to start at the beginning Students need

to recognize how they are leaders and

what skills they have learned in

leadership positions something they can

learn through keeping a journal There

are several benefits of keeping a journal

just a few are

Journal entries

will prove quite

use fu l when

u p d a t i n g a

resume

It will provide a

ldquorecordrdquo of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

p r o f e s s i o n a l

g r o w t h a n d

development over

the course of the

s t u d e n t ‟ s

involvement with

the organization

Writing about

leadership positions affords students the

opportunity to regularly reflect on their

experience

The journal will be helpful when

meeting with Career Center advisors to

discuss their experiences and how those

might affect their employability

It will be helpful as students

look to take on other leadership

opportunities and gives students the

ability to draw parallels between

experiences

The exercise of journaling is beneficial

during interviews especially when

students are asked to articulate their

experiences

Next students need to translate

their skills and experiences to their

resume but face it most students in

creating a resume write about past

experiences as if

theyre listing a

job description or

d u t i e s t h e y

performed Most

career center

counselors will

agree that its

i mpor t an t t o

create a resume

that focuses on

accomplishments

and not create a

laundry list of part

time jobs or bullet

points that read

l i k e a j o b

descriptions Employers want to see

how students succeeded on the job not

just what they did If one student‟s

responsibilities look just like their

buddy‟s both did themselves a

disservice Students need to tell the

employer how they excelled in their

position what makes them stand out

and how they have been a leader

Students need to brainstorm situations

theyve been in and think about the skills

they‟ve used to solve problems deal

with group members or achieve a goal

Talking with career advisors faculty

members and previous employers may

help students to identify skills they are

unaware of

Students also need to be specific

about what they did by qualifying and

quantifying their experiences If a

student supervised a leadership team of

five (5) exec board members and twenty

(20) council members for a group

representing 29 national sororities - say

that Understanding the scope of the

student‟s responsibility is key to

painting a clear picture of the student‟s

experience with employers

Students should also look for

student leadership positions that relate

to their major Employer‟s look fondly

on accounting students who served as

the treasurer for a sorority with an

annual budget of $20000 or a

psychology major who worked as an

freshman orientation leader who

counseled and advised first year

students on academics and personal

questionsconcerns Employers also

appreciate a sports management major

who ran the campus intramural program

Just one more way students can

highlight their leadership experience as

part of the job search process

Students also need to see how

(Continued on page 9)

Employerrsquos look fondly

on accounting students

who served as the

treasurer for a sorority

with an annual budget

of $20000 or a

psychology major who

worked as an freshman

orientation leader who

counseled and advised

first year students on

academics and

personal questions

concerns

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

9

their transferable and soft skills relate to

their job search andor leadership

development For students interested in

going into sales have them highlight

their fundraising experience For an RA

interested in event planning make sure

they include examples of programming

they held for their residents And if

they‟re unsure how to identify their

transferable or soft skills direct them to

your campus career center where

advisors can work with students to help

them translate their skills to a resume

cover letter or for an interview

So in this tough job market

encourage your student leaders to look

at their campus involvement as a

strategy of showing employers they

have the skills and attributes they‟re

looking for in potential new hires Help

them make the connection to being a

leader on campus and a leader in the

work place Help them see that the long

list of abilities and qualities employers

are seeking can be found in student

leaders

ldquoThe long list of wished-for

candidate abilities and qualities is

nothing newrdquo says Mackes (2009)

ldquoWe‟ve been asking employers to

describe their bdquoideal‟ candidate for more

than 10 years and these same attributes

are consistently identified as valued by

employersrdquo she says ldquoBut in times like

these when job opportunities are tight it

is perhaps even more important for job

candidates to understand what

employers want and find ways to

demonstrate those qualitiesrdquo

References

Koncz A Collins M 2009 January

29 Employers Cite Qualities Attributes

of ldquoPerfectrdquo Job Candidate [Press

release] Retrieved from http

wwwnaceweborgpressdisplayasp

year=2009ampprid=295

Cindy Price Verduce is the Director of

the Career Planning and Development

Center at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne

IN A former health care recruiter

Verduce has a Master of Education

degree in Student Personnel Services

with a cognate in Employee Relations

and Personnel from the University of

South Carolina where she also obtained

her Bachelor of Arts in History and a

minor Political Science She and her

husband John live in Fort Wayne with

their five children and two Labrador

retrievers

10

The intersection of two

apparently mutually exclusive ideas can

be the birthplace of new theory

concepts and practice At the time of

this writing community service and

spirituality are salient topics in the

research of higher education Several

past studies focused on student

motivation toward various service

activities (Fitch 1991 Jones amp Hill

2003 O‟Brien Sedlaceck amp Kandell

1991 Sergent amp Sedlacek 1990

Serow 1991) while religion and

spirituality research have been prolific

over the last few years (Astin Astin

Lindholm amp Bryant 2004 Chickering

Dalton amp Stamm 2006 Hoppe amp

Speck 2005) Yet there are many

unanswered questions concerning the

intersection of the two research

interests Community service may have

specific effects for spiritual and

religious students Further research is

necessary concerning these effects as

scholars continue to discover and

rediscover the ever-changing priorities

of undergraduate students Service and

Spirituality will describe the issue to be

investigated determine the sample

population and research design

expound on the significance of the

project and a finally propose suggested

hypothesis

Description of Issue

The goal of the proposed

research project is to expand scholars‟

and practitioners‟ understanding of

outcomes related to spiritual and

religious undergraduate college students

who work in a short term community

service setting specifically Alternative

Spring Break (ASB) The research

question is ldquoWhat are the unique effects

of ASB experiences for spiritual and

religious undergraduate studentsrdquo Sub-

questions include ldquoWhat are the

purposes of community service for

spiritual and religious students before

and after ASB tripsrdquo

ldquoWhat a re the

attitudes of spiritual

and religious students

before and after ASB

tripsrdquo Finally ldquoWhat

are the behaviors of

students before and

after ASB tripsrdquo The

answers to these

research questions

w i l l l a y t h e

g r o u n d wo r k f o r

fur ther s tudy concerning how

community service is experienced by

spiritual and religious students

Theoretical Constructs

Several theoretical constructs

must undergird the study including the

distinction between community service

and service learning the difference

between spirituality and religion in

relation to college students and the

history of Alternative Spring Break

e x p e r i e n c e s F i r s t w e mu s t

acknowledge that community service is

often mistakenly used interchangeably

with service learning For the purposes

of this study the distinction must be

ma d e Co mmu ni t y se r v i ce i s

ldquovolunteerism that occurs in the

communityrdquo which usually meets the

needs of others (National Service

Learning Clearinghouse 2007 para14) In

contrast service learning combines

service objectives

w i t h l e a r n i n g

objectives in order

to change both the

recipient of the

service as well as

the provider Rather

than adopt the

academic nature of

service learning as a

primary theoretical

c o n s t r u c t

community service

as a facet of student involvement is

most conducive to this proposed study

S e c o n d ldquo r e l i g i o n a n d

spirituality are often mistakenly

u n d e r s t o o d a s s y n o n y m o u s

termsrdquo (Love 2000) The distinction

must be clear in order to further

describe the proposed study Spirituality

was previously synthesized from across

Service and Spirituality Alternative Spring Break for Spiritual and Religious Students

By Shaunna L Payne

(Continued on page 11)

Rather than adopt

the academic nature

of service learning

as a primary

theoretical

construct

community service

as a facet of student

involvement is most

conducive to this

proposed study

11

disciplinary literature such as theology

social science and other helping fields

like nursing counseling and social

work It is defined as the threefold

process of seeking personal authenticity

genuineness and wholeness as an aspect

of one‟s identity

developing a greater

connection to self and

others and deriving

meaning and purpose

(Love amp Talbot

1999) In contrast

religion is defined by

Ra n d o m Ho u s e

Dictionary of the

English Language

(1979) as a specific

fundamental set of

beliefs and practices

generally exercised

by a number of

persons Religion

connects with the idea of the existence

of an entity or entities that created

governs and controls the future of the

world and steers its natural course in

history Pascarella and Terenzini (1991)

found that the majority of research in

higher education addressed questions of

general religiosity and religious

activities only Over approximately the

last 40 years research has declined in

the areas of religious attitudes values

and behaviors Conversely research

increased in the areas of ldquoaltruism

humanitarianism and social conscience

more social racial ethnic and political

tolerance greater support for the rights

of individualsrdquo gender equality and the

ability to consider situations beyond

one‟s own perspective (Love 2000

para10) Each of these characteristics is

supported as aspects of spiritual

d e v e l o p m e n t

Participants from

both religious and

spiritual student

organizations will

b e e x p l o r e d

concerning the

Alternative Spring

Break experience

however research

ou t co mes wi l l

determine if effects

a r e d i s t i n c t l y

d i c t a t e d b y

r e l i g i o s i t y

spirituality or both

T h i r d

Alternative Spring Break must be

defined ASB is a student-initiated

s tudent -run community service

immersion program conducted over a

one-week period during Spring Break

Students live and serve in the

community selected (McElhaney

1998) ASB originated in 1990 when

two university students identified Spring

Break as a time to possibly combine

service and of f campus fun

Simultaneously a national movement

was underway with the same intention

The two students began what was called

ldquoService Spring Breakrdquo by developing

two sites that worked for Habitat for

Humanity After the first year the two

students recruited 30 people for hunger

projects in another state in addition to

Habitat for Humanity sites in the

students‟ home state During the third

year the organizing students created the

conceptual model that is now labeled

ldquoAlternative Spring Breakrdquo The model

included pre-break training as well as

group building and reflection during and

after the break In 1992 50 students

served at five sites across three states

The program continued to expand as a

phenomenon of community service in

American higher education ASB is a

unique facet of student involvement

Sample Population and Research

Design

The experiences of a group of

public university students who worked

in various settings during ASB trips will

serve as the participants in this research

There are four campus ministries that

serve the student body including

Baptist Student Union Campus

Christian Community Catholic Campus

Ministry and Intervarsity Christian

Fellowship In addition there are five

religious student organizations that

serve the Catholic Jewish Muslim and

non-denominational students Students

will be solicited from these campus

ministries and students organizations to

voluntarily participate

Methodology dictates that the

research questions determine the

research design and approach The

(Continued on page 12)

ASB is a student-

initiated student-

run community

service immersion

program

conducted over a

one-week period

during Spring

Break Students

live and serve in

the community

selected

12

research question for this study attempts

to understand the unique effects of ASB

experiences on spiritual and religious

undergraduate students therefore the

l i v e d e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e s a

constructivist qualitative approach that

describes experiences while also

understanding the structures that

produce meaning in the participants‟

consciousness (Polkinghorne 1989) A

phenomenological approach is essential

to fully answering the research question

and subquestions due to its focus on

ldquothe subjects‟ experienced meaning

instead of centering on descriptions of

their overt actions or behaviorrdquo (p 44)

This study is focused on meaning-

making that is evident in emerging

general themes that describe students‟

experiences rather than solely giving

thematic representations of the actions

or behaviors of the participants

The research design is clearly

planned Each of the nine ASB trip

coordinators at the university will be

contacted and asked to nominate at least

5 undergraduate students to participate

in the study All nominees will be

contacted and asked to participate The

first twenty students to respond

positively will be confirmed as

participants The students will be

randomly assigned to two focus groups

with ten participants each The focus

group format will allow the discussion

to ensue among the participants as they

interact (Stage amp Manning 2003) The

focus group format is expedient given

the time constraints of the research

award More importantly the focus

group augments the constructivist

approach as ldquoone participant‟s reaction

to a question draws out another‟s

responserdquo (Stage amp Manning 2003 p

55) Interaction of this magnitude

acknowledges the reality that attitudes

and beliefs do not form in a vacuum

Participants often clarify their own

opinions and understandings by

listening to others At the beginning of

each focus groups a consent form will

be signed A handout with participation

guidelines and key dates will be

distributed and explained Up to five

questions will be asked in the focus

group which will last approximately two

hours Responses will be recorded for

later transcription review Also students

will receive a journal that may be used

to write entries throughout the ASB

experience The journal entry will

supplement the analysis of the focus

group transcripts

Approximately a week after the

participants return from ASB a second

focus group will be conducted

Participants‟ journals will be submitted

to the researcher for review and coding

The participants will also bring a picture

or item that is a significant symbol of

the subject‟s ASB experience A

description of this item will be included

in the questions for the focus group The

focus group will be facilitated for

a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o h o u r s

Approximately six months after

returning from ASB the participant will

gather for a third and final focus group

intended to explore longer term effects

of the Spring Break experience

Description of Significance

The significance of religious

and spiritual student experiences of

community service is great The ASB

has begun to serve as a meaningful co-

curricular experience for today‟s college

students As reported by Campus

Compact a consortium of 1000

colleges and universities that are

committed to citizenship in higher

education the number of schools

offering spring break volunteer

opportunities increased from 66 percent

to 77 percent since 2000 (The Case

Foundation 2007) Many students are

motivated by their religious spiritual

and ethical beliefs to serve Student

a f f a i r s p r a c t i t i o n e r s s t u d e n t

organization leaders and religious

services professionals could be greatly

affected by the results of the study as

they strive to influence students with

holistic approaches

Editorrsquos Note This article was

unpublished from a previous year

Contact information for Ms Payne

could not be verified before publication

She has my thanks for her contribution

13

Commission

Corner

Upcoming Conferences

Seminars and Workshops

NACA Summer Institutes

httpwwwnacaorgEventsPagesSummerInstitutesaspx

Student Government West - July 9-12 - University of

Washington (Seattle)

National Leadership Symposium - July 9-12 - University

of Richmond

Student Government East - July 16-19 - George

Washington University

Risk Management - July 20-22 - New Orleans

International House

Upcoming Service Learning Conferences

2009 Alternative Break Citizenship Schools

DESCRIPTION The only conference dedicated entirely to creating quality alternative break programs

INFORMATION httpalternativebreaksorgabcsasp

CONTACT Break Away breakawayalternativebreaksorg (800) 903-0646

DETAILS June 13-19 2009 Blacksburg VA Theme ldquoAccess and Isolation in Appalachiardquo

July 18-24 2009 Indianapolis IN Theme ldquoThe Invisibility of Disabilitiesrdquo Aug 8-14 2009 Sacramento CA Theme ldquoThe High Price of Cheap Foodrdquo The National Educatorsrsquo Institute for Jewish Service-Learning

DESCRIPTION The institute is a week-long training designed to prepare you to create and teach Jewish service-learning programs in your community INFORMATION httpwwwpanimorgeducatorsinstitute CONTACT Lia Katz The Center for Jewish Service-Learning liakpanimorg (301) 770-5070 ext 202

DETAILS June 21-25 2009 University of Maryland College Park MD

National Conference on Volunteering and Service

DESCRIPTION The worldrsquos largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit government and corporate sec tors

INFORMATION httpwwwvolunteeringandserviceorg CONTACT conferencevolunteeringandserviceorg (404) 979-2924

DETAILS June 22-24 2009 San Francisco CA Theme ldquocivicenergygenerationrdquo 6th Annual National Urban Service-Learning Institute

DESCRIPTION This two-day event brings together community members young people and school leaders to discuss the application of principles of service-learning in urban environments INFORMATION httpwwwnylcorgpages-newsevents-events-The_Sixth_Annual_National_Urban_Service_Learning_Instituteoid=

CONTACT jcoteigeslorg

DETAILS August 5-7 2009 New Foundations Charter School Philadelphia PA

6th Annual Conference of Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION The Midwest Consortium promotes mobilizes and supports the efforts of its members ndash public and private urban and rural small and large colleges and universities in Nebraska Iowa and South Dakota ndash in developing and strengthening service-learning programs in their institutions and their communities and beyond through this annual conference

INFORMATION httpwwwmidwestconsortiumorgindexphpoption=com_contentampview=articleampid=209ampItemid=141

CONTACT Sarah Hanify University of Nebraska-Omaha shanifyunomahaedu (402) 554-3880

DETAILS September 24-25 2009 Omaha NE Theme ldquoMillennials Making a Differencerdquo 3rd Annual Conference on Fostering Global Citizenship in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION Participants at this conference will explore global citizenship and means of promoting it on our campuses share practical applications and strategies for fostering global citizenship and enhance strategies for cross-campus collaboration

INFORMATION httpwwwvtcampuscompactorg20092009_Fostering_Globalhtm

CONTACT Vermont Campus Compact vccmiddleburyedu

DETAILS October 5-6 2009 Brattleboro VT

9th International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement DESCRIPTION This conference will address the goals underlying the research on service-learning and community engagement the most effective means of achieving them and the implications of such goals for a wide range of constituencies

INFORMATION httpwwwresearchslceorgfiles2009ConferenceConference_Mainhtml CONTACT Denise Jeffrey University of Ottawa ircslce2009uottawaca

Other Conferences

ACPA National Advisor Institute - July 22-24 - Times Square

Marriot Marquis NY NY - httpwwwapcacom

view_edsessionsphpconId=16

11th Annual International Leadership Association Conference

- November 11-14 - Prague Czech Republic - httpwwwila-

netorg

11

disciplinary literature such as theology

social science and other helping fields

like nursing counseling and social

work It is defined as the threefold

process of seeking personal authenticity

genuineness and wholeness as an aspect

of one‟s identity

developing a greater

connection to self and

others and deriving

meaning and purpose

(Love amp Talbot

1999) In contrast

religion is defined by

Ra n d o m Ho u s e

Dictionary of the

English Language

(1979) as a specific

fundamental set of

beliefs and practices

generally exercised

by a number of

persons Religion

connects with the idea of the existence

of an entity or entities that created

governs and controls the future of the

world and steers its natural course in

history Pascarella and Terenzini (1991)

found that the majority of research in

higher education addressed questions of

general religiosity and religious

activities only Over approximately the

last 40 years research has declined in

the areas of religious attitudes values

and behaviors Conversely research

increased in the areas of ldquoaltruism

humanitarianism and social conscience

more social racial ethnic and political

tolerance greater support for the rights

of individualsrdquo gender equality and the

ability to consider situations beyond

one‟s own perspective (Love 2000

para10) Each of these characteristics is

supported as aspects of spiritual

d e v e l o p m e n t

Participants from

both religious and

spiritual student

organizations will

b e e x p l o r e d

concerning the

Alternative Spring

Break experience

however research

ou t co mes wi l l

determine if effects

a r e d i s t i n c t l y

d i c t a t e d b y

r e l i g i o s i t y

spirituality or both

T h i r d

Alternative Spring Break must be

defined ASB is a student-initiated

s tudent -run community service

immersion program conducted over a

one-week period during Spring Break

Students live and serve in the

community selected (McElhaney

1998) ASB originated in 1990 when

two university students identified Spring

Break as a time to possibly combine

service and of f campus fun

Simultaneously a national movement

was underway with the same intention

The two students began what was called

ldquoService Spring Breakrdquo by developing

two sites that worked for Habitat for

Humanity After the first year the two

students recruited 30 people for hunger

projects in another state in addition to

Habitat for Humanity sites in the

students‟ home state During the third

year the organizing students created the

conceptual model that is now labeled

ldquoAlternative Spring Breakrdquo The model

included pre-break training as well as

group building and reflection during and

after the break In 1992 50 students

served at five sites across three states

The program continued to expand as a

phenomenon of community service in

American higher education ASB is a

unique facet of student involvement

Sample Population and Research

Design

The experiences of a group of

public university students who worked

in various settings during ASB trips will

serve as the participants in this research

There are four campus ministries that

serve the student body including

Baptist Student Union Campus

Christian Community Catholic Campus

Ministry and Intervarsity Christian

Fellowship In addition there are five

religious student organizations that

serve the Catholic Jewish Muslim and

non-denominational students Students

will be solicited from these campus

ministries and students organizations to

voluntarily participate

Methodology dictates that the

research questions determine the

research design and approach The

(Continued on page 12)

ASB is a student-

initiated student-

run community

service immersion

program

conducted over a

one-week period

during Spring

Break Students

live and serve in

the community

selected

12

research question for this study attempts

to understand the unique effects of ASB

experiences on spiritual and religious

undergraduate students therefore the

l i v e d e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e s a

constructivist qualitative approach that

describes experiences while also

understanding the structures that

produce meaning in the participants‟

consciousness (Polkinghorne 1989) A

phenomenological approach is essential

to fully answering the research question

and subquestions due to its focus on

ldquothe subjects‟ experienced meaning

instead of centering on descriptions of

their overt actions or behaviorrdquo (p 44)

This study is focused on meaning-

making that is evident in emerging

general themes that describe students‟

experiences rather than solely giving

thematic representations of the actions

or behaviors of the participants

The research design is clearly

planned Each of the nine ASB trip

coordinators at the university will be

contacted and asked to nominate at least

5 undergraduate students to participate

in the study All nominees will be

contacted and asked to participate The

first twenty students to respond

positively will be confirmed as

participants The students will be

randomly assigned to two focus groups

with ten participants each The focus

group format will allow the discussion

to ensue among the participants as they

interact (Stage amp Manning 2003) The

focus group format is expedient given

the time constraints of the research

award More importantly the focus

group augments the constructivist

approach as ldquoone participant‟s reaction

to a question draws out another‟s

responserdquo (Stage amp Manning 2003 p

55) Interaction of this magnitude

acknowledges the reality that attitudes

and beliefs do not form in a vacuum

Participants often clarify their own

opinions and understandings by

listening to others At the beginning of

each focus groups a consent form will

be signed A handout with participation

guidelines and key dates will be

distributed and explained Up to five

questions will be asked in the focus

group which will last approximately two

hours Responses will be recorded for

later transcription review Also students

will receive a journal that may be used

to write entries throughout the ASB

experience The journal entry will

supplement the analysis of the focus

group transcripts

Approximately a week after the

participants return from ASB a second

focus group will be conducted

Participants‟ journals will be submitted

to the researcher for review and coding

The participants will also bring a picture

or item that is a significant symbol of

the subject‟s ASB experience A

description of this item will be included

in the questions for the focus group The

focus group will be facilitated for

a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o h o u r s

Approximately six months after

returning from ASB the participant will

gather for a third and final focus group

intended to explore longer term effects

of the Spring Break experience

Description of Significance

The significance of religious

and spiritual student experiences of

community service is great The ASB

has begun to serve as a meaningful co-

curricular experience for today‟s college

students As reported by Campus

Compact a consortium of 1000

colleges and universities that are

committed to citizenship in higher

education the number of schools

offering spring break volunteer

opportunities increased from 66 percent

to 77 percent since 2000 (The Case

Foundation 2007) Many students are

motivated by their religious spiritual

and ethical beliefs to serve Student

a f f a i r s p r a c t i t i o n e r s s t u d e n t

organization leaders and religious

services professionals could be greatly

affected by the results of the study as

they strive to influence students with

holistic approaches

Editorrsquos Note This article was

unpublished from a previous year

Contact information for Ms Payne

could not be verified before publication

She has my thanks for her contribution

13

Commission

Corner

Upcoming Conferences

Seminars and Workshops

NACA Summer Institutes

httpwwwnacaorgEventsPagesSummerInstitutesaspx

Student Government West - July 9-12 - University of

Washington (Seattle)

National Leadership Symposium - July 9-12 - University

of Richmond

Student Government East - July 16-19 - George

Washington University

Risk Management - July 20-22 - New Orleans

International House

Upcoming Service Learning Conferences

2009 Alternative Break Citizenship Schools

DESCRIPTION The only conference dedicated entirely to creating quality alternative break programs

INFORMATION httpalternativebreaksorgabcsasp

CONTACT Break Away breakawayalternativebreaksorg (800) 903-0646

DETAILS June 13-19 2009 Blacksburg VA Theme ldquoAccess and Isolation in Appalachiardquo

July 18-24 2009 Indianapolis IN Theme ldquoThe Invisibility of Disabilitiesrdquo Aug 8-14 2009 Sacramento CA Theme ldquoThe High Price of Cheap Foodrdquo The National Educatorsrsquo Institute for Jewish Service-Learning

DESCRIPTION The institute is a week-long training designed to prepare you to create and teach Jewish service-learning programs in your community INFORMATION httpwwwpanimorgeducatorsinstitute CONTACT Lia Katz The Center for Jewish Service-Learning liakpanimorg (301) 770-5070 ext 202

DETAILS June 21-25 2009 University of Maryland College Park MD

National Conference on Volunteering and Service

DESCRIPTION The worldrsquos largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit government and corporate sec tors

INFORMATION httpwwwvolunteeringandserviceorg CONTACT conferencevolunteeringandserviceorg (404) 979-2924

DETAILS June 22-24 2009 San Francisco CA Theme ldquocivicenergygenerationrdquo 6th Annual National Urban Service-Learning Institute

DESCRIPTION This two-day event brings together community members young people and school leaders to discuss the application of principles of service-learning in urban environments INFORMATION httpwwwnylcorgpages-newsevents-events-The_Sixth_Annual_National_Urban_Service_Learning_Instituteoid=

CONTACT jcoteigeslorg

DETAILS August 5-7 2009 New Foundations Charter School Philadelphia PA

6th Annual Conference of Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION The Midwest Consortium promotes mobilizes and supports the efforts of its members ndash public and private urban and rural small and large colleges and universities in Nebraska Iowa and South Dakota ndash in developing and strengthening service-learning programs in their institutions and their communities and beyond through this annual conference

INFORMATION httpwwwmidwestconsortiumorgindexphpoption=com_contentampview=articleampid=209ampItemid=141

CONTACT Sarah Hanify University of Nebraska-Omaha shanifyunomahaedu (402) 554-3880

DETAILS September 24-25 2009 Omaha NE Theme ldquoMillennials Making a Differencerdquo 3rd Annual Conference on Fostering Global Citizenship in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION Participants at this conference will explore global citizenship and means of promoting it on our campuses share practical applications and strategies for fostering global citizenship and enhance strategies for cross-campus collaboration

INFORMATION httpwwwvtcampuscompactorg20092009_Fostering_Globalhtm

CONTACT Vermont Campus Compact vccmiddleburyedu

DETAILS October 5-6 2009 Brattleboro VT

9th International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement DESCRIPTION This conference will address the goals underlying the research on service-learning and community engagement the most effective means of achieving them and the implications of such goals for a wide range of constituencies

INFORMATION httpwwwresearchslceorgfiles2009ConferenceConference_Mainhtml CONTACT Denise Jeffrey University of Ottawa ircslce2009uottawaca

Other Conferences

ACPA National Advisor Institute - July 22-24 - Times Square

Marriot Marquis NY NY - httpwwwapcacom

view_edsessionsphpconId=16

11th Annual International Leadership Association Conference

- November 11-14 - Prague Czech Republic - httpwwwila-

netorg

12

research question for this study attempts

to understand the unique effects of ASB

experiences on spiritual and religious

undergraduate students therefore the

l i v e d e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e s a

constructivist qualitative approach that

describes experiences while also

understanding the structures that

produce meaning in the participants‟

consciousness (Polkinghorne 1989) A

phenomenological approach is essential

to fully answering the research question

and subquestions due to its focus on

ldquothe subjects‟ experienced meaning

instead of centering on descriptions of

their overt actions or behaviorrdquo (p 44)

This study is focused on meaning-

making that is evident in emerging

general themes that describe students‟

experiences rather than solely giving

thematic representations of the actions

or behaviors of the participants

The research design is clearly

planned Each of the nine ASB trip

coordinators at the university will be

contacted and asked to nominate at least

5 undergraduate students to participate

in the study All nominees will be

contacted and asked to participate The

first twenty students to respond

positively will be confirmed as

participants The students will be

randomly assigned to two focus groups

with ten participants each The focus

group format will allow the discussion

to ensue among the participants as they

interact (Stage amp Manning 2003) The

focus group format is expedient given

the time constraints of the research

award More importantly the focus

group augments the constructivist

approach as ldquoone participant‟s reaction

to a question draws out another‟s

responserdquo (Stage amp Manning 2003 p

55) Interaction of this magnitude

acknowledges the reality that attitudes

and beliefs do not form in a vacuum

Participants often clarify their own

opinions and understandings by

listening to others At the beginning of

each focus groups a consent form will

be signed A handout with participation

guidelines and key dates will be

distributed and explained Up to five

questions will be asked in the focus

group which will last approximately two

hours Responses will be recorded for

later transcription review Also students

will receive a journal that may be used

to write entries throughout the ASB

experience The journal entry will

supplement the analysis of the focus

group transcripts

Approximately a week after the

participants return from ASB a second

focus group will be conducted

Participants‟ journals will be submitted

to the researcher for review and coding

The participants will also bring a picture

or item that is a significant symbol of

the subject‟s ASB experience A

description of this item will be included

in the questions for the focus group The

focus group will be facilitated for

a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o h o u r s

Approximately six months after

returning from ASB the participant will

gather for a third and final focus group

intended to explore longer term effects

of the Spring Break experience

Description of Significance

The significance of religious

and spiritual student experiences of

community service is great The ASB

has begun to serve as a meaningful co-

curricular experience for today‟s college

students As reported by Campus

Compact a consortium of 1000

colleges and universities that are

committed to citizenship in higher

education the number of schools

offering spring break volunteer

opportunities increased from 66 percent

to 77 percent since 2000 (The Case

Foundation 2007) Many students are

motivated by their religious spiritual

and ethical beliefs to serve Student

a f f a i r s p r a c t i t i o n e r s s t u d e n t

organization leaders and religious

services professionals could be greatly

affected by the results of the study as

they strive to influence students with

holistic approaches

Editorrsquos Note This article was

unpublished from a previous year

Contact information for Ms Payne

could not be verified before publication

She has my thanks for her contribution

13

Commission

Corner

Upcoming Conferences

Seminars and Workshops

NACA Summer Institutes

httpwwwnacaorgEventsPagesSummerInstitutesaspx

Student Government West - July 9-12 - University of

Washington (Seattle)

National Leadership Symposium - July 9-12 - University

of Richmond

Student Government East - July 16-19 - George

Washington University

Risk Management - July 20-22 - New Orleans

International House

Upcoming Service Learning Conferences

2009 Alternative Break Citizenship Schools

DESCRIPTION The only conference dedicated entirely to creating quality alternative break programs

INFORMATION httpalternativebreaksorgabcsasp

CONTACT Break Away breakawayalternativebreaksorg (800) 903-0646

DETAILS June 13-19 2009 Blacksburg VA Theme ldquoAccess and Isolation in Appalachiardquo

July 18-24 2009 Indianapolis IN Theme ldquoThe Invisibility of Disabilitiesrdquo Aug 8-14 2009 Sacramento CA Theme ldquoThe High Price of Cheap Foodrdquo The National Educatorsrsquo Institute for Jewish Service-Learning

DESCRIPTION The institute is a week-long training designed to prepare you to create and teach Jewish service-learning programs in your community INFORMATION httpwwwpanimorgeducatorsinstitute CONTACT Lia Katz The Center for Jewish Service-Learning liakpanimorg (301) 770-5070 ext 202

DETAILS June 21-25 2009 University of Maryland College Park MD

National Conference on Volunteering and Service

DESCRIPTION The worldrsquos largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit government and corporate sec tors

INFORMATION httpwwwvolunteeringandserviceorg CONTACT conferencevolunteeringandserviceorg (404) 979-2924

DETAILS June 22-24 2009 San Francisco CA Theme ldquocivicenergygenerationrdquo 6th Annual National Urban Service-Learning Institute

DESCRIPTION This two-day event brings together community members young people and school leaders to discuss the application of principles of service-learning in urban environments INFORMATION httpwwwnylcorgpages-newsevents-events-The_Sixth_Annual_National_Urban_Service_Learning_Instituteoid=

CONTACT jcoteigeslorg

DETAILS August 5-7 2009 New Foundations Charter School Philadelphia PA

6th Annual Conference of Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION The Midwest Consortium promotes mobilizes and supports the efforts of its members ndash public and private urban and rural small and large colleges and universities in Nebraska Iowa and South Dakota ndash in developing and strengthening service-learning programs in their institutions and their communities and beyond through this annual conference

INFORMATION httpwwwmidwestconsortiumorgindexphpoption=com_contentampview=articleampid=209ampItemid=141

CONTACT Sarah Hanify University of Nebraska-Omaha shanifyunomahaedu (402) 554-3880

DETAILS September 24-25 2009 Omaha NE Theme ldquoMillennials Making a Differencerdquo 3rd Annual Conference on Fostering Global Citizenship in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION Participants at this conference will explore global citizenship and means of promoting it on our campuses share practical applications and strategies for fostering global citizenship and enhance strategies for cross-campus collaboration

INFORMATION httpwwwvtcampuscompactorg20092009_Fostering_Globalhtm

CONTACT Vermont Campus Compact vccmiddleburyedu

DETAILS October 5-6 2009 Brattleboro VT

9th International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement DESCRIPTION This conference will address the goals underlying the research on service-learning and community engagement the most effective means of achieving them and the implications of such goals for a wide range of constituencies

INFORMATION httpwwwresearchslceorgfiles2009ConferenceConference_Mainhtml CONTACT Denise Jeffrey University of Ottawa ircslce2009uottawaca

Other Conferences

ACPA National Advisor Institute - July 22-24 - Times Square

Marriot Marquis NY NY - httpwwwapcacom

view_edsessionsphpconId=16

11th Annual International Leadership Association Conference

- November 11-14 - Prague Czech Republic - httpwwwila-

netorg

13

Commission

Corner

Upcoming Conferences

Seminars and Workshops

NACA Summer Institutes

httpwwwnacaorgEventsPagesSummerInstitutesaspx

Student Government West - July 9-12 - University of

Washington (Seattle)

National Leadership Symposium - July 9-12 - University

of Richmond

Student Government East - July 16-19 - George

Washington University

Risk Management - July 20-22 - New Orleans

International House

Upcoming Service Learning Conferences

2009 Alternative Break Citizenship Schools

DESCRIPTION The only conference dedicated entirely to creating quality alternative break programs

INFORMATION httpalternativebreaksorgabcsasp

CONTACT Break Away breakawayalternativebreaksorg (800) 903-0646

DETAILS June 13-19 2009 Blacksburg VA Theme ldquoAccess and Isolation in Appalachiardquo

July 18-24 2009 Indianapolis IN Theme ldquoThe Invisibility of Disabilitiesrdquo Aug 8-14 2009 Sacramento CA Theme ldquoThe High Price of Cheap Foodrdquo The National Educatorsrsquo Institute for Jewish Service-Learning

DESCRIPTION The institute is a week-long training designed to prepare you to create and teach Jewish service-learning programs in your community INFORMATION httpwwwpanimorgeducatorsinstitute CONTACT Lia Katz The Center for Jewish Service-Learning liakpanimorg (301) 770-5070 ext 202

DETAILS June 21-25 2009 University of Maryland College Park MD

National Conference on Volunteering and Service

DESCRIPTION The worldrsquos largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit government and corporate sec tors

INFORMATION httpwwwvolunteeringandserviceorg CONTACT conferencevolunteeringandserviceorg (404) 979-2924

DETAILS June 22-24 2009 San Francisco CA Theme ldquocivicenergygenerationrdquo 6th Annual National Urban Service-Learning Institute

DESCRIPTION This two-day event brings together community members young people and school leaders to discuss the application of principles of service-learning in urban environments INFORMATION httpwwwnylcorgpages-newsevents-events-The_Sixth_Annual_National_Urban_Service_Learning_Instituteoid=

CONTACT jcoteigeslorg

DETAILS August 5-7 2009 New Foundations Charter School Philadelphia PA

6th Annual Conference of Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION The Midwest Consortium promotes mobilizes and supports the efforts of its members ndash public and private urban and rural small and large colleges and universities in Nebraska Iowa and South Dakota ndash in developing and strengthening service-learning programs in their institutions and their communities and beyond through this annual conference

INFORMATION httpwwwmidwestconsortiumorgindexphpoption=com_contentampview=articleampid=209ampItemid=141

CONTACT Sarah Hanify University of Nebraska-Omaha shanifyunomahaedu (402) 554-3880

DETAILS September 24-25 2009 Omaha NE Theme ldquoMillennials Making a Differencerdquo 3rd Annual Conference on Fostering Global Citizenship in Higher Education

DESCRIPTION Participants at this conference will explore global citizenship and means of promoting it on our campuses share practical applications and strategies for fostering global citizenship and enhance strategies for cross-campus collaboration

INFORMATION httpwwwvtcampuscompactorg20092009_Fostering_Globalhtm

CONTACT Vermont Campus Compact vccmiddleburyedu

DETAILS October 5-6 2009 Brattleboro VT

9th International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement DESCRIPTION This conference will address the goals underlying the research on service-learning and community engagement the most effective means of achieving them and the implications of such goals for a wide range of constituencies

INFORMATION httpwwwresearchslceorgfiles2009ConferenceConference_Mainhtml CONTACT Denise Jeffrey University of Ottawa ircslce2009uottawaca

Other Conferences

ACPA National Advisor Institute - July 22-24 - Times Square

Marriot Marquis NY NY - httpwwwapcacom

view_edsessionsphpconId=16

11th Annual International Leadership Association Conference

- November 11-14 - Prague Czech Republic - httpwwwila-

netorg

14

Commission

Corner

Meet the new Commission for

Student Involvement Directorate

Name Position University

David Rachita Chair Unv of Houston - Clear Lake

Marlena Martinez Chair-Elect Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Bridgette Behling Coord Activities George Washington

Sarah Hermsmeier Coord Community Service amp Service Learning Penn State - University Park

Ryan Jasen Henne Coord Fundraising

Christine Workman Coord Greek Affairs

Christina Mastrangelo Coord Resource Fair Case Western Reserve

Darren Pierre VC Administration University San Fransisco

Daniel Tillapaugh VC Leadership Education University of California San Diego

Karol Martinez VC Personnel Maryland Institute College of Art

Krystal Clark VC Programs Duke University

Avi Zacherman VC Publications Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

Jesse Watson VC Research

Teniell Trolian Web Site Kent State University

Laura McMaster Directorate Class of 2012 Clemson University

Bill Dlugokienski Directorate Class of 2010

Paige Haber Directorate Class of 2010 University of San Diego

Ramsey Jabaji Directorate Class of 2010 Unv of Maryland

Stephanie Serven Directorate Class of 2010 Marymount

Eli Ker Directorate Class of 2011 Clemson University

Jenn Smist Directorate Class of 2011 Unv of North Carolina - Wilmington

Justin Fincher Directorate Class of 2011 John Hopkins University

Katie Wadas Directorate Class of 2011

Lamar Hylton Directorate Class of 2011

Tatum Thomas Directorate Class of 2011 New York University

Desiree Anderson Directorate Class of 2012 Texas State

Jessica (Jesse) Douglas Directorate Class of 2012 Mount Union College

Katherine Hendricks Directorate Class of 2012

Rian Satterwhite Directorate Class of 2012

Terri Frysh Directorate Class of 2012 University of Buffalo