This is the third year that Career & Internship Services (C&IS) will have exceptional student leaders serving as Career Peer Ambassadors (CPAs). This year our CPAs are Melia Sigmon, a returning CPA and senior Communication major from Denver, NC; Caroline (Callie) Klinkmueller, a returning CPA and senior Communication and Music double major from Action, MA; Gina Palombi, a junior Business Administration major form Bound Brook, NJ; Briayna Cuffie, a junior International Relations major from Annapolis, MD; Shannon Diehl, a junior Human Relations major from New Port Richey, FL; Daniel Nicolelis, a senior Graphic Design & Digital Imaging major from Chapel Hill, NC, and Anthony Vita, a sophomore Communication major from Richmond, VA.
The goal of the CPA program is to increase student awareness and usage of Career & Internship Services. This is a leadership position and CPAs will serve as a resource, creatively and collaboratively working as an extension of the professional staff. One of the general meanings of the word ambassador is to be an authorized messenger or representative, and this is exactly what CPAs will do – “officially” deliver C&IS’s messages and services.
CPAs will promote C&IS by speaking with current students and prospective students/parents at campus events. Examples of events include Career Connections Week, which is coming up the week of September 22-25, our fall and spring Career Expos (the fall Expo will soon be here on Wednesday, Oct. 1), the Student Support Services Fair, Admissions Open Houses, and Admissions Early Registration events. Outside of these specific events, CPAs will creatively market C&IS to the HPU community and help generate innovative ideas for reaching students. Additionally, CPAs will hold “Drop-In Hours” to meet individually with students to offer career-related assistance and encourage students to see the importance of deciding earlier rather than later on a career path. Specifically, CPAs will assist students with informational interviewing/shadowing, networking, researching internship and/or job opportunities, developing effective interviewing strategies, and reviewing resumes and LinkedIn profiles. CPAs are not professional Career Advisors and have been trained on appropriately referring students to the professional Career Advisors in our office.
Melia Sigmon is glad to be returning for her third year and stated “I like having the chance to mentor younger students, helping them get a head start on a process that can seem overwhelming rather than waiting until they are nearing graduation.” Callie Klinkmueller, a busy senior with a double major has lots of obligations but has also made time to return as a third-year CPA because she wants to be a resource and share with other students the new way of thinking that C&IS helped her to adopt. She said ” C&IS helped me to polish my resume so that it really stands out, but more than that, they helped me to develop a new way to think about all of the experiences I am having in college – I now see these things as lifelong skills rather than just resume builders.” Daniel Nicolelis, a senior Graphic Design major, will be working with students on a referral basis and has a special interest in coaching students as they develop a professional electronic portfolio. C&IS is very fortunate to have these seven high-achieving students serving as an example to others and offering such a valuable and important service. We hope that you will encourage your son or daughter to connect with C&IS and talk with one or more of the CPAs. CPA Drop-In Hours will be posted and updated often on our webpage, www.highpoint.edu/careerinternships.
– Kellie McLeod, Career & Internship Services