By Hannah Strader
One of the most difficult decisions for a college student is deciding their major. Luckily, the Career Development Center on campus offers an array of options to help make this decision easier. Laurie Chapkin moved into the Coordinator position just under a year ago, but has been working in the Career Development Center much longer than that. With a masters degree in counseling and years of experience as a teacher, Chapkin’s decision to apply for the Coordinator position wasn’t a difficult one.
“I would say probably the most unexpected thing that’s keeping me busy with the new position is that there’s a lot of meetings to go to that I just hadn’t anticipated. I thought ‘Okay, well, my job’s going to be pretty much the same except that now I’m just going to be a supervisor and I’ll have to evaluate the other career information specialists every year’ […], but actually I’m actually, as a representative of the career development center, asked to serve on some committees,” said Chapkin.
Though an unexpected aspect, Chapkin enjoys being able to represent the Career Development Center in more places around campus. She admits it has been difficult to be pulled away from duties in the center, but hopes the services offered in the Career Development Center can be promoted more for students.
“I think we’re such a great resource and I’d love for more students to come, so I’m hoping that being on all these committees and getting out more on campus that I can really let students know about everything that we do,” said Chapkin.
The center offers a variety of services for students who are unsure of what they want to study or are simply looking for a job. For those seeking employment, a mock interview or a search through the center’s job postings might be helpful. For others, personality assessments and one-on-one counseling can be beneficial for deciding a major. As the coordinator, Chapkin fulfills all these duties and more.
“I am really sort of just a point person to make sure that everything is running smoothly in the center, making sure that schedules are created and that the center is covered in terms of people and making sure that all our resource materials are up to date. And then I’m also a supervisor for the career information specialists in the center,” explained Chapkin.
While difficult at times, the transition thus far has been relatively smooth. Chapkin believes this is due, in part, to the staff here at JCCC.
“The easiest part is that I’m still working with my co-workers and we work so well as a team. I feel like this is one of the best teams I’ve worked on. I love working with them and I feel very lucky that I get to continue that just in a full time capacity.”
For the most part, Chapkin is focused on shedding some positive light on the Career Development Center through her new involvement on committees throughout campus.
Contact Hannah Strader, features editor, hstade1@jccc.edu