Community GIGs: Student Local Consulting Pilot Program

Career Level: Basic-, intermediate-, and advanced-level career services and university relations and recruiting professionals
Competency: Consulting - faculty/campus community
Fee: $49 (member); $69 (nonmember);

This product is currently unavailable. If you have any questions, please contact NACE Education & Events at events@naceweb.org, 610.625.1026.

Summary
Institutions of higher education are under increasing pressure to outline their career preparation and value. While some students enter college with existing connections, a clear path toward career, and resources for gaining relevant experience, not everyone has access to the same networks. It may no longer be sufficient to coach and outline job-search tools, but imperative to provide direct experience in an adaptive and creative manner. This approach will be necessary for all institutions, but particularly for liberal arts institutions. As liberal arts education does not traditionally offer pre-professional pathways, integration of curricular and co-curricular experiences and students’ ability to articulate these experiences are of utmost importance.

Gettysburg College saw the virtual interaction necessitated by the pandemic as an opportunity to provide students with training in humble consulting and equity-centered design thinking while addressing community needs and forming new institutional partnerships. We will discuss the lessons learned from this pilot project and provide participants with immediate takeaways and relevant data and research to implement best practices.

Following this program, you will be able to:
- Develop virtual skill building programs that can be implemented at a variety of institutions and include a variety of employer partners;
- Understand and incorporate humble consulting and equity-centered design thinking; and
- Identify and create collaborative programming for the changing world of work.
Presenters

Katherine Mattson, Associate Director, Career Engagement, Gettysburg College
Katherine (Katy) Mattson came to Gettysburg College in 2002 as the International Student Advisor but has been working in Career Services since 2004. In addition to her work as Associate Director, she is the Health Professions Advisor and Chair of the Health Professions Committee. Katy came to Gettysburg from Towson University where she recruited international students and has worked in government as an LA in the US Senate and Banking Committee as well as in healthcare as a neuropsychological technician. She earned her MSW from Catholic University in 1998 and her BA in Psychology from Hollins University in 1991.

Stina Niemann, Academic Operations Specialist, [ARCHIVES]
Stina Niemann, an international student from Germany, graduated with a B.A. in economics and international business from Dickinson College in 2016. She received her Master’s of Science in August 2018 from Shippensburg University in counseling and college student personnel. In September 2018, she started the new position of the entrepreneurship and career mentoring coordinator. She is the program coordinator for GET, Gettysburg Entrepreneurial Thinkers, and serves as the Center for Career Engagement’s representative for career mentoring opportunities.

Marcela Service Manzo, Assistant Director, Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg
Marcela Manzo Vessi joined Gettysburg College as an assistant director for Gettysburg College’s Career Engagement office in May 2019. As part of her role, she provides individual career coaching to students and alumni and develops relationships with employers, alumni, parents, and friends of the college. Before arriving to Gettysburg, she earned her Master of Education in higher education with a focus in student affairs from The Pennsylvania State University in May 2018. She is originally from Monterrey, Mexico, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM). She is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

Brenda Reyes-Lua, Assistant Director, Gettysburg College
Brenda Reyes-Lúa serves as the assistant director for the Center for Public Service and as a guiding member of Casa de la Cultura.  Previously, she oversaw services for the Pennsylvania’s Migrant Education Program in Adams County.  She has been a resident of Adams County since her arrival in August of 1993 from Michoacán, Mexico. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, awarded in August 2010, with a major in sociology.  She is both bilingual and bi-cultural and has worked with the migrant/immigrant population in Adams County since 2006, providing educational and advocacy services to hundreds of families. 

Andy Hughes, Executive Director, Gettysburg College
Andy Hughes is the founding director of the Garthwait Leadership Center. Previously, he served as the co-director of student involvement and leadership at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree majoring in English literature from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Hughes grew up in Broomfield, England, and moved to the United States more than 20 years ago. He is currently pursuing his PhD. in administration and leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.