Career Development

main office:

Hekman Library 372

Resource center:

Hekman Library, 2nd

floor

Walk-in Hours:

Monday-Friday,

3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

(for resume or cover

letter critiques)

Connecting the Career Development office with faculty, administrators, students and parents

Internships paved the way for history alumna’s career path

Jen Vos, a 2012 history graduate, considers her senior year at

Calvin as crucial to providing experiences that led her to where she

is today. Jen spent the fall semester in Budapest, Hungary, soaking

up the culture and history of Central and Eastern Europe, while

also developing her interest and skills in photography. Upon

returning from Budapest, Jen was a collections intern at the Grand

Rapids Public Museum, conducting research in the archives and

cataloging artifacts into the museum’s database.

These two experiences prepared Jen to secure a spot in the Padnos

Internship Program at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

upon graduation from Calvin. She was immediately put to work on

a new and ambitious project: to produce professional quality

photographs of the entire collection of 19,000 artifacts. Due to the

scope of the project, Jen was asked to continue her internship into

the fall of 2012.

While Jen’s supervisor at the Ford Museum worked on a proposal to fund a full-time position

photographing artifacts, Jen continued working on the project during a two-month temp period in

the spring of 2013. She spent the rest of 2013 working at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, first as

the assistant manager of the gift shop at the Titanic exhibit, and then as a front desk customer

service associate.

In December of 2013, Jen learned that the Gerald R. Ford Foundation agreed to fund a full-time

Digital Technician position for 2014. Jen accepted the offer, and in early January, returned to her

post and started her current position as Digital Technician at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential

Museum. Jen enjoys the opportunity to photograph artifacts and edit the photos for promotional

use.

“Without a doubt, my favorite part about my job is being able to handle artifacts. It is quite literally

a hands-on approach to history,” Jen explains. “I can read an online article about the Doolittle raid

on Tokyo in 1942, and then walk into collections storage to see Doolittle’s Medal of Honor, which

is on loan for an upcoming exhibit. Physical artifacts give context and evidence to the past in a very

concrete way. It is an honor and a privilege to help preserve these artifacts for future generations.”

Reflecting on her career path so far, Jen recognizes that her internship at the Grand Rapids Public

Museum helped secure her internship with the Ford Museum, which in turn, helped secure her

current position. As a result of this experience, she recommends that Calvin students pursue an

internship as soon as possible.

“Internships are the best way to gain experience and to test interest and aptitude in a particular

field,” says Jen. “Also, pay attention to the daily routine of your supervisor. Intern tasks can seem

dull at times, but you won’t be an intern forever. If you pursue the field in which you intern, your

daily tasks will more closely resemble that of your supervisor than your internship.”

Inside this issue:

Internships paved

the way for

history alumna’s

career path

1

Internship

photos

2

Fall semester

highlights

3

Upcoming events 3

Faculty and Career

Development

partnership

opportunities

4

CareerLink Interim/Spring 2015

Page 2

Fall 2014 interns

Over 275Calvin students

completed a fall

internship, giving them the

opportunity to develop the

professional skills

employers are seeking in

candidates.

Students: report your

internship at

www.calvin.edu/career

for a chance to win $15 to the

Campus Store!

Additional internship photos

are featured on our Facebook

page.

Carlie - Skytron Evelyn - Kentwood Community Church

Joe - World Renew David - Monroe Products

Laurel - HR Collaborative Nate - Micah Center Victoria - Catholic Central Schools

Nick - Cascade Country Club

In partnership

with students,

graduates,

employers, and

faculty, we offer

our hearts and

lives to do God's

work in God's

world.

Career

Development’s

Mission

Statement

Page 3

Fall semester highlights

In addition to providing one-on-one career counseling, delivering presentations to numerous classes

and student groups, and managing the internship program, the Career Development office held a

variety of events during the fall semester:

The annual Business Careers Networking Reception was held in October, and 175 students and

professionals participated in “speed networking” conversations at the event.

The Career Development and Alumni offices partnered together to coordinate the third annual

Calvin in Chicago Career Fair, held on October 28 at the University Club in downtown Chicago.

82 Calvin students made the trip to meet with representatives from 16 employers, including

Goldman Sachs, Federal Reserve Bank, Symmetri Marketing Group, among others.

The Fall Career Fair, hosted by GVSU in collaboration with Calvin and other area colleges,

included 217 employers recruiting for internships and full-time positions in a variety of industries.

109 Calvin students took advantage of this opportunity to connect with prospective employers

(compared to 64 Calvin students who attended last year).

The Career Development office, in partnership with Michigan State University and Dr. Phil

Gardner, Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, hosted the annual

Recruiting Trends Conference at Calvin. Calvin has become a regional site for the national

conference in the future.

Upcoming events

Michigan’s Global Future:

Career Conference for International Students

Fri., Feb. 6

GVSU Downtown Grand Rapids Campus

Calvin College Engineering & Computing Fair

Tues., Feb. 10, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Prince Conference Center

Job Pursuit

Fri., Feb. 13, 9:00 am-4:00 p.m.

Crowne Plaza Lansing West Hotel—Lansing, MI

Pre-registration required

Winter Career Fair & Health Careers Day

Tues., Feb. 24, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

DeVos Place Convention Center

Out-of-State Teacher Fair

Mon., March 2, 3:30-6:30 p.m.

GVSU Allendale Campus—Kirkhof Center

Follow-up interviews on March 3

Teacher Search

Tues., April 28, 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Prince Conference Center

More details about these events are available at

www.calvin.edu/events-list.html

Page 4

We offer a variety of services

for students and alumni:

Career counseling

Major selection

Career testing

Internships

Job search assistance

Job fairs

Practice interviews

Resume and cover letter

critiques

Web-based job posting

system

Career Development Staff

Glenn Triezenberg,

Director

Meredith Segur,

Career Counselor

Beth Cok,

Internship Program Manager

Laurie Lemmen, Internship Program Coordinator

Bonnie Speyers,

Career Counselor

Lydia Frens,

Career Counselor

Karen Brewer,

Department Assistant

Kristy Dykhouse,

Recruitment Coordinator

Questions or suggestions? Call or e-mail

Meredith Segur, (616) 526-7675 or msegur@calvin.edu.

Available online at www.calvin.edu/career

Faculty and Career Development partnership

opportunities

The Career Development office welcomes opportunities to partner with faculty, in order

to ensure students’ transition-readiness for employment or graduate school upon

graduation. The options listed below are a few possibilities for partnership, but feel free to

contact Career Development if there are other ways we can serve you and your students.

Class presentations

Career counselors are available to visit your class and deliver presentations on career-

related topics, including interview techniques, resumes and cover letters, job searching

strategies, or another topic of your choice.

Career and personality assessments

Career Development offers three assessments: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI),

Strong Interest Inventory, and StrengthsFinder. Students always have the option to

complete these assessments and meet individually with a career counselor. However, if

you would like to use these assessments in your class, the assessment results must be

interpreted by a trained career counselor, either in one-on-one appointments or in a class

presentation. Please contact Career Development to make appropriate arrangements.

Class assignments or extra credit options

Career Development will work with you to develop assignments or extra credit options

for your students, such as completing a practice interview or meeting with a career

counselor to review a resume. If you choose to assign or offer extra credit for these

activities, please contact the Career Development office first to make sure our counselors

have time available to meet your students’ needs and deadlines.

The Career Development staff looks forward to working with you!

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Calvin College

1855 Knollcrest Circle

Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Phone: (616) 526-6485 Fax: (616) 526-6502

E-mail: career@calvin.edu www.calvin.edu/career

“Like” us on Facebook to stay

up-to-date about upcoming job fairs, events and other helpful

career resources!

www.facebook.com/calvin.career.development