PROTOTYPE &

TEST

S T E P 1 - C R E AT E T W O D I F F E R E N T P R O T O T Y P E S .

S T E P 2 - T E S T T H E P R O T O T Y P E S W I T H P E O P L E .

S T E P 3 - W R I T E A R E F L E C T I O N .

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Kris Benevento 8/17/13

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MYTOP THREESELECTED IDEAS WERE:

• TOUCHPOINTS SIGN OFF• ATTRACTION! PRIZES, FREE FOOD EVENTS• AVAILABLE, OPEN AND ENGAGING

TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATION, ADVISORS (DIALOG)

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Because a big problem was students weren’t aware there was help or didn’t know when to use the help, or were too intimidated to ask for help, I thought it would be important to grab their attention, make it an event so they would show up in groups. My student thought food and or prizes would attract students to an event.

2. BE ATTRACTED TO USING RESOURCES• Free food events with meet with your resource representative from XYZ as the focal point as the focal point. (How many can you meet with over the week? Use a • Prize give-a-ways with the meet with your resource

representative from XYZ punch card)

“I have so much to do, I need to earn money, I want to hang with my friends…” moves to:

“All my friends are going, I might as well. Or I might win a prize or cash or reduce my travel expenses. Or my fraternity needs to beat those jocks.”

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ATTRACTION, FREE PRIZES & FOOD EVENTS

In the end, everyone wins…because they have been exposed to the tools available, this reduces anxiety and now they know when to ask for help, where to go, and they know they will be met by a friendly face.

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How do we get students to interact with resources every year? Students say: Free Food (let’s try it)

1. My first prototype was to design posters to be placed around campus, advertising a free food open house event for the Career Center.

2. Prototype Two was a billboard for the side of the college busses, advertising a free food open house event for the Career Center.

3. Prototype Three were placards to be placed on each table in the cafeteria, advertising a free food open house event for the Career Center.

4. Examples can be found on the next slide5. The fourth prototype was a You Tube Video that was put on all of the

college social media sites and class sites. CLICK HERE: http://youtu.be/EoDTEq4u65o

6. Each of these informed and invited students to an open house that would provide free food, drink and prizes and they would be expected to go around and meet the folks at the Career Resource Center where they could ask about internships, community learning opportunities, work/study programs, opportunities for under-graduate research, post graduate fellowships and pre-professional studies.

This would answer problem statement one –

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Billboard on side of bus

YouTube success stories from students

Posters around campus

Posters by student Mailboxes

Family Success stories on You Tube

Competition among clubs for most Career Center Contacts

Teacher Incentive to connect with Students

AVAILABLE, OPEN AND ENGAGING TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATION, ADVISORS (DIALOG)I N N E R D I A L O G O F T H E S T U D E N T

I don’t know what I want to do. I have nothing to share. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. When I do, I’ll go talk with someone.

A V A I L A B L E & O P E N M E N T O R S

I remember when I took my first class… Boy did I make a huge mistake… I never thought I would like…. I was complimented on my work… That person changed my life…

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Meeting someone who has felt the way you feel, has made mistakes and survived, who has tried things and succeeded lets each of us know there is no separation and we each have a contribution and we don’t have to know everything overnight. Each experience brings us closer to what we want.

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How do we get students to feel as though they are welcome to have dialog?Have the Administration shake things up a bit and extend staff outreach.

• Teachers, Advisors, Administration will take 5 minutes of every class to talk (subjects could be: life, at college and decision making, things that worked for them, mistakes they learned form in retrospect, and things they wished they had done differently, (as they also read the announcements about where resources could be found.)

• Once a month the class would take 15 minutes so everyone could talk about the pressures, the insecurities, what their hopes and dreams are , share ideas, brainstorm new ways to apply their major to the business world– this allows others to empathize, brainstorm, network, problem solve.

• Teachers will also stay 15 minutes after every class (schedules need to be set up for this) so they are available to talk with students – and then schedule times where they can go into further depth at an appointment or help them find the most appropriate resource for their issue.

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How do we get students to feel faculty/advisors are accessible, care and are a great resource? Offer an Incentive.1. Knowing there would be groaning involved, the Administration

enticed faculty to enter a contest and win desirable parking spaces if they met with students each class for just a few minutes.

2. They would have to get the students to have career center staff sign off that they had visited the career center.

3. They would have to share resource information that was passed along to them , and they would need to stress they were there to help.

My prototype was a You Tube video, CLICK HERE::http://youtu.be/hUV1aT5XidQ shared on the faculty Intranet announcing a contest to win desirable parking for the semester for the faculty who were the first 10 in each Department to have each of their students get the sign off. This You Tube was a feel good video helping the faculty see they made a difference – not something they had felt from students.Posters in their mailbox and e-mails were sent out as an added.It was so successful the major college rankings added the college as a top 50 who have graduates go directly into the job market.

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Positive Comments:Wow – that teacher put themselves on the line, sharing their story.It was helpful getting directions to the career center and knowing I should visit often – not just my senior year.My teacher knew someone who was looking for help on a project. If we didn’t have these conversations, he would not have shared that with us. This will be a good way to test if I really want to be an accountant.I had forgotten what it was like to leave home, take classes, and how I thought teachers were like Kinds and we were the serfs.I actually received benefits from talking with the students that I didn’t expect.It is empowering to give students something other than a grade.Negative Comments:I don’t want to tell my life story in front of strangers.There aren’t enough opportunities here for all of us.I am taking Liberal Arts – I don’t know what I want to do yet or what opportunity to try. What if I don’t like them?What if something other than career questions come up? I am not a psychologist.I ride the bus, I don’t need a good parking space.I don’t have enough time in my day to grade papers never mind meet with students.

After watching the Teacher Video…

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After going to the Free Food Event to meet staff from the Career Center

Positive Comments: It would be easier to meet those representatives with a friendI would be more inclined to go to the Career Center on my own now, knowing what it is about.I could spend some quality time one on one with one of the Representatives. We are meeting next week.It made me get out there and check out something that I didn’t think I needed in my Freshman year.It made me think, is this major really what I want? They gave me some ideas to test new ground.I felt better knowing I could try many opportunities.

Negative Comments: If It takes a long time to go through the line, I’d be less inclined.I can go in for food but I don’t have to talk to anyone.There wasn’t enough time to talk with all of the representativesIt isn’t easy to talk with your mouth full.The lines were longIt made me feel a little panicked because I don’t know what I want to do.

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What I learned by testing my prototypes;:1. Some solutions are already time tested. (Advertising)2. Free Food and Prizes work for many students and some teachers but

they are not motivators for all.3. Getting a student to the career center is only the first step, they need

to do some work themselves. (You can only lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink)

4. Teachers feel like they already burdened; yet teachers like feeling appreciated and interacting with students as people. They really like knowing they made a difference. Humor works.

5. Students appreciate the “Adult” making the first move as it helps removes anxiety and the feeling of being overwhelmed when so much of their lives have changed that first year. Students feel less pressure in groups.

What I would do next if I were to continue working on the project.6. Measure results7. Track percentages of those that came, and saw to those that took an

action. 8. Send a follow up survey to Career Center staff and their support staff,

faculty and students who got the sign off from the Career Center.9. Capture first hand success stories from each group of Stakeholders on

video. Use it as next year’s propaganda. (Offer discounts at school for using their story)

10.Try the rest of my ideas.11.Talk to more people and try and understand their point of view on the

problem.12.Survey graduates