Despite all efforts, the Civic, Global and Professional Opportunities office is not a part of every student's four-year experience.
Though with newly appointed Dean of Experiential Learning Raj Bellani and new programming like the Sophomore Institute, the office is vying to change that. The program is growing from what students perceived as largely appointment-only to offering more comprehensive programming.
But like other offices and events on campus, it needs to prove a meaningful opportunity if students are to give it any amount of their stretched attention.
There's real opportunity for the office to become part of each student's consciousness as a partner to the ever-present jobless future. When a student thinks internship or post-graduate work, they should think Career Services too.
That could come with more universal programming. The Sophomore Institute reached for that this year - the two days meant to attract all sophomores at least increased visibility of the office's many services. The Life after DePauw alumni series also is an easy sell to students.
But experiences with the CGPopps staff are usually black and white: reaching out to an alumni is successful, or its not. A resume is overhauled for the better, or there's little to say. A graduate student has relevant experience or is lost among their undergrad stories.
We know the value of DePauw's alumni network for professional opportunities, and ultimately what our education is worth. But the students who need help getting there should be more actively courted by the Career Services office.
- Brianna Scharfenberg did not contribute to this editorial because she works in the CGPopps office.