Central College hosted its fourth annual Career Kickstarter with more than 40 participating second-year students, Jan. 9-13. This weeklong program during winter break offers students career strategy building workshops, micro-internships and networking opportunities with Central alumni and area business professionals.
Career Kickstarter, a program through the Career Development and Civic Engagement Office, is available at no cost to all Central sophomores. All students participating in the program were paired with an alumni mentor or other local professional and engage with a local organization. Participants had in-depth career exploration and experience workshops on networking, building your resume, finances, how to apply and prepare for an extended internship and more.
“We have an awesome group of alumni and area business partners who worked with students to impart career building knowledge,” says Jessica Klyn de Novelo, Central’s associate dean for career and civic engagement and a 2005 Central graduate. “This unique pairing of employers and students provides workplace experiences and connections to help Central students prepare for careers.”
Sinikka Waugh, a 1996 Central graduate and president/founder of Your Clear Next Step, presented the keynote address “Make Every Step Count” on Monday morning to launch the career building program.
Danny Beyer, author, speaker and shareholder and senior advisor for the retirement plan management division at Iron Horse Wealth Management and a 2004 Central graduate, lead a discussion focused on “Networking or Notworking.”
Throughout the week, students completed micro-internships in area workplaces.
On Friday, Jan. 13, an alumni panel answered questions from students. Alumni participants were John Dillion, a 2021 Central graduate and campus recruiter for Deloitte; Hannah Reussner Phillips, a 2019 Central graduate who completed a Master of Science in anatomy at Des Moines University and is currently in her first year of medical school at Des Moines University; and Dale Morlan, a 2021 graduate and service coordinator for UnityPoint Eyerly Ball Community Mental Health Services.
Central College of Pella, Iowa, is a private, four-year liberal arts college. Central is known for its academic rigor and leadership formation and for cultivating diversity of thought and culture through the arts and sciences, professional fields of study and experiential learning.
