BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Students at Bowling Green State University are getting the chance to capitalize off of a program that is helping to launch them into their careers before graduation.
What You Need To Know
- Students are mentored, learn from industry experts and are matched with Life Design coaches
- Students have the ability to test out work experiences before committing to something long-term after graduation
- University officials hope the program will help companies retain employees
It allows students who aren't quite sure what they want to do, to flush out their ideas, passions and interests with a life coach.
As a part of the process, students get career and employment assistance. As they're doing so, students are given opportunities to connect with experts in areas of interest, internships and jobs.
The goal is to help them determine what is most suitable for a career and beyond before they graduate.
"We're really hoping to see a lot of the relationships we have with companies and organizations and school districts and the like. We want to see when our students when they become graduates and take a role there that they retain," Steve Russell, vice president and executive director of the Michael and Sara Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections said.
BGSU senior Maria Signorino said when she learned about Life Design and that it would be the only class on her schedule in person, she jumped at the chance to take it.
"With everything being shut down, you know I still wanted to have my full college experience," Signorino said.
That's in addition to the fact that she said she was not very good with online learning. Since she could take the class in person, it helped her to be more engaged while everyone else was hunkered down during the pandemic.
For Signorino, Life Design was a way for her to sort through all of her interests and take action. She said initially, her interest was in meditation, Reiki and yoga. That's in addition to her love for the outdoors. While a part of Life Design, she became a bike mechanic, created her own meditation class on campus through the recreation center and started volunteering at Simpson Garden Park.
Getting her feet wet at the park opened the door for Signorino to land a full-time job at the park before graduation.
"To be able to see where I started and what I wanted at the beginning and then to see it all come to play, you know, these past few semesters has been really awesome," she said.
Now, not only is she feeling good about her future and fulfilling her passions, but excited for what’s ahead as she plans to hike the Appalachian Trail after graduation.
Adrienne Ausdenmoore, vice president and executive director of the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design said the idea really is to “make sure that really every BGSU student is getting the opportunity to think about what matters to them, both in their college experience and beyond. We can really help students to embrace that and think about how they can align their career interests, their life interests, the things they like to do for fun and how does that all blend together for themselves.”