Journey To Success
Written By Everett Mckee
Image courtesy of the UH Hilo Office of Applied Learning Experiences (ALEX)
Lets be real, we’re all in school to get ahead in life. But what are you really doing to prepare for this shiny new future? Most times being career ready is a foreign concept. As students are so caught up with books, booze, or both. Most times being career ready is a foreign concept.
In aid of those who need additional positive encouragement to take those extra steps to success, the Office of Applied Learning Experiences (ALEX) team is launching a special motivational program designed to encourage students to actively take steps to prepare themselves for the next phase of their lives. Over the past two weeks team members visited 43 class rooms and spoke to nearly 1,000 students to assess the steps that they were taking to identify and secure a job in their career field upon graduation.
If you're wondering what the Journey to Success program is all about at its source, think about the problem that is trying to help prevent. As Tom DeWitt, the Director of the Office of Applied Learning Experiences (ALEX) states, “I’m shocked by how often graduating students simply shrug their shoulders when I ask them what they plan to do when they graduate. Not only haven’t they started the job search process, most don’t seem to know what they want to do.” According to Forbes magazine, almost half of graduating students from public universities take five or more years to complete their degree. How the decision of what to do with that degree eludes the the light of day until the sun finally sets on a college career is a mystery.
Journey to Success Passport. Photo courtesy of the Office of Applied Learning Experiences (ALEX)
The reality is that career planning should start the moment that a student enters the university and continue well after they graduate. The Journey to Success program is designed to help students to identify the career planning steps that they should be taking throughout their college career and to partner with them in their completion. The program’s website (hilo.hawaii.edu/alex/journeytosuccess) features a career planning to-do list, organized by class standing, as well as a full schedule of activities and initiatives designed to keep students on track in achieving their career planning goals.
What makes the program unique is the partnership role that ALEX plays in the process, tracking the students’ career planning progress throughout their academic career not only in a database, but also in a personalized passport that students bring to with them to each event. In a few words from Suzie Lippwe an event planner for the ALEX team, she gave a brief overview of what can be expected. “The Journey to Success will include a passport with the student’s photo, name and passport number, and a barcode. The barcode will be scanned at each event to record their attendance. Attending sanctioned events will add points which will be used on a scoring system which will give awards based on points.”
Suzie Lippwe, ALEX event planner. Photo courtesy of Reporter, Everett Mckee.
The journey to a successful future will soon be held in the palm of your hand, with ALEX acting as the travel agent and helping students grab ahold of their future. The ALEX office already has nearly 400 students registered for participation in the program, with passport photos being taken at their resume writing workshop on Tuesday, February 17. More details about the program, how students can register, and upcoming events can be found at the Journey to Success program website: hilo.hawaii.edu/alex/journeytosuccess
