At the beginning of November, Wheaton College held a professional development program, Wheaton to the World. It is designed for seniors, but juniors were able to attend this rendition. Ben Chalot, of the Filene Center for Academic Advising and Career Services, provided insight on the event and more of what is going on at the Filene Center.
The program itself is geared toward helping students prepare for life after graduation, and while it can be useful for seniors, it has now given juniors an extra year of preparation.
During the event, there were five different breakout sessions and each year the variety changes based on the status quo at Wheaton, in higher education, the job market and so on. One of the most popular workshops is on financial literacy. It has kept for the past few iterations of Wheaton to the World and could potentially be expanded in Spring 2019, rather than be crammed into a one-hour info session.
Over the years, the program has started to focus on the social media aspect of job searching due to its significance in the world now with websites and resources such as LinkedIn. In addition, the portion on budget wellness has grown in the event; It brought an outside employer to help facilitate and educate students on finances. One section that has remained the same in Wheaton to the World is “How To Tell Your Story,” in which alumnai lead an interactive workshop. They help students to articulate their identities and accomplishments. Furthermore, the alumnai train students to figure out what is relevant to employers and how they can sell themselves as responsible workers.
With local employers and alumnai coming to speak at Wheaton in the World, it can affirm what students are being told by career advisors and create a bigger impact of post-graduation success. Also, it can provide networking, internship and job opportunities. “Employers really want to have a good connection with our student body, and I think it’s really important for students to get that exposure and alums always love coming back to share their expertise with students and it’s really a win-win there,” said Chalot.
In the near future, the Filene Center would like to create more events for underclassmen in regards to personal development. They want to develop a program for each class year, as inspired by the Sophomore Symposium. However, they might also try to build career services into the symposium itself.
For the remainder of the 2018-19 school year, students can expect more visitors to give advice at Wheaton and teach-ins from the Filene Center with Chalot. Also, there is the Spring Career Fair in March 2019.
Please drop by the Filene Center and set up an appointment to provide yourself with insightful career-building opportunities.