Last week, Penn State Live released a story announcing a significant new commitment made by Penn State alumna Cathy Rein in the amount of $1 million to the Career Enrichment Network in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State. According to Penn State Live, Rein’s “gift will support the network in providing guidance for liberal arts majors on exploring meaningful careers related to their degrees and securing their first job in a challenging marketplace.” Indeed, as staff members in the Network, we are excited to see the support of alumni, like Cathy Rein, who generously invest in the education and career pursuits of students in the College of the Liberal Arts.
Since the initial formation of the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network last fall, our goal has been to help Liberal Arts majors who are interested in pursuing career-related, international, and professional development activities. Throughout this past year, the Network has worked with Liberal Arts majors to recognize and continue to develop the broad skill-set they are cultivating in their undergraduate education. The results from the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2012 survey illustrate that employers are seeking many of the skills Liberal Arts graduates acquire through their educational experiences — the ability to work in teams; to communicate effectively; to make decisions and solve problems; to obtain and process information; and to plan, organize, and prioritize work. Thus, the Network aims to assist Liberal Arts majors with applying and further developing their skills through internships, undergraduate research, and study abroad experiences. Take a look at the student profiles we have posted on our website to get a sense of the types of enrichment experiences Liberal Arts majors are completing.
Last spring, our office launched a new web-based program called Network Symplicity, which enables employers to post internship and research opportunities for which Liberal Arts majors can then search and apply. Several Liberal Arts majors landed summer internships through Network Symplicity or received funding from our office which enabled them to participate in their enrichment experience.
For instance, Psychology major Diane Langburd interned with a neuropsychology office owned by Liberal Arts alumnus Dr. Vince Culotta in Maryland called NeuroBehavioral Associates. Check out her recent blog post to find out more about her internship. After searching for a summer internship for quite some time, English major Leigh Raup applied for a Social Media Internship position with Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) through Network Symplicity. In her blog post, Leigh writes about how she spent her summer working alongside other Penn State alumni at AAM on a variety of digital media campaigns and projects. Lastly, Economics major Stuart Yacobian writes about his summer internship experience with a sports agency called Octagon – a once in a lifetime opportunity made possible by an enrichment award he received from a gift made by the Liberal Arts Alumni Society Board.
These few stories help to showcase how the support of Penn State alumni can impact the lives and educational experiences of Liberal Arts undergraduates in very meaningful ways. It is particularly exciting when generous alumni, like Cathy Rein, commit to and invest in the futures of our Liberal Arts majors. The Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network is looking forward to the new opportunities, programs, and undergraduate enrichment funding this gift will make possible.
Such awesome news! Love PSU alums!