Insights from our NCDA Session about: Delivering Career Services to Diverse Populations with Inclusive Pathways

Jillian and I had a great time at NCDA in Chicago this month with our small group! We shared and learned about best practices for delivering career services to all groups. We started with a fun beachball toss to learn more about the diversity of the participants in our session. Who knew so many career professionals are introverts by nature! We shared these tips for supporting individuals and groups in their career development journey: As a group, we had discussions around having a People First mindset. It all comes down to serving others & meeting people where they are. Here

Space to Focus

    It has been a busy month. We call it Maycember, busy like December but without the gifts. Focusing during a busy month or busy season can be tricky. Not only is May a busy work month, wrapping up one big project to begin the next, it is also a busy season for me personally. My daughter’s high school graduation is tonight and focusing is something I’m struggling with right now. Juggling so much makes it difficult to focus. However, this isn’t my first rodeo with busy seasons. Working moms do this time and again. We are fortunate at

FACD

Last week, HPC met with our contacts with the state department of education. The meeting centered around current training, plans for a focus group and specific grades that could potentially be our next area of focus. In reflection, we have worked in partnership with them for more than 10 years. What began as a grant funded training project grew into a wonderful partnership that has allowed us to provide professional development with educators across our state year after year. Currently, we are training 100+ educators on career development and providing state and program specific resources.  Here are the benefits I’ve

What I learned from Student Leaders this Month

I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate workshops with three student leadership groups over the past month. Check out Student Leadership – How are You Leading Today? to read more about the programs we facilitate and recommendations for student leaders.  Today, I’m reflecting on three things I’ve learned working with these amazing students. They are grateful for the opportunity to learn from others. One leadership class took time to write personalized thank you notes after I met with them. They were all grateful for different things, but the common theme was gratitude in general. Here is one of my favorite notes:

Another Year Around the Sun; Focus for 2023

I celebrated my birthday last week. The older I get, the more I realize there are only a handful of things in life that are truly important. Since my birthday falls in early January, it is a great time to reflect on what went well and what didn’t the previous year, and to set intentions for focus for the upcoming year. Prior to writing this post, my daughter, a high school senior, asked me to proofread a college scholarship essay. I may be biased, but it was wonderful. She gets it. It helped me realize that maybe I am doing