Summer 2020 was not what was planned. Students were quarantined. Internships were canceled or shifted to 100% remote. Class of 2020 graduates felt like the best job market in decades vanished overnight. That said, we shifted gears to reinvent, and in some cases, create new virtual learning options and alum interactions, in addition to, the launch of our new career communities.
It is ironic that during a year where we launched our Discover - Explore - Connect approach to teaching students about career agility, the Office of Internship and Career Development required greater agility than ever as we:
- Launched Reinventing Summer 2020 featuring twelve alums
- Collaborated closely with SUMMIT team members to launch virtual career discovery and exploration in Legacy, SCALE and our new SUM 120: Career Exploration Lab
- Recruited and trained our first cohort of Career Peers in collaboration with the Center for Writing and Speaking
- Added new options for internship and research funding to reduce financial barriers for career connection during COVID-19 pandemic
- Launched four career communities with new association memberships and deeper employer engagement by career sector
Throughout the entire year, we collaborated with faculty and staff across the college to finalize and pilot elements of the Professional Success initiative, which is central to the college’s new strategic plan.
We are excited to share the results of our agile efforts in this report and hope you will enjoy reading about our professional success work with Agnes Scott students and alums.