The ACE Center Benefits VSU Alumni
Staff Report From Valdosta CEO
Tuesday, January 12th, 2016
The Office of Career Opportunities at Valdosta State University invites alumni to check out its new Alumni Career Engagement Center.
Developed in spring 2015, The ACE Center provides individual career counseling, résumé critiques, mock interviews, social network branding, career networking events, and access to multiple job boards, webinars, and workshops to VSU alumni.
“While the Office of Career Opportunities has always served undergraduate students and alumni at VSU, we started seeing an even stronger demand from alumni in terms of lifelong career aspects, such as development needs or assistance,” said Ieshia Walker, alumni and special programs coordinator for The ACE Center. “When we looked at the demographics between the students and alumni who visit our office, we knew we needed to develop a program that would not only help alumni transition from college to career but also with transitions that may occur later in their careers.”
Walker said the largest demographic The ACE Center currently serves is in the metro-Atlanta area.
“We use video chat websites such as Skype and Google Hangouts in order to provide individual career counseling without having them physically travel to campus,” she said.
The ACE Center is also home to VSU’s Hire a Blazer Initiative and the Mentor a Blazer Program. It is the center’s mission to not only meet the needs of its 100 partnering employers but to also get VSU graduates involved and share their personal experiences with current students and other alumni at career workshops and networking events.
Since its founding, The ACE Center has conducted two alumni and partnering employer-based career workshops including the second annual VSU Career Week and a Career Boot Camp.
Future initiatives include an International Career Day, which will feature a variety of networking opportunities and activities designed to inform VSU students and alumni about the international workforce, as well as an Alumni Entrepreneur Showcase to highlight the entrepreneurial talent of Valdosta State University graduates.
Contact Ieshia Walker at [email protected] or (229) 333-5942 for more information or to schedule an appointment with The ACE Center.