From the President’s (Virtual) Desk

Dear Members,

Fall is my absolute favorite season! Not only because the weather turns lovely, and the Starbucks runs for the latest weather-related coffee concoction, but also because as career development professionals, we get to welcome our students back to our institutions! As we say hello to the class of 2023 (feeling old, anyone?), our MNYCCPOA board started to think about: What kind of jobs will exist for this class as they graduate? What kind of innovations and technologies will we have to learn? How should we engage with employers now that they are attending career fairs less and less? Are we really preparing students for the new gig economy? Are our jobs obsolete now that everything can be found on the internet with just one click? What is our future as career services and student affairs administrators? These questions were all the catalysts for our 2019-2020 theme: “The Future of Us.”

As we move forward with a strong roster of events focused on “us” as career counselors, we ask that all career centers’ directors encourage participation from their staff by way of attending our meetings (our yearly and event dues are still, after almost 60 years as an organization, lower than many regional and national organizations), volunteering to serve for one of our great committees (see below for descriptions and commitment expectations), taking ownership and pride in being members by providing feedback and filling out our event survey forms, and most importantly, offering one of your spaces to host our events. MNYCCPOA relies heavily on its greatest resource, our members, to continue to offer affordable and ROI-friendly events to help in the professional development of your staff. Some of the benefits of offering your space for our events include: Two free entrances to the meeting at hand (staff must be MNYCCPOA members), an opportunity to open up the event with a speaker (Director or any other staff member), ability to get to know your fellow career services professionals and to brand your college/university with employers or prospective employees, and most importantly, MNYCCPOA pays all associated fees for space and catering. All you have to do is offer the space, and we’ll do the rest! If you’re interested in hosting in the future, please fill out this form.

Finally, I would be remiss If I didn’t thank my predecessor and current Past President, Cheretta Robson. For any of you who have worked with Cheretta, you know that she is a tour de force in all things career services, event planning, employer engagement, and technology. Thanks to Cheretta’s efforts during her tenure as President (which include a brand new website, introduction of sponsors at our meetings, and a new professional development scholarship, to name a few), we were propelled many years into our future as an organization. I feel very fortunate, as the new incoming President, to keep her great legacy moving forward and alive. Thank you for your service, Cheretta! I also feel very fortunate to work with a great new (and not so new) executive board, for the next two years. They all exemplify the qualities of our members: prone to service, proactive, full of ideas, and passionate about the field of career services. Please help me welcome our new MNYCCPOA Board:

Mariela Torres, First Vice President (Columbia University, School of Professional Studies)

Vicki Wells, Director of Programs (St. John’s University-Manhattan Campus)

Kristina Simonsen, Second Vice President (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)

Karen Acampado, Treasurer (St. John’s University-Queens Campus)

Diane Schults, Historian (Queens College)

Tracy McGarry, Secretary (Columbia University, Center for Career Education)

Cheretta Robson, Past President (Fordham University)

Thank you again for your continued support of MNYCCPOA; we could not do what we do without the dedication of our members! I look forward to a collective great fall semester, and to seeing all of you (bring a new colleague with you!) at our upcoming 2019-2020 1-day conferences.

With sincere gratitude and enthusiasm,

Diana Mendez (New York University)

MNYCCPOA President