Recent Initiative In The Experiential Learning Hub is Striving to Make Student Voices Heard
Natalie Pagdiwala was a Career Services Peer Helper in the summer of 2020 and was asked to provide feedback on a draft of a workshop. Deciding to cast her net wider and receive more input, she put together an informal focus group made up of her friends. This sparked a conversation with her supervisor about creating a formal focus group, and the Career Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) was born.
Now that Natalie has graduated, the committee is being led by current Career Services Peer Helper, Linda Nong. The committee meets twice per month to review resources and workshop materials developed by the career services team, who has been hard at work developing 20+ new webinars and a career tool kit with 25+ tip sheets and resources over the last year.
The input provided by students has been warmly received by staff in the Experiential Learning Hub. Career Advisor Jana MacDonald says,
“I felt those ideas really added to the engagement of the material. Not only did they make recommendations, but they showed true professionalism in following up to see what changes had been made. I have no doubt our materials for students will only continue to get better with their advice and support. It's so helpful to have students' perspectives on what we create!”.
Career Advisor Julia Leary remarks,
“The concrete suggestions they provided resulted in a clearer, and more student-centered presentation which improved the webinar experience for all. Having that student perspective is so valuable and really does make a difference!”.
Advisory committee member Jessica Whittaker (a third-year Molecular Biology and Genetics student) comments on the community aspect of the group and what she has enjoyed so far.
“Seeing our suggestions being implemented into workshops has reinforced the genuine impact we as the CDAC are having. Also, I really enjoy the community that CDAC has become. Yes, we meet to discuss the workshops, but it becomes more of an open dialogue between friends, where no one shies away from sharing their opinions, which produces the most candid feedback for the Career Advisors.”
Brittany Rayner, a CDAC member and fourth-year Criminal Justice & Public Policy student, says,
“I enjoy the flexibility of participation and engagement of the CDAC because you could provide input before everyone meets, during the meeting vocally or through the chat or after the meeting.”
CDAC is currently seeking new members! If you would like to provide your input on career development programming (and have a shot at winning a gift card each meeting), please email mcmanusb@uoguelph.ca or fill out this brief form to indicate your interest.