The Career Services Center is on the bottom floor of Rockwell Hall. Counselors there offer students and alumni advice about how to achieve their career goals.
By Kayla Casavant | The Duquesne Duke
On the bottom floor of Rockwell Hall, tucked away in a corner, is a small, unassuming collection of offices. Passersby could easily overlook this modest area, but the services provided there can make a huge difference in students’ careers and future lives.
Duquesne’s Career Services Center provides professional counseling and career advice that is available to all of Duquesne’s 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, as well as faculty and alumni.
The office assigns a career counselor to each Duquesne student when they enroll at the university.These counselors are meant to provide guidance and support to students selecting a career and then help them formulate a course of action to successfully attain career goals.
Counselors help students with their resumes and cover letters. They can also help students find and apply for internships and jobs. To prepare students for success, they offer mock interviews and networking tips.
The center also offers etiquette dinners and clothing recommendations for aspiring professionals.
Freshman Stephen O’Brion said he has not visited the center in Rockwell, but he has had positive experiences with Career Services at other locations on campus.
“They have been nothing but helpful in guiding me toward the resources I need,” said O’Brion, “I plan on applying to several internships and I hope they can assist me with finalizing my resume and cover letters.”
Education major Christina McElwee, 20, has utilized Career Services in the past.
“It was a little tricky to find,” McElwee said. “I was a walk-in but they took me very quickly.”
McElwee appreciated having an “expert eye” to look over her resume and cover letter.
“I always have questions about what is appropriate to put on a resume,” McElwee said.
She credits their assistance with her resume as one of the main reasons she landed her current tutoring job.
These positive responses are exactly what junior speech pathology major Laura Ironman, 20, likes to hear. Ironman has worked in the office for three years now and is passionate about the work they do.
“Career Services is there to teach us something nobody really taught us how to do — get the jobs we want after graduation,” Ironman said.
Ironman said the job is more than just “work.”
“We always have the best events on campus,” Ironman said. “We have color changing cups and root beer floats, and there were free donuts last week. It’s really a creative group of people who want what’s best for students and alumni.”
