Julie Copenhaver | Courtesy Photo
By Brooks Whitehurst
Reporter
At their “Kick Off Your Career” event Tuesday at Fountain Mall, Career and Professional Development welcomed students into the fall semester with food, games and an invitation to jump start their careers.
“We want to let students know that we’re here and show what all we have to offer them,” said Marjorie Ellis, executive director of Career and Professional Development.
Instead of waiting for students to come to them, Career and Professional Development, also known as HireABear, took their staff to the students, offering information on how to get internships and the other events and services offered throughout the year.
“We really just want to be able to pull students in and give them a resource,” said Daniel Schoettmer, a graduate apprentice in Career and Professional Development.
Aside from providing general information about on-campus internship opportunities for undergraduates, students also entered for a chance to win a signed football from Baylor football head coach Art Briles and watched Ellis take on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with the help of Baylor’s mascot, Bruiser.
But humor aside, Ellis said the point of the day was to inform students about the opportunities right here on campus.
“I feel like I’m a bank with all this money just waiting to give it away while there are all these students out there saying ‘I need money,’” said Ellis, who went on to explain their goal is to reduce the amount of students that only come in at the last minute.
“The earlier we get the students in the better,” she said, “so that they aren’t just coming in their senior year. We’re here to help you get that job or internship that you want.”
In addition to the services already offered, part of Career and Professional Development five-year plan is to add new staff dedicated to each college at Baylor in order to better assist students in each field of study.
