Career services leadership and advocacy

Hi Reader, My daughter is a junior in college now, which means that not long ago I sat through an impressive number of virtual campus visits. I became very familiar with stock footage of students laughing under trees and phrases like “transformational experience” and “supportive community.” If enthusiasm alone were a differentiator, every institution would win. Honestly, if drone footage were destiny, we’d all retire. What surprised me wasn’t the polish. It was the sameness. Small classes....

Hey there, Reader — What if your office were measured by retention instead of appointments? Not how many students booked coaching. Not event attendance. Not résumé reviews. Not whether 37 students came for pizza and velcroed themselves to the wall until the food showed up. Retention. Would you run the same programs? Use staff time the same way? Promote the same services? Celebrate the same wins? You probably wouldn’t. Many career centers were built to deliver services, not necessarily to move...

Hi, Reader — Summer planning is coming, which means something subtle, but important is about to happen. The pace slows just enough to create the illusion of space, and with that space comes a surge of ideas. New initiatives feel possible. Lingering problems feel solvable. Everything starts to look like something you could finally “get to.” And almost without noticing, the list grows. Not because the ideas are bad. In fact, they’re often quite good. But because no one has made the harder...

Hi, Reader — I’ve found myself in two very different conversations recently, and I can’t shake the gap between them. At one institution, there is a deep and genuine commitment to preserving the liberal arts in its most “pure” form. Faculty are protective of the intellectual experience, cautious about anything that feels overly applied, and wary of integrating career preparation too directly into the academic environment. The concern, whether stated explicitly or not, is that doing so would...

Hey there, Reader — I’ve been thinking about the number of seniors who will graduate in just a few weeks without a clear next step. In this market, waiting or hoping things resolve on their own isn’t a strategy, and it’s a real risk for our students and for how our outcomes are perceived. And it’s something to intervene on—quickly. The good news: this doesn’t require new programs, approvals, or long planning cycles. The institutions that move now will change outcomes for students this...

Hello there, Reader — Last month my consulting business quietly passed its third anniversary. Three years is long enough to accumulate a lot of stakeholder interviews, a lot of airport coffee, and a surprising number of job titles. Consultant, strategist, facilitator… and, depending on the day, also my own IT department, marketing team, and tech support. But the real milestone isn’t the calendar. It’s perspective. When you spend three years walking onto different campuses, interviewing...

Hey there Reader, When Susi Gomez Kennedy stepped into her role at UW-Milwaukee (UWM), she didn’t inherit a polished program. She inherited potential. UWM is an access institution serving 23,000+ residential and commuter students. Building community, belonging, and professional networks in that environment isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Many students are balancing work, family, and school. Social capital isn’t automatic. Retention issues aren’t abstract. And sitting quietly in the middle...

Hi Reader, My daughter is a junior in college now, which means that not long ago I sat through an impressive number of virtual campus visits. I became very familiar with stock footage of students laughing under trees and phrases like “transformational experience” and “supportive community.” If enthusiasm alone were a differentiator, every institution would win. Honestly, if drone footage were destiny, we’d all retire. What surprised me wasn’t the polish. It was the sameness. Small classes....

Hi Reader, One of the most vulnerable moments in my work happens before I ever facilitate a meeting or make a recommendation. It’s the moment a campus says, “Okay. We’re ready. We’ll send everything.” And by everything, they mean everything — strategic plans, internal reports, assessment dashboards, marketing materials, org charts, student survey data… sometimes even the drafts that never made it out of Google Docs. This review process is a foundational part of my consulting work. Before I...