Conference Agenda:

Opening Keynote:

Closing Keynote: 

Earn up to 8.75 CEUs (through NCDA)! 

Program Descriptions:

Career Development Paraprofessional Programs: Telling Our Story of Need, Impact, and Value (Dr. Julia Panke Makela, University of Illinois)

• Paraprofessional programs have long existed in career services with a reputation for being “invaluable” to the career offices in which they serve. Yet, existing programs come in many shapes and sizes, with great diversity in program structure, training strategies, types of services delivered, and more. With so many options, how can career professionals design and enhance programs tailored to their unique work environments?   

  Drawing upon a framework of program assessment is a way to “tell the story” of the people, programs, and services that make up our career services offices. In this presentation, we explore different types of assessment strategies (e.g., needs, participation, satisfaction, outcomes) that can inform the development and enhancement of career development paraprofessional programs.

  We achieve this through brief reviews of actual assessment projects related to paraprofessional programs. Assessment questions and designs are shared, followed by a subset of data collected. You are invited to actively interpret that data in order to gain experience expressing assessment stories. Together, we brainstorm ways to share data interpretations with key stakeholders in order to experience how to advocate for program needs or to communicate the value of our work. This hands-on experience is designed to provide experience with program assessment strategies and resources that you can translate into your own work setting.   

How Empowering Our Frontline Got Us Out of Their Way (Stacey Stokes, Northwest Missouri State University)

• This presentation is designed to share how one Career Services’ office transitioned their student employees from Office Assistants into Career Ambassadors…and how it forever changed the way they do business. These peer-paraprofessionals go through an extensive training program, which prepares them to promote and increase awareness of the services provided by the office. The Career Ambassador program was developed to bridge the gap between Career Services’ and the University’s stakeholders by empowering and imparting student employees with the skills, resources, and passion to influence and inspire those they serve.
  

Training: Preparing Paraprofessionals for a Lifetime (Meredith Mann & Craig Benson, University of Missouri) 

• This presentation will be focused on transferable elements of the best practices from the University of Missouri Career Center training programs. Presenters will give an overview of the structure of the current paraprofessional program and training programs they coordinate to prepare student staff to assist MU students. In addition to discussing the Career Specialist training programs, presenters will also provide insights on how to incorporate your student staff into the facilitation of training.

Keep Calm and Let the Paraprofessional Handle it (Mallory Yager, Christen Wharton, Ken Schueller, University of Central Missouri) 

• Two Graduate Assistants describe their University's unique Career Development Services Department, consisting two centers. Assisted by Director, Ken Schueller, who will begin the program by speaking on how the department was developed and structured. The graduate assistant presenters will discuss their experiences of becoming a graduate paraprofessional while overseeing undergraduate paraprofessionals.
  

Equip. Excel. Exceed. Developing Students for Future Success (Shelby Pieper, University of Arkansas, Polly Matteson, Truman State University)

• This presentation will focus on how to develop a student ambassador program to fit the needs of your Career Development Center. 
  

Conference Hotel -Country Inn & Suites  

• Address: 817 N. Keene St, Columbia, MO 65201
• Phone: (573) 445-8585