Students Explore Non-Profit Career Options at Conference

Nearly three dozen Holy Cross students took part in the Non-Profit Careers Conference, held on campus, Jan. 14-18.

Sponsored by the College’s Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, the Office of Career Planning and the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, and taught by Holy Cross alumni, faculty and staff, the five-day event introduced students to the wide range of careers available in non-profit and public service settings.

“Students were surprised to learn how many different types of jobs there are in these fields, and a few participants began to consider jobs that they hadn’t known existed before,” says Lauren Buckley ’09, assistant director of Community-Based Learning.

In addition to participating in professional development, vocational discernment and leadership workshops, students conducted on-site case studies at local community agencies, for which they identified and presented solutions to a real problem facing their assigned non-profit — and gained valuable hands-on experience.

“This conference is one of the highlights of the academic year for me,” observes Amy Murphy, director of Career Planning. “I love seeing the students’ view of their career options within the non-profit and public sectors broaden, and I love seeing how they integrate the [conference] exercises in reflection and discernment into their own career decision-making.”

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