Alumni Bank provides students
with job info
By Lynde Smith
Staff
Writer
The Purdue Alumni Bank can connect students with
alumni to help the students find career information and to assist them
with job opportunities.
The site has been up for approximately three years.
Ken Coleman, associate dean of students, said he got the idea from Ohio
State University — it had a similar program so he developed one
here.
Coleman recruited people for the site from various
sources including Purdue's schools, the Purdue Musical Organizations,
the Alumni Association and various clubs.
"It is Boilermakers helping Boilermakers,"
Coleman said.
"Over the past two to three years, I have
collected this list to assist students who have questions about their
career," Coleman said. "But it is not limited to students.
"Most don’t have the contacts," he said.
"They just don’t have the resources to the people in these
various fields."
Coleman said it is beneficial to have this resource
handy. People can find information about careers and salaries as well
as internships and jobs.
It's also useful for freshmen to talk to people
and learn about fields they might like to go into, he said.
"It is still in its infancy," Coleman
said. "Last year we had 1,600 hits, so students are out there using
it.
"We have some absolute fantastic people who
have volunteered to be a part of this bank," he said.
Jill Bode is one of the volunteers for the Alumni
Bank. She is a Purdue alumna and works at Designed Right Public Relations.
"When I saw that (Coleman) had set up the Alumni
Bank, it seemed like an opportunity for me to help some current students
who might be going through the same types of issues," Bode said.
"Thus far my experience with the Alumni Bank has
been positive," she said. "Most of the e-mails I received pertained
to my college major (advertising) and work opportunities in that area
after graduation. However, like many college graduates, I work outside
my major area — in my case, in public relations — so I can't
speak to the job opportunities because I didn't pursue that field."
Coleman said that last week a chief executive officer
of a Fortune 500 company volunteered through the bank. The man said
he is retiring and is looking for something to do.
The volunteers range from recent graduates to retired
alumni.
"It is quite an impressive group of alumni
who have already volunteered to do this and I think that it will keep
growing," Coleman said.
Coleman is the instructor for General Studies 119,
"Introduction to Academic Programs." As part of the course requirements,
the students need to interview someone in the field that they plan to
go into.
The students get into the Alumni Bank and see if
anyone in it relates to their field and can be used as a resource for
the assignment.
"People said that this one assignment alone has
been the clincher to decide this is what they want to do," said Coleman.
Similar to the Alumni Bank, Purdue also offers
a Senior Bank. This bank gives freshmen and sophomores the opportunity
to talk to a fellow student who has gone through the programs they are
pursuing.
If a freshman is trying to decide on a major, he
or she can contact these seniors and ask them questions about the major
and why the senior went into that program. This will give freshmen an
idea of whether that area is for them.
"Perhaps the only drawback I've encountered is
that my name is alphabetically close to the beginning of the list, so
when a careers class was assigned to write to alumni regarding their
intended major I got a flood of e-mails over a three-day period," Bode
said. "That was a little overwhelming."
Students can find both the Alumni and the Senior
banks on SSINFO. Anyone interested in joining either of these banks
can contact Ken Coleman in the Dean of Students Office at 494-1747.
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