Jennifer Hidy Pitts is excited to help students turn their passions into career paths.
Pitts (pictured), who also works as the administrative assistant for Student Life, is serving as the Interim Director of the Lyon College Career Center. She plans to focus on career counseling with students while Lyon continues remote instruction this fall.
“Career services can’t do those big events on campus right now, so we’re going to focus on one-on-one conversations with students.”
Assistant Director of Career Services Lara Lauterbach is working part-time, Pitts said, and will meet with students who are interested in attending graduate school or doing pre-professional programs.
Pitts will meet with students about career exploration, jobs, and internships.
“We will still work with students on resumes,” she said. “They send me what they have, and we meet online. Working with them on it at the same time has been great.”
Pitts is looking forward to approaching career services with a counseling perspective. She has been attending a graduate program for college counseling and student affairs at Southern Arkansas University.
“I’m interested in hearing students’ stories and what their passions are. We can turn those into something fulfilling for a career.”
She enjoys helping students with the first steps of their career paths.
“I really like the beginnings of things, helping students think about what their passion might be.”
Pitts continued, “When students came to me about taking the leftover food in the cafeteria and taking it to a soup kitchen, we totally made that happen.”
One of those students, Leilani Ocasio, now works for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Pitts said.
“If students are passionate about something, I am so excited to help them,” she said.
“If you’re not excited about something, it’s not for you. But if it excites you, let’s go with it.”
Pitts said she doesn’t worry when students say they don’t know what they want to do.
“They’re just not comfortable sharing their story yet. There’s something deep down that we can discover together.”
She also hopes to use ScotsConnect.com to help students get in touch with Lyon alumni in career fields that interest them.
“I think ScotsConnect is going to find its home this year in our new virtual world,” Pitts said. “It’s an easy way for students to call someone in a field they’re curious about and ask some questions.”
Students can contact Pitts at 870-307-7277 or jennifer.pitts@lyon.edu.
Image and info via Lyon College
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