It was a bustle of noise on Friday afternoon in the Career Services office in the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS). A stream of people jangled the bell on the door as they entered. The excited voices of students and faculty intermingled as each person signed in at the front desk for the day’s event. 

That day, Feb. 25, CELCS was running a program called Interview for Success, which allowed students to practice professional interviews in a round-robin-style format. The students could attend as many interviews as they wanted and they would receive feedback from each interviewer. Almost the whole CELCS office participated in order to expose students to as many types of interviewers as possible. 

Running events like these is just one aspect of the Career Services staff’s job. Members of this office provide guidance and coaching of every kind, from helping format resumes, to fostering alumni connections, to simply giving general advice. A day in the life of a member of Career Services can be diverse and hectic, but also rewarding.

LadyStacie Rimes-Boyd, the assistant director for programming and marketing, said she usually starts her day at around 8:30 a.m. by checking emails and getting updated about what she’s missed.

“Generally there are going to be things like requests for appointments to meet, and those requests can range from appointments to do resume reviews and personal statements,” Rimes-Boyd said.

Those appointments represent the advising aspect of her job, but as she is also involved with marketing and programming, Rimes-Boyd also has to check to see if there are any requests for information sessions/tables from employers who want to come on campus and meet students.

“I make sure that there’s space for them, and set that up within the system, so that whatever date that they want to reserve, hopefully we can bring them on campus and have those [information sessions or tables],” Rimes-Boyd said.

Additionally, if there are any programs on the agenda for that day, Rimes-Boyd makes sure that all the details are set for the event. Rimes-Boyd imagined and facilitated the aforementioned Interview for Success program. That morning, she prepared all the materials that the interviewers would need.

“I have folders for all my colleagues who are coming in, and those have been organized, and [I’ve been] thinking through what the event plan is for that particular event,” Rimes-Boyd said.

For other programs, Rimes-Boyd said that in the morning on the day of the particular program, she posts blurbs on social media, answers emails and makes sure that participants understand the event and their time commitment for it.

“[The preparation] is really multifaceted,” Rimes-Boyd said.

Through these programs, and her individual meetings with her advisees, Rimes-Boyd is able to make a direct impact on student’s lives and see the happiness that such impacts cause. That’s what she loves about her job.

“My favorite thing about the job is connecting students with opportunities and people,” Rimes-Boyd said. “I like having those moments where they’re like, ‘Oh that makes sense!’ or like ‘I get that, I can do that!’ ”

As the pre-law adviser, Rimes-Boyd works with students who are applying to law school. One of her favorite things about the past few months is hearing back from students about their acceptance to law school.

“I’m just as excited about their acceptances and success as if it were my own,” Rimes-Boyce said.

Twyla Hough, director of Career Services, also names the expressions of gratitude from successful students as the highlight of her job.

“[My favorite aspect is] when the students come back and update us about something that’s positive and that they were excited about and that they felt like our support helped them with that,” Hough said.

Hough described several situations of excited students coming to the center to celebrate with their advisers, or bring them small tokens of gratitude, like a bundt cake.

“Those types of things are really positive experiences,” Hough said.

During the brief moments of the staff’s days that aren’t consumed with helping students, they grab lunch, work on various administrative tasks and generally foster a loving and supportive environment for each other and for the students they work with.

Jordan Minarelli, a sophomore who has worked in CELCS since his first semester at Trinity, speaks highly of the office community.

“It’s a great group of people; it’s sort of like a big family,” Minarelli said.

The staff usually leave between 5–6 p.m. to go home and get ready to do it all again the next day.