- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Cultivating Student Success: How ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Resources Empower First-Generation Students

John Hill — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 21:44:55 +0000

November is First-Generation College Student Celebration Month. With more than 40 percent of its student population being first-generation students, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is especially committed to providing resources that help this special group of students reach their potential.�� “One of the biggest challenges first-generation students face in college is navigating a complex system such as a university,” said Heather Reed, director of Student Retention Initiatives. “There are so many processes that involve many offices. Luckily, Student Retention Initiatives can assist first-generation students in learning the university. It can be difficult to ask for help, and we make it easy through the Care Team, a support network for all students.” Members of the Care Team work closely with students to establish steps to reduce barriers to success. They take proactive action to support students in their pursuit of academic success, connect individuals to campus and community resources, create a supportive and caring culture for students, and establish best practices and standard protocols of response for academic referrals. Students who need assistance can contact the Care Team by filling out while faculty and staff who are concerned about a student can fill out . “We also offer peer mentors who are upper-class students who have successfully navigated various processes and have knowledge of the university,” Reed said. “First-generation students can request to be matched with a peer mentor to help them with a variety of issues, such as building locations, learning traditions, tips for academic success, and how to get involved on campus. Many of the staff in our office are first-generation college students so we understand first-hand the challenges students face and how to overcome those challenges.” The Office of Student Retention Initiatives also holds welcome events for new students and celebrates first-generation students every November during First-Generation College Student Celebration Month. “For me, being a first-generation student is a catch-22. I’m very excited that I decided late in age to go back to school,” said Veronica Tess Myers, a first-generation student studying applied communication who attended the Nov. 8 celebration. “I finally finished getting my bachelor’s and am looking forward to acquiring my master’s degree. However, it’s also a little bit of sadness. I’m considered to be a know-it-all because I went further. A lot of the reason why I went further is because of my autistic son and having to learn what I needed for him to succeed.” Since 1978, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s TRIO Student Support Services has provided resources to help increase the rates of academic achievement, retention, and graduation among historically disadvantaged students. “TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) provides services to a limited number of eligible ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students,” said Dr. Desarae Nelson, director of TRIO SSS. “Eligibility requirements include: first generations, and/or limited income, and/or disabled. SSS offers: a scholarship, weekly workshops, financial literacy, cultural events, textbook loans, tutoring, career readiness, and graduate school trips. SSS seeks to motivate students toward the successful completion of their post-secondary education. The goal of the program is to increase participants’ college persistence, support them through graduation, and facilitate the transition from one level of higher education to the next. The program is funded by the US Department of Education.” Dr. Mike Kirk, director of health services and counseling services, said that both units offer great resources to help first-generation students adapt to college life. “Health Services for certain can immediately impact first-generation students,” Kirk said. “To have a convenient family care clinic right here on campus is excellent for them. They can get in and take care of virtually any medical issue that you go to the doctor’s office. Also, the cost is going to be less here than when you go outside to your doctor’s office.

Dr. Mike Kirk

Counseling Services can help normalize the college experience. It’s not as easy to get students to come see us in Counseling Services. We know students can get anxious and concerned about succeeding in college. We can help normalize those feelings and give students strategies to help make them successful.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock also supports students in several other ways. The office of Student Retention Initiatives coordinates peer mentoring, academic coaching, and tutoring to help all students thrive. Additionally, student researchers in the Signature Experience Program receive grant funding and are mentored by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty, helping prepare students for advanced study and improving persistence. The Multicultural Center provides several mentoring programs that help empower, support, and assist African American students, Hispanic/Latinix students, and students of color in achieving their goal of earning a college degree. Students in these programs meet with career and professional mentors for regular support. The university’s Learning Commons, which opened during the spring semester, provides a space where students have access to study space and tutoring assistance. The Learning Commons is the home of the Communication Skills Center, Math Assistance Center, University Writing Center, World Languages Center, and Trojan Tutoring. “The Learning Commons is a great free resource available to students,” said Brandon Sollars, Learning Commons coordinator. “In this space, we can help students be successful by providing them with direct access to resources that can help them in their courses. Collectively our centers cover a large variety of subjects, everything from intro-level courses, math, writing and communication. We also provide a comfortable space for students to study individually or to study in groups. Here in the Learning Commons we aim to equip our students with the necessary skills and strategies that they need to be successful.” Genesis Dominguez, a junior double major in Spanish and anthropology and first-generation student, helps many students in her work at the Communication Skill Center. “The Communication Skill Center is a great opportunity for the students,” Dominguez said. “This center helps students do presentations, organize slide presentations, prepare them for a speech or interview, rehearse, organize ideas, and manage anxiety while speaking. It has a great team that is willing to help you every step of the way and will celebrate with you every win that you make.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has a number of student ambassador programs that create leadership opportunities for successful students who serve as tutors, mentors, and guides for their fellow students.

Learning Commons Coordinator Brandon Solllars and Michelle Malone and De’Ja Johnson, applied communication graduate students, give a presentation in the Communications Skills Center in Ottenheimer Library. Photo by Ben Krain.

“I intend to help create pathways for opportunities for other ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and specifically veterans, students of color, and nontraditional students to gain access to resources that hopefully will help generate more student success,” said Bryan Hernandez, a first-generation student and ambassador for the School of Business. “I hope to show that programs like the student ambassador program work! That they help to create a sense of community at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and build confidence in students that may deeply need it.” Additional campus resources that ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students will find useful include:

Trojan Works is an institutional work study program that provides on-campus employment opportunities as well as a unique experience that prepares students for success beyond graduation.
Career Services provides opportunities for students to prepare for careers through internships, job postings, career fairs, and career coaching.
Trojan Career Closet offers a career closet to help ensure students are dressed for interviews and internships. Each semester, students can select outfits to wear for professional settings.
Trojan Food Pantry is open to assist students, faculty, and staff with food needs they may have throughout the year.
The Military Student Support Center offers support for the university’s more than 700 Active Duty, Reservists, National Guard Members, Veterans, and their families utilize the center each year.

Amazon Selects ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Tech for Career Choice Program

John Hill — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 17:08:02 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College were selected as education partners for Amazon’s Career Choice program, providing Amazon’s hourly employees in Central Arkansas with access to more than 180 accredited degree programs.�� “I applaud Amazon’s investment in its workforce,” said ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale. “This partnership reflects a recognition of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s commitment to developing the right mix of academic programs that intersect with career advancement and social mobility. The outcome will produce dividends for Amazon, the City of Little Rock, and the surrounding region for years to come.” ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and are the first higher education institutions in Arkansas to be named Career Choice Partners by Amazon, joining a select partnership of colleges and universities throughout the country who are helping Amazon employees achieve career success by providing them with access to comprehensive two-and four-year degree programs. “Through the generosity of Amazon and the quality higher education and training available at ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Tech, access to the education necessary for future success has never been greater,” said ��Vlog��ý-PTC Chancellor Margaret Ellibee. “Having a company pay for an employees’ college education at the same time the employee has a great job removes some of the most significant barriers to attainment.” Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their education journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities including full college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., the company is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs. Amazon’s Career Choice program has a rigorous selection process for third-party partner educators, choosing partners that are focused on helping employees through their education programs, assisting them with job placements, and overall offering education that leads to career success.

Amazon Career Choice Program

“We’re looking forward to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Technical College coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees,” said Tammy Thieman, global program lead of Amazon’s Career Choice program. “We’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally cultivated a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources, and continuous improvements to the experience. Today, over 50,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we’ve seen first-hand how it can transform their lives.” For more information on Amazon’s Career Choice, visit: About the University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College: The University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College provides access to high-quality education through university-transfer curriculum and workforce training. ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Tech College offers associate of arts and science degree options, including programs in allied health and human services, aerospace technology, business, culinary arts, information technology, technical sciences, as well as continuing education and community services. The college awards Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees to graduates of the university-transfer program, as well as Associate of Applied Science degrees, technical certificates and certificates of proficiency. With tuition priced at $134 per credit hour for in-state residents, ��Vlog��ý – Pulaski Tech provides an affordable, student-focused path to success. For more information on ��Vlog��ý Pulaski Technical College, visit: . About the University of Arkansas at Little Rock: The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a metropolitan research university that provides access to a quality education through flexible learning and unparalleled internship opportunities. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock prepares more than 9,000 students to be innovators and responsible leaders in their fields. Committed to its metropolitan research university mission, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is a driving force in Little Rock’s thriving cultural community and a major component of the city and state’s growing profile as a regional leader in research, technology transfer, economic development and job creation. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock offers learning, research, service, social and career opportunities that can only be found at a metropolitan university located in Arkansas’ capital city. Learn more at . Visit ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Admissions to learn more about educational opportunities for Amazon employees.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Welcomes Brittany Straw as Director of Career Services

John Hill — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 14:24:13 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has named Brittany Straw as the new director of Career Services. “We are thrilled to welcome Brittany to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” said Dr. Sarah Beth Estes, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education, where Career Services is housed. “Brittany is a dynamic and visionary leader. Her experience and enthusiasm make her the ideal person to build on the investments the Donaghey Foundation has made in Career Services over the last couple of years.” Straw is looking forward to making Career Services a useful and innovative center to help ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and graduates find great internships and careers. In her new position, Straw is responsible for managing Career Services, advising students and recent graduates on career readiness and job search processes, overseeing a professional development and career skills program for students, and running career fair and career exploration programs at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock has been very welcoming,” she said. “What makes this a great place for me is the energy I’ve seen for Career Services. I want to help our students find rewarding careers. If students have great careers, they will have more opportunities as alumni to give back to future students. Students come here to better their career and for career development, so I think it’s important that we have new services and tools to help them be successful.” Before joining ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Straw served as the assistant director of Career Services at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where she increased the Career Track Razorbacks faculty partners by 160 percent by enhancing and scaling the Career Track Razorbacks Professional Development program. She also was working on implementing a new diversity, equity, and inclusion career readiness programs for students. A native of Batesville, Straw is a first-generation college student who learned the importance of hard work and higher education by participating in the Upward Bound program at Lyon College. Originally a ballet minor, she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master of Science in Vocational-Technical Education from Arkansas State University. Straw started her career as a career consultant at Arkansas State University, where she provided career counseling services to around 1,000 students at the university’s Career Management Center. She also worked as a career counselor with ASU’s Career Services. After six years in career services, Straw joined the executive board of the Arkansas Association of Colleges and Employers. She has served in various roles including student recruitment and relations coordinator, past-president, president, and president-elect. Straw loves to give back to the field and hopes to become more involved on a regional level. “I love higher education,” Straw said. “I started off in the First Year Studies Program and then I went to financial aid. A mentor recommended I try career counseling, and I fell in love with being able to help students reach their goals. I am a leader who helps people achieve�� their career goals and live their dreams.” Straw is implementing several new initiatives at Career Services. She will hire a new career specialist this fall to help more students develop their career skills and develop a guide for professors to help students learn career competency skills in the classroom. With funding from the Donaghey Foundation, Brittany is piloting a new program underwriting internships at non-profit, governmental, arts, and start-up entities that typically cannot afford to pay student interns. She is also incorporating work study positions and non-academic graduate assistants into Handshake, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s student career portal. Both of these initiatives are designed to enhance equity in career exploration, one through experiential learning opportunities and the other in the student job search and application process. Career Services has two upcoming events for students who are looking for career experience. During the week of Sept. 20-24, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is partnering with JCPenney for a Suit-Up event that will give students a 30 percent off coupon to help with the purchase of business clothes. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock will host a Virtual Career Fair from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student learns valuable skills on summer internship found through Handshake

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 13:01:54 +0000

As the end of her junior year at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock drew near, Keely Reeves was concerned about a lack of professional experience that she felt would hurt her chances to get a job after graduation.�� “I will graduate in May 2020,” said Reeves, a Benton native double majoring in mass communication and professional and technical writing. “I only had one internship under my belt before last summer, and I was panicking, thinking that I might graduate without having any internships related to my majors.”�� Last spring, she began an intense search for internships that involved video editing, photography, social media, writing, and editing.�� “I went on Indeed.com and applied for everything under the sun in Arkansas,” Reeves said. “Then I tried the university’s new job-search platform, Handshake, since it specializes in internships. I applied for everything under the sun, and I found a great internship with P. Allen Smith Co. in Little Rock.”�� Vlog��ý Little Rock launched Handshake, a career network tailored to college students, in December 2018 to help students connect with future employers. The digital platform system is easy to use and allows users to customize every step of their career development journey.�� “We wanted to provide our students with a professional online job search platform,” said Lisa Henderson-Davis, director of Distributed Learning and Career Center. “It is the most popular and diverse platform, and that is why we picked it. It definitely helps us enhance our services to our students. The creators of Handshake went to Michigan State, and they realized they didn’t have the same opportunities as people coming from Silicon Valley or the East coast, so they built a platform to democratize job searching.”�� Reeves is the first ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student to officially find an internship through Handshake. As a production intern, she spent her summer producing videos and content to increase traffic to P. Allen Smith Co.’s�� social media pages.�� “Keely was a pleasure to work with,” said Patrick Green, director and executive producer of P. Allen Smith Co. “She came in each day ready to learn and to take on any task assigned to her. Our company has expanded our multimedia department into the realm of YouTube. Keely learned how micro content is created and used on Instagram and Facebook to help promote YouTube videos.”�� Green began using Handshake in 2018 as a way to recruit more college students.�� “Handshake is a great tool to streamline the announcement of internships and job openings to current and graduating college students across multiple schools at one time,” Green said.�� The valuable video editing, social media, and marketing skills that Reeves learned have already come in handy.�� “I’m interning at Wildwood Park for the Arts this fall, and I’m doing social media, videography, and photography,” Reeves said. “Working at P. Allen Smith Co. helped me come to Wildwood and think about what kind of videos I can do to promote them on Instagram and Facebook.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student Keely Reeves used the university’s Handshake career network program to find work as a video production intern. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Career Center offers students free accounts and training on the Handshake job search tool. Photo by Ben Krain.

At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, 2,645 students have activated their Handshake accounts and can search through jobs posted by the nearly 3,500 employers from across the country that are recruiting ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students. “Handshake is such a great resource to get an internship, but it also has full- and part-time jobs for students,” Henderson-Davis said. “All students need to do is fill out a profile to search for jobs, and they can make their profile public so employers can find them on Handshake.”�� Gaining professional experience during college is becoming important as more employers expect new graduates to have work experience.�� “We want our students to have more experiential learning opportunities in college,” Henderson-Davis said. “Students need real-world work experience to complement their education by the time they graduate.”�� Reeves remains grateful to Handshake for leading her to an internship that will prepare her for her future career.�� “I thought it was cool to get the internship through Handshake,” she said. “I wasn’t having a lot of luck on Indeed.com for things that would actually work for me. I applied for with P. Allen Smith Company, and they were willing to work with my schedule, and it turned out great.”�� Any student who is interested in joining Handshake can sign up.��

Diana Borgognoni Snyder named Bowen Law School assistant career services dean

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 16:45:32 +0000

Diana Borgognoni Snyder is a new member of��the administrative team at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as the assistant dean for career services. Before joining the law school, Snyder practiced law as a partner with . ��Her practice centered on commercial litigation, including banking and commercial lending, creditors’ rights and collections, contract disputes, real property disputes, and contract review. In addition to her legal practice, Snyder served on the firm’s recruiting committee for summer associates. In that capacity, she conducted on-campus interviews, participated in the firm’s selection of summer associates, and managed work flow for the summer associates during the clerkship program. Her enthusiasm for working with and mentoring law students led to her interest in joining the Bowen Law School so she could focus full time on professional development and career placement for law students. “The law school is thrilled to add an accomplished lawyer and community servant like Ms. Snyder to our team,” said Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz. “Her familiarity with our hiring process, her unmistakable commitment to serving students, her energy, and her prominence in the Arkansas legal community make her an ideal career services dean.” Snyder serves on the board of directors for Gaines House and the Gertrude Remmel Butler Child Development Center. She is also a current participant in the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Greater Little Rock program.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Cultivating Student Success: How ����Vlog��ý Little Rock Resources Empower First-Generation Students

Amazon Selects ����Vlog��ý Little Rock, ����Vlog��ý – Pulaski Tech for Career Choice Program