Seniors in their final year at Grinnell College often find themselves struggling to navigate their future prospects and post-graduate intentions, but several find a helping hand in the form of the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), a campus resource for students seeking support in their personal and professional goals.
Located in the John Chrystal Center at 1103 Park St., the CLS provides many services to students that help them to connect with career opportunities, gain job experiences and broaden their network. An exploratory advisor, which every student is assigned, and a group of specialized career community advisors work with students throughout their undergraduate years.
Leslie Bleichner, the CLS’s education professions career advisor, meets personally with students to help them explore future opportunities in the field of education and steer them towards resources.
“I would say the most common conversations that I have with students are about the nuts and bolts and what I need in order to be able to support them post Grinnell,” Bleichner said. “I tell everybody I work with that my job is twofold: to put you in a position to make powerful decisions about your future and to make sure that you can be 100 percent your authentic self, 100 percent of the time.”
Several graduating seniors have expressed appreciation for the level of aid provided by the CLS. Both Finn Dworkin `22 and Claire Kopachik `22 are taking advantage of their resources to enhance their options post-Grinnell.
“I had the opportunity to shadow the social worker at UnityPoint hospital, the Grinnell hospital, and that was set up through [the] CLS and was really a good experience.” Kopachik said. “They do a committee letter for health professions applications, which is really nice because it actually makes it so you don’t have to ask for individual letters of recommendation from professors.”
Alongside assistance applying to postgraduate institutions and jobs, the CLS also uses Grinnell Connect, a platform that gives students the chance to connect and network with past Grinnellians.
I tell everybody I work with that my job is twofold: to put you in a position to make powerful decisions about your future and to make sure that you can be 100 percent your authentic self, 100 percent of the time. -Leslie Bleichner, education professions career advisor at the CLS
“I’ve talked to some alumni and some chemistry alumni that have given me good advice, and they’re usually always friendly to reach out to,” Dworkin said. “You’re building your skills as a student, but you should also be honing your social skills and creating connections with different organizations that you could reach out to or get involved with.”
The advisers notably make an effort to help students learn to collaborate, utilize outside resources and manage their own career going forward. Brenna Hanlon `22 took advantage of several peer and campus resources to support her long-term plans.
“It’s really hard to remember how much work we’ve already done at Grinnell and how useful that work is to turn around,” Hanlon said. “Grinnell affords a lot of its students a lot of opportunities to work in a really wide range of things like working really closely with professors and doing individual research. While you’re here, it’s all setting you up with really useful experiences.”
