After more than a year-long remodel in the Manwaring Center, the BYU-Idaho Career Center has opened its doors in a new centralized location. With more than 10,000 square feet, the new space has been thoroughly designed to best meet the needs of students and facilitate one of the most important outcomes to the university: obtaining meaningful career employment.
The previous space for the BYU-Idaho Career Center was spread across multiple locations in the Manwaring Center. Given the importance of helping students find careers after graduation, Student Advancement Managing Director Derek Fay says the university sought to relocate the Career Center to a more accessible location with all of its services in one place.
“The services the team was delivering were important, but the visibility to students was not there. Previously, Internship and Career Services had been combined with the Alumni Office to create the BYU-Idaho Career Center. This new location for the Career Center will help provide more accessibility and visibility for its services,” Fay stated.
Throughout the construction, the FFKR Architecture design team, BYU-Idaho architect David Gay, and Okland Construction emphasized the accessibility of the space for students. They also incorporated a custom wall design, which Fay feels suggests a visualization of the statement of Jacob Spori when he said, “The seeds we are planting today will grow and become mighty oaks, and their branches will run all over the earth.”
“Symbolically, we feel like the wall design and lights in the space connect us to that imagery and suggest branches running all over the earth,” Fay said. “The Career Center wants to help students be ready, be confident, get the job, and go on to be disciple leaders wherever they go from here.”
There are also two large video walls which will soon display alumni profiles, data, quotes, and other information meant to invite, educate, and motivate current students to take action that will bring them success .
The Career Center’s space was finished at the conclusion of Winter Semester 2021 and is ready to help students achieve their desired career outcomes after graduation. Fay shared how the Career Center is available to help all students with their goals.
“For every student, regardless of their academic program or year in school, we want to help them understand how to do smart things at smart times so they can get ready, feel confident, and get the job,” Fay stated.
Those at the Career Center focus on four main objectives as they work to provide employability resources for students: job market readiness, employer connections, alumni networking, and internship services.
Job Market Readiness
Several professional resources are offered through the Career Center that prepare students for job interviews and internship experiences. With the help of full-time employees and trained student employees, they offer resume review, interview practice, and a variety of preparation workshops.
Employer Connections
Through on-site and virtual employer events, the Handshake platform, and career fairs, the Career Center is able to connect students with employers across many different industries. Since the campus adjustments from the COVID-19 pandemic first started, the Career Center has been able to host 11 virtual career fairs that served more total students than previous in-person career fairs.
Alumni Networking
With a network of over 200,000 alumni from both Ricks College and BYU-Idaho, the Career Center has a wide reach of industries to connect current and graduating students to. These alumni can serve as mentors for students and help open doors to companies alumni are already working for.
Internship Services
To meet the necessary graduation requirements across campus, the Career Center can help students know how to apply for internships in their areas of study. Service missionaries are a key resource in cities across the United States that can potentially connect internship providers with students.
The Career Center also offers resources for both campus and online students and invites faculty to consider incorporating many of these resources in their classes .
“We have great partnerships with academic departments,” Fay stated. “We would invite any faculty that wants to know how to embed employability activities into a curricular assignment or other efforts in their academic program, to reach out to the Career Center.”
Students or faculty can reach the Career Center at 208-496-9801.