On Thursday, April 17, the Shippensburg University Career Center along with Alumni Career Services and Alpha Kappa Psi (Shippensburg’s Business Fraternity) presented “Pathways to Success.” The conference for Ship students, grad students and alumni brought in hundreds of visitors thanks, in part, to its powerhouse speaker lineup.

Roger Serr kicked off the conference with a welcome, followed by a keynote from Christopher Jackson, an alumnus from the class of 1997. Jackson is currently a vice president and investment advisor with PNC Wealth Management in Camp Hill, Pa.

The first official session began shortly after Jackson’s presentation finished and featured numerous alumni speakers ranging from the class of 1977 all the way to the class of 2012.

Bob Ward, an esteemed alumnus from the class of 1977, who received the Service Excellence Award from the Shippensburg University Alumni Association in 2010, started off the first session with a presentation entitled “Packaging YOU: Shaping Your Personal Brand.” He and five other professionals (including three alumni) gave the audience a variety of tips on how to show their uniqueness to potential employers.

This was followed by the duo of John-Paul Bennett and Lorie Arnotte who discussed the global market in their presentation entitled “United States to China — Making Sense of Working in a Global Market.”

Heather Janetta, a recruitment specialist for the Pennsylvania State Civil Service Commission, kicked off the next part of the session. She was joined by Jeffrey Hanks and Steven Williams from the class of 2012 and Rebecca Morrison of the Peace Corps, in a talk called, “Navigating the Road to Public Service.”

After a fifteen-minute break, the talks continued in the second session. Kim Alvarez, Tess Shore and Ed Warren showed conference goers how to find their voice to advocate in the workplace with their presentation.

This was followed up by a presentation called “‘Water Cooler’ Chit Chat — How to Maximize Workplace Communication,” from Kristina Jacoby, Donetta D’Innocenzo and Erica Smith. Scott Hershberger, Brooke Gist and Joe Peltzer rounded out the presentations with one called “Making the Most of YOUR College Career.”
Following the presentation there was a networking reception across the hall from the main presentation rooms followed by a second chance to watch the presentations for those who could not attend the morning sessions. Those who attended at least one session were eligible to receive a certificate of completion as well, to help show the types of professional development that they have undergone.

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