Truman State University’s Career Center is developing an online program to aid students in career readiness and help them market skills they have learned both through their Truman education and their involvement on campus. The Career Center hopes to roll out the beginning phases of this project Jan. 1.
David Lusk, associate vice president for career development, said this program targets skills employers value such as problem solving, communication, teamwork, global fluency and leadership. He said all of these skills fall into the general goal of the program: developing professionalism.
“What I like about TruSTAR is it’s really kind of organizing all that we already do,” Lusk said.
He said students earn points by completing tasks within the program, visiting the Career Center and completing activities such as mock interviews, working on resumes and career coaching. Points add up to earn students certifications for each part of the program.
Career ready coach Jenni Nuhn said the program consists of different levels. The first two levels both consist of five-minute modules based on adaptive learning tools that students can go through. Level one serves as an introduction, while level two involves putting the skills together with other resources.
Level three requires more application. In this level, students reflect on what they have learned and apply it to a provided scenario. Level four then is the mastery level where students speak with their career coach about the skills they have learned and participate in a panel interview.
Nuhn said the program is very flexible, and students can do as little or as much as they want. She said the Career Center is excited to see students take advantage of the program and what it offers. Students can pick and choose modules across levels to accommodate to what they need to further their career readiness. There are also professional development electives students can do to tailor the program more towards their interests or to offer more diverse experiences.
Nuhn said another goal of TruSTAR is to help students realize activities they are doing on campus are creating transferable skills. She said prior involvement will be taken into consideration and applied to the program so participants are rewarded accordingly.
“The biggest thing that I want students to walk away with is that this is not supposed to be more work,” Nuhn said. “It’s really just taking your experiences and helping you kind of repackage them in a way that employers and grad schools are going to want to hear, and in a way that you’re going to be able to utilize.”
Students can enroll in the TruSTAR program at trustar.truman.edu