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To explain the significance of a unique new Nazareth initiative, Emily Carpenter starts by describing just how much the post-college employment landscape has evolved.

鈥淲e know from research that a student will only stay in their first job after graduation for 18 months, and they鈥檒l probably change jobs 10 to 15 times during their career,鈥� she says. What鈥檚 more, nearly two-thirds of students entering primary school today are predicted to ultimately work in positions whose job descriptions don鈥檛 even exist yet. 鈥淗ow do we prepare students for jobs that we can鈥檛 yet imagine?鈥�

These trends aren鈥檛 necessarily problems to be solved, but they鈥檙e facts of life鈥攁nd the Center for Life鈥檚 Work has been created to help Nazareth students prepare for this 鈥渘ew normal.鈥�

鈥淭he world of work has changed鈥攑eople don鈥檛 get out of college, start a job and stay until they collect a pension anymore,鈥� says Carpenter, CFLW鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淭hat breeds flexibility and creativity; but there鈥檚 also more uncertainty, and more opportunities to make mistakes. We want students to experiment while they鈥檙e still in school, and make experiential learning an integrated part of their education.鈥�

Nazareth is already nationally known for its curricular leadership in Experiential Learning, the formalized out-of-the-classroom experiences that are among the Core requirements for every Nazareth undergraduate degree. CFLW builds on that emphasis by merging the Career Services and Internship departments with the Center for Civic Engagement鈥攚hich connects students with Core-qualifying service learning and community-service opportunities鈥攚hile encouraging a wide range of supplemental experiences including alumni networking, shadowing, student clubs, and more.

At the same time, it鈥檚 also more than the sum of those parts. One key innovation is the new team of career coaches, ready to guide students in preparing for their post-Nazareth lives, beginning with their first year. Each CFLW coach takes a deep dive into a specific area of study, building connections with faculty, staff, alumni, employers, and the community at large.

This allows them to help students understand the full range of life and career choices related to that subject, and leverage the opportunities that inevitably arise from classes, internships, study-abroad semesters, and volunteer work.

For students to be exposed to as many experience-based encounters as possible, timing is everything. 鈥淚 used to see most of my students at the end of their junior or senior year, looking for help with their resumes or for internship advice,鈥� says Mike Kahl, Nazareth鈥檚 Director of Career Services, who now works as part of CFLW. 鈥淏ut last year we were able to connect with two-thirds of the freshman class. These were one-on-one appointments where we talked about their goals, and how the next four years might help them achieve those goals.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 much more than the short-term transactional assistance of Career Services,鈥� adds Carpenter, whose resume included more than a decade of Career Services experience before she joined CFLW. 鈥淏y engaging students early and in such a comprehensive way, our career coaches can offer personalized and supportive guidance from day one. It鈥檚 really a paradigm shift.鈥�

Carpenter aims to have CFLW staff connect with even more freshmen in future years, to create long-term collaborative pathways that wind throughout their years at Nazareth鈥攁nd lay the groundwork for post-college lives distinguished by not only career success, but a deeper sense of personal fulfillment.

鈥淵our life鈥檚 work isn鈥檛 just about your job. It鈥檚 about things that make you a better parent, a better community member, a better spouse, a better person,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something that will evolve over your life as your skills and interests evolve. We want students to be prepared for that as well as for the subjects they study. That combination of learning will help them find their life鈥檚 work, and achieve meaning and purpose.鈥�

How can alumni help?

The Center鈥檚 newest hire, Assistant Director of Alumni and Employer Relations Kathryn Tonkovich, is dedicated to building a strong network of career-oriented graduates.

Specifically, CFLW is seeking more associations like the one formed with Keith Woedy 鈥�85, a graduate of Nazareth鈥檚 School of Management who is now president of Legalis, a document-management company based in Raleigh, N.C. An internship at Xerox Corporation got him started on his career path, he recalls, 鈥渁nd I really wanted to pay it forward for more Naz students.鈥�

Recognizing the need for paid interns at Legalis, he converted unused office space into fully furnished dorm-like facilities for out-of-town students. Two Nazareth underclassmen, Jason Partridge 鈥�18 and Matthew May 鈥�18, spent the summer working at Woedy鈥檚 company, freed of the burden of affording North Carolina accommodations.

鈥淚 know that for a lot of students, it can be tough to get to the internship and find a way to live while you鈥檙e doing it,鈥� Woedy says. 鈥淭his is a solution that helps them, and in the long run it helps my company, too. The more qualified people we can bring in, the better.鈥�

May calls his temporary living space 鈥減retty great鈥攊t鈥檚 nicer than my room at home,鈥� and confirms that an out-of-town internship could have been problematic without it. He says the early efforts of CFLW are already noticeable among his peers鈥攁nd important for plenty of students. 鈥淚 know a lot of kids who are serious about school but don鈥檛 really know where they鈥檙e going next,鈥� he says.

The commitment of alumni like Woedy鈥攏ot only in supporting internships, but also in simply acting as a mentor鈥斺�渃an open doors for a lot of students,鈥� Carpenter says. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to see that model replicated across the country. Imagine if we could find a way to do that for an art student looking for an opportunity in New York City.鈥�

To that end, CFLW is working to develop robust support from Nazareth鈥檚 33,000 alumni to provide mentoring assistance in their fields, fund grants for career-oriented internships, and other creative contributions. A pilot database will launch this fall, connecting students and career coaches with willing alumni in a few specific programs. The college-wide network is planned to go live in a year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for people willing to raise their hands and say 鈥榊es, call me鈥�,鈥� Carpenter says. 鈥淲e know that we鈥檙e not alone in this. The entire college is invested in working to help students grow, and the bigger our network, the better for students.鈥�

For now, the groundwork being laid by the Center for Life鈥檚 Work is helping students derive more value from their college experience鈥攁 very real consideration in the increasingly competitive world of higher education.

鈥淲e have a great team鈥攖hey鈥檙e bright, and excited about their work, and they really want to get busy and do innovative things,鈥� she says with a laugh. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 great, because I want to do innovative things, too.鈥�

For more information on mentoring or otherwise helping students, contact Kathryn Tonkovich at ktonkov5@naz.edu or at 585-389-4662.

Erich VanDussen is a freelance writer in Rochester, New York.