Insider Innovations: A Day of Development & Discovery Recap
On January 31, 2025, career services professionals from OFIC member campuses gathered at Ohio Wesleyan University for our inaugural Insider Innovations: A Day of Development & Discovery.
From supporting neurodivergent students to mentoring, internships, and employer engagement, the sessions were packed with insights. Roundtables sparked fresh strategies for marketing events to students, strengthening alumni engagement, and elevating career services.
Event Highlights:
Training Staff to Better Support Neurodivergent Students – Dr. Kyle Farris and Vilmarie Perez from Oberlin College shared their multi-year initiative aimed at equipping career services professionals with resources and strategies to better support neurodivergent students in their job search and career development.
Pepping up Mentoring – Karen Leuthold from Kenyon College showcased their Professional Extension Projects (PEP), a program connecting students with alumni, parents, and employers for real-world project-based learning experiences.
Elevating Employer Relations – Leigh Mascolino from Ohio Wesleyan University led an insightful discussion on building stronger employer connections to enhance student career opportunities.
Engaging Roundtable Sessions – Participants exchanged ideas on career event marketing, employer engagement, internship management, faculty collaboration, and more.
“Insider Innovations was the best professional development event I’ve attended since starting in Career Services.”
"The opportunity to speak with colleagues who are situated in similar institutions made the event particularly impactful. At most of the NACE workshops I've been to, there are folks from a wide variety of places, many of whom have little in common with a small private college in Ohio. In those cases, I often get advice that is not particularly applicable to my context. However, the OFIC event allowed me to compare apples to apples, so to speak, and learn from colleagues who are in the same boat," said Kyle Farris, event speaker and Assistant Director for Career Readiness at Oberlin College.
He continued, "Furthermore, we were able to discuss concrete steps that could be taken to enhance our services. Too many workshops, webinars, and other events I've attended feel as though we're just talking about the problems we face, with no actual discussion of how to move forward. Insider Innovations felt practical, allowing us to bring constructive ideas back to our campuses.”
This was OFIC's first official Insider Innovations gathering, with more planned in the future. Save the Date for the ICAA Summer Conference featuring an OFIC Member-Campus Career Services “Insider Innovations” 1 Day Track on Tuesday, July 29, 2025!
Thank you to our speakers, attendees, and gracious host, Ohio Wesleyan University, for making this event a success!