In a few weeks, many students will wrap up their programs at Durham College (DC) and get ready for graduation.
DC held its Countdown to Grad event on March 12. Students could drop by to register for graduation and learn more about convocation.
The event, held by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, and took place in the atrium at the Student Service Building (SSB).
“The purpose of the Countdown to Grad event is really an opportunity for soon-to-be grads, to come and get all the information they need to know in one location,” says Durham College’s alumni engagement officer, Mary Weller.
She says this event gives her department a chance to meet with graduates before convocation and provide them with information on perks that come with being a DC alumni.
“We really want to be more involved in the students journey, so an opportunity to meet with students prior to graduating is the ‘in’ to provide them with information on what it means to be an alumni,” Weller says.
In addition to the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, graduates could also talk to many other departments.
The Career Development Department aims to help graduates learn the skills they need to secure a job post-graduation.
Career coach Tonya Dejong says it is important for students to be aware that of the support for life offered even after reaching alumni status.
“Knowing that there is a department still at the school that you can circle back to and that has information about labor market trends, knows about what’s happening in the community, and even has resources and information that can be of help,” says Dejong.
Dejong says an important service offered by her department is one-on-one meetings with career coaches, where students can ask questions and receive help with resume building.
She encourages students to reach out to her office before they cross the convocation stage.
“Connect with us about job search or resume skills to validate that you’re on the right path,” Dejong says.
Graduating students who came to Dejong’s booth walked away with valuable knowledge.
Kayla Drysdale is one of these students. She says the Career Development Department is “very helpful” for graduates in terms of resources.
“The career adviser, she was very helpful with explaining what we can do to help set up for, let’s say, you want a campus job or gaining the advice for just general career work,” says Drysdale.
Weller says when a student graduates they get an email that same day welcoming them to the “DC alumni family.”
“In that email we provide them with all the information that they need to know about our DC alumni connect app,” Weller says.
Graduating students can email alumni@durhamcollege.ca for more information, or convocation@durhamcollege.ca for any questions related to the ceremony.