• Story by Nancy Moen
• Photos by Shane Epping
• May 24, 2012

Jy Whitsitt, a computer science major in the College of Engineering, used resources such as HireMizzouTigers.com and the Engineering Career Office to land an internship and a job with Hallmark Company. Mizzou offers job-placement services through nine specialize offices.

You graduate, you get a job. It’s a pretty normal cycle of university life. And for Mizzou students, including former students, there’s plenty of help finding work.

The MU Career Center and eight specialized career services offices connect students to businesses planning to hire.

“If students are engaged with the services we offer, they’ll do better in their job searches,” says Amanda Nell, senior student services coordinator of the Career Center.

Specialists at the center offer helpful resources and one-on-one consultations. They provide training in the arts of interviewing, résumé writing, business communication and even dining etiquette.

Among the most-requested services are résumé reviews and help with job leads. The Center offers 25 print and online publications for job searches.

How technology helps

MU’s Schools and colleges see robust recruitment of graduating students through traditional means, but the addition of social-media options adds a new connectivity.

“Job hunting has changed a lot since I was in high school,” says Jay Whitsitt, an engineering senior in computer science.

Whitsitt refers to the help sessions students receive on using HireMizzouTigers.com, where they can display their career-search information and résumés online.

“You can see who’s looking at you. You can see what day they looked at you and what job ops that company is looking for. It’s really interesting,” he says.

HireMizzouTigers is available to students of all majors and disciplines — and to alumni for life.  By May, nearly 9,462 job announcements had been posted on HireMizzouTigers for the academic year.

HireMizzouTigers averages 392 student logins and 56 employer logins daily. Employers can post job listings, review résumés and schedule on-campus interviews to find the best applicants for their positions. The site’s employer directory — a list of employers who have recruited on campus — is a go-to guide for students.

Finishing school 

Résumé reviews, career fairs, panel discussions and even businesswear-clad mannequins have helped mechanical-engineering student Marc Canellas prepare to enter the job market — right after he's earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering.

Mechanical-engineering senior Marc Canellas sees the benefits of career services. Canellas worked with Meredith Shaw, director of engineering career and professional development. Shaw maintains an alumni network to give students contacts in their fields, and every year she plans two large career fairs that attract employers nationally. 

“She gets students jobs. She’s one of my favorite people,” says Canellas, who thinks panel discussions and résumé reviews with company representatives are especially valuable in job searches. 

Canellas also appreciates a new offering at the college — mannequins dressed in business-formal and business-casual attire. The display shows students what to wear to make a good first impression during interviews.

“We engineering students aren’t exactly known as the cutting edge of fashion,” he says.

Despite the available jobs, Canellas is heading to graduate school for a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. He isn’t worried about finding a job when he finishes.

Internships as career starters

Whitsitt appreciates the workshops offered by the Engineering Career Office, especially the one on being effective at a career fair by developing a “30-second elevator speech on what you’ve done and what you can do.”

Whitsitt learned to sell himself and found his new position — with Hallmark Company in Kansas City — through an internship with the company.

“An internship is like a three-month interview for a full-time position because companies look at interns as future hires. I learned I liked Hallmark and wanted a full-time position with them,” he says.

At Hallmark, Whitsitt will do IT coding and application that will change the display of elements on the backs of greeting cards. 

Senior Laura Gier found her job through an internship and with help from the Executive Development Program in the Trulaske College of Business. 

After receiving offers from nine of the 10 businesses she applied to for internships, Gier chose Macy’s summer 2011 internship working with a management mentor at the company’s West County store in St. Louis.

Thanks to the experience, Gier had a job offer in place even before her senior year started. She’ll start her career in St. Louis with executive-management training for a year before transferring to her permanent location.

“We students are all coming out educated, and we need a job. The businesses are looking for young, energetic employees, so it’s a good connection,” she says about interning.

Putting tigers on their team

Amanda Nell, senior student services coordinator at the MU Career Center, says Web-based networking among students, alumni and employers makes for a quick and easy hiring process.

Company recruiters return year after year to hire Mizzou graduates. The business college hosts four career fairs annually for more than 2,000 students seeking jobs and internships. The spring 2012 career fair attracted job recruiters from more than 110 businesses.

The Boeing Company has maintained a long-standing relationship with the college. "We continue to be impressed each year with the maturity and professionalism of the students and have a proven track record of hiring students who deliver value to Boeing. We strive for a relationship that is mutually beneficial to Boeing and Mizzou," says Scott Snyder, senior finance manager of Boeing.

In the Missouri School of Journalism, anecdotal comments from recruiters indicate they would prefer to hire only from MU because they don’t need to look elsewhere, says Professor Suzette Heiman, who indicates hiring is stronger this year than in recent years.  

The school’s 2012 Strategic Communication Career Fair broke records for the numbers of recruiters and students attending. More than 275 students registered for the daylong opportunity to visit with 34 companies.

Beth Ward, a senior vice president and central region recruiter at Fleishman-Hillard, attended the annual event for the third time in February.

“The first year, I was blown away. Each year I come expecting to meet the best and the brightest, and I am never disappointed,” she says.

Post a job; find a job

And networking with the Mizzou family doesn’t stop with commencement.

The Mizzou Alumni Association is partnering with the MU Career Center to encourage recruiters to use MizzouNet, a LinkedIn community for alumni seeking positions or considering different career paths.

With 15,000 alumni using the service, MizzouNet helps MAA members establish business contacts. All members are alumni or others invited to join the private community. 

“It’s so quick and easy for an employer to post a job, much easier than posting a formal job announcement. It’s a powerful tool,” Nell says.

Professor emeritus discovers animal-shaped mounds in Peru valleys

• Story by Nancy Moen
• Photos by Shane Epping
• May 12, 2012

May 2012 Mizzou graduate Keith Widaman is a Marine Corps veteran whose path to Columbia took detours around the world. The outgoing president of the Mizzou Student Veterans Association, Widaman has worked to garner support for veterans on campus.

Keith Widaman was 25 when he enrolled full time at Mizzou after eight years of military service and four deployments to trouble spots around the world.

The bachelor’s degree he receives this spring came with a resilience few students develop.

Widaman’s unusual route to higher education began when he dropped out of high school at age 16 with a 10th grade education and no family help. Living on his own, he supported himself with a night-shift job at a factory in Montgomery City, Mo., until a company layoff forced him to take construction jobs. 

Widaman enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on a waiver in 2001. He was just 17, and a savvy staff sergeant dropped him off at a community college to work toward a GED.

The young Marine earned his GED in 2002 and began some college courses, fitting them in during lunch hour while working 10 hours a day on active duty.  

Semper Fi  

It’s fair to say that Widaman grew up in the military.

After discovering his aptitude for learning languages, the Marine Corps sent him to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., to study modern standard Arabic and Middle Eastern culture, which he would soon put to use.

Widaman continued classes there and at the community college between his international deployments: to Kuwait for build-up operations preceding the invasion of Iraq; to Haiti on a peace-keeping mission during that country’s coup d'état; to a ship off the coast of Somalia to contain piracy; to Bangladesh for disaster relief; and to Iraq to train police. 

“I learned a lot about Mideast culture. Over the last 10 years, there’s been a lot of need for more understanding. That cultural gap needs to be bridged. As a Marine who’s traveled that part of the world, I can give back. That’s my goal,” he says.

Widaman has been accepted to graduate school in advanced study of Arabic and Middle Eastern culture at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. 

Solid to the core

The decision to attend Mizzou was major for Widaman, who was used to the community college at Camp Lejeune, N.C. “It’s a satellite campus on base, nothing like a complicated university, and large institutions can be confusing,” he says.

After transferring to Mizzou on the GI Bill in summer 2009, Widaman was a 25-year-old sophomore learning to navigate the university with help from fellow veterans. He found an advocate in Carol Fleisher, now director of the MU Veterans Center, which serves 450 veterans and 150 dependents of active duty and disabled veterans.

Getting a “solid C” in his first class — American government — was a rude awakening.

“I realized this was not community college, and I had to step my game up,” he says.

Widaman’s perseverance brought him the success he had found in the military. He changed his major from psychology to international studies as part of his plan to continue studying Arabic. He studied abroad in Jordan on a Gilman Scholarship through the Council for International Educational Exchange. He served as a volunteer legislative intern in the Missouri House of Representatives. And he was inducted into the SALUTE National Honor Society for veterans.

The few and the proud  

As outgoing president of the Mizzou Student Veterans Association, Widaman has raised awareness of veterans on campus.

Widaman knew he was high functioning when he came to MU as a Marine staff sergeant, yet he found it hard to maintain his grades. He figured other veterans were having similar trouble.

So Widaman started an initiative that he hopes will gain momentum. He formed a 501 C3 for the development of a veterans house, similar to Greek residences, where former military members could live together and help each other transition into student and civilian life. A board has been appointed and is working on bylaws.

“This house would give Mizzou a leg up in bringing in veterans on the GI Bill. It’s already a veteran-friendly campus here,” Widaman says.

The Missouri Department of Higher Education reports a significant increase in the number of military veterans enrolling in colleges and universities. Fleisher expects the number of veterans attending Mizzou to rise quickly with the diminishing U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She’s appreciative of the work Widaman started: “Keith is a complex man who has accomplished much. He has been a real asset to MU. Although I am happy that he is graduating, he will be sorely missed for his leadership.”

Incoming president of the association is Trista Corbin, an Army veteran who served as a medic in Iraq. She’s the first female president of the group, and Widaman says she’s up to the task.

MU Counseling Center trains faculty and staff to address mental health issues

• Story, photos and video by Ryan Gavin
• April 24, 2012

World-renowned choral director Peter Phillips spent a week in residence at the University of Missouri. He worked with several ensembles and classes, and he conducted much of the University Singers spring concert. Take an inside look at Phillips’ residency.

View slide show.