If you’ve walked through the Johnson Student Union, housing the Community Service Center, the Career Center and the Center for Vocational Reflection (CVR), you probably noticed renovations taking place. Phase one of the renovation, which will conclude at the start of the spring semester, has commenced. Phase two of the renovation will begin again during summer recess.
The reason for the change is partially due to the recent addition of the Center for Servant Leadership (CSL). The director of the CSL will be the current Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs Jeff Stocco. For over twenty years, Stocco has worked at Gustavus as the director of the Career Center, as well as his most recent position as assistant dean of students, helping students find direction and purpose in the career development area.
When the CVR was created over 10 years ago, the college had the intention of continuing the work in some form; thus, the CSL emerged and the new position as director for the CSL presented itself. “All the work that I’ve done in the past 24 years here at Gustavus has been geared towards making a difference in students’ lives,” Stocco said. “What I hope to happen with the integration of the programs is that students will be able to conveniently and comfortably visit the new living space, have great discussions and work with alums to figure out where they’re going with the help of the four departments. Each year, there are about 50-60 presentations given to First Term Seminar classes; putting them together in one gathering place will be easier and more accessible to students.”
The area is expected to be an active and vibrant environment, with students receiving the services of all offices in a friendly atmosphere. “I’m excited to work with the staff and see how we can contribute to the new center in different ways,” Stocco said.
The ultimate goal of the change is to integrate all of the services that Gustavus has to offer—the CVR, the Career Center, the Community Service Center and Church Relations—in one encompassing, close-knit circle. Merging them into a shared space will be much more convenient for the students, as well as the staff.
“We will continue to provide career counseling—in internships, interviews and helping with employers,” Interim Career Center Director and Director of Career Management Cynthia Favre said. “Integrating the offices together will allow all of us to work together at a better capacity and enhance the work that we’re already trying to do, but push that to a higher level.”
The new center aims to promote the awareness, understanding and practice of servant leadership by individuals and organizations. With the contribution of the other offices, Director of Vocation and Integrative Learning Chris Johnson hopes to further the abilities of Gustavus as a community. “The CVR has had a strong history of collaboration with the other three offices that are joining us in the new CSL, including the Career Center, and we’re excited about the new opportunities we’ll be able to create together,” Johnson said. “Weaving together these four areas of emphasis—vocational reflection, community-based service and learning, engagement with alumni, church, and community partners and now career development—the Center’s many programs and resources will help students to explore their calling to work, live and lead from within for the sake of the common good.”
Integrating the offices will provide a better, more efficient environment to help students succeed. The offices, however, are about more than just finding a career, Johnson emphasizes. “The work you do, paid or unpaid, is a huge aspect of your calling. It’s really important in your job or profession, as in all the parts of your daily life, to connect your soul with your role—to connect what you’re good at and what you love to do with what the world needs you to do. The college years, and your whole life, including whatever you do for a job or career, aren’t about just going through the motions, faster and faster, scrambling after ‘more.’ They’re about living deeply into a life of meaning, passion and purpose, a life that makes a positive difference for those around you and for the communities and the planet we share.”
With this in mind, perhaps integrating the offices will help students to recognize a job opportunity or a promising profession, fitting with Gustavus’s mission as a liberal arts college.