At Kirkwood Community College, Career Services plays an important role in helping students go from having no idea what they want to do to finding direction and success. Whether students are still deciding or are already chasing their career goals, its mission is to guide them toward success after graduation.
Lexi Fields, a career coach at Kirkwood, said the office’s work can be divided into two main goals: helping students figure out what they want to do and showing them how to get there.
“A lot of what we do is talking with students, bouncing ideas off of each other,” Fields said. “If someone tells me they’re really interested in marine biology but another really important thing to them is to stay close to family in Iowa, we’ll talk about how those things may not work together.”
Career Services offers students free surveys, coaching sessions and connections to professionals different job fields to help students make their decisions about what they want to do. Fields said every service is designed to help students make good decisions for themselves.
Fields shared that one of her favorite parts of her job is hearing back from students after they’ve landed jobs or internships.
“We get emails saying, ‘Thank you so much; you got me this job,’” she said with a laugh. “But I tell them, I didn’t get you anything. I just helped you make yourself shine. You did that.”
For Fields, Kirkwood students are at a very crucial point in their lives, and helping them define what success means to them is powerful. “Sometimes what you really want to do isn’t unrealistic; it just feels overwhelming,” she said. “We’re here to help people pause all the ‘buts’ for a moment to find out what’s possible.”
Career Services also hosts creative events to connect students with employers.
When it comes to defining success, Fields said it’s not just about landing a job right after graduation. “If a student gets where they were aiming to go, or does their best, that’s success,” she said. “From Kirkwood’s perspective, success means completing the education and training that helps you thrive in the workforce.”
For students feeling nervous or uncertain about their future, Fields offered simple advice: Talk to people. “Utilize us, your faculty, career professionals, parents, anyone in your corner,” she said. “The more people you have supporting you, the better.”
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