Two years ago, Swine Flu caused many students to flock to the Student Health Center here at Ashland University. Among the many terms and diagnoses that flew around those few tense months, one that caused some problems was the term CDC: Center for Disease Control. While the Health Center used this term to keep people updated with the newest information about Swine Flu, the term CDC made some people and students think of the Career Development Center, located above the Health Center in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center.

The student senate voted for a name change for the Career Development Center and it will now be called the Career Services Center.

“We looked at different names,” said Diana Burns, executive director of the Career Services Center. “[This name] fits best with what we do. We wanted to be more current with the name and fray any kind of confusion.”

Even though the name has changed, the Career Services Center will still be providing invaluable opportunities to the people who choose to use it.

“Our mission is to continue to provide services to undergraduates, graduates and alumni,” Burns said. “We have a wide variety of programs that students should use.”

Students have always been encouraged to use the Career Services Center, especially as a freshman.

“We develop a running résumé to help them develop their skills,” Burns said. “If they are undecided or exploring a major they can use Eagle Exploration, which is an online education planning system that they can access.”

Eagle Exploration gives every student their own account “like Myspace,” Burns said. Students can save different careers they are interested in and delete them if they decide it’s not for them. Eagle Exploration can be accessed anywhere and if a student takes a career assessment test, they can talk over the results with a career specialist.

Beth Frisbee has used the Career Services Center a few times to help her along her path to success.

“They showed me where files were for perspective careers and helped me with my résumé,” Frisbee said. “I also did a mock interview. It was cool, they video recorded it and everything.”

Frisbee enjoyed her experience so much that she recommended that freshman Marisa Carafelli do the same thing for her résumé when she was applying for an RA position.

“My résumé was pretty rough,” Carafelli said. “They were very helpful.”

Burns wants students to know that they all have qualities that can look good on a résumé; they just may not know what they are or how to market them.

“It can be anything – volunteer, leadership, academic groups, community, church,” Burns said.

Burns encourages students to come by the center and see what they have to offer. Their website is www.ashland.edu/career.