Some of you may know this week’s educator as a former student from one of your classes. Others of you may know Castleton alumnus Jessica Duncan better as the CU Director of Experiential Learning and Workplace Readiness, a position she started in February 2020. Of course, she’s had a hand in many of our programs (Castleton State College Americorps VISTA for the Robert T. Stafford Center for Support and Study of the Community, Collecting and Connecting Shriners Tabs for Children, Meals on Wheels, and more!) so you may know her in that capacity as well.
Between her experiences as a student of Castleton and a director at Castleton (and all her other engagements in between at places like Rutland Mental Health and Green Mountain College) she’s come to realize she’s at her very best when she’s supporting others to reach their goals and dreams. In her own words:
I help students by providing direct support, and by researching and building structures to support greater understanding and expansion of efforts which relate to career readiness, financial literacy, and experiential learning. I may directly support a student to finding an internship in their intended field, or I may collaborate with a team of career advisors to align that student’s interests with tangible goals and steps to achieve their intended outcome.
Currently, I am collaborating with the Pathway to Graduation team and with Career Services to further develop a pilot program that was launched this term for first year students called the F.A.C.T. Plan (Financial Academic Career Transformation Plan). This new programming will support students to become career and workplace ready, to access financial literacy tools, and develop plans to support students to become empowered and self-directed in their own lives. By providing greater opportunity to enroll in internships, apprenticeships, co-ops, practicums, community service, service learning, and study abroad opportunities we are creating opportunities for students to grow and thrive in their own direction and to live empowered lives by utilizing their skills and education in real-life experiences outside of the typical classroom.
If any of you have attended or helped out at the “Game of Life” event hosted by the Financial Literacy team in the Spring semesters, you especially can appreciate how programming such as F.A.C.T. can better inform our students about managing their finances and thinking about their careers post graduation. With so many exciting initiatives, Jessica is posed to transform part of our students’ education and we can’t wait to see how it turns out!
