Ozarka College's Kay Adkins (director of career services and Perkins coordinator) and Kendra Smith (career mentor) presented at the Arkansas Academic Advising Network (ArkAAN) conference held at the University of Central Arkansas in May. After their presentation, attendees completed an evaluation and Kay and Kendra earned a !best of' ArkAAN presenter's score. Their score was then compared to other !best of' presenter evaluations and they have recently been notified that they received !Best of State.' This distinction qualifies them to represent ArkAAN at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Regional Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma in February 2017.

NACADA is a 13,000 member organization of higher education professionals, and according to the group's mission statement, NACADA promotes student success by advancing the field of academic advising globally.

The NACADA Region 7 Annual Conference will have attendees from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas. Kay and Kendra's presentation title is, "Students in Transition Need to "MAKE A PLAN ": Ozarka College Student Services Career Planning Workbook. " Their workshop will briefly cover some career development theory highlights, how Ozarka College Career Services has applied career development theory to develop program strategies, and some successes and challenges experienced.

"Having clear, realistic career goals is one factor that correlates with a student's likelihood of persisting to degree/program completion, " said Kay Adkins. Kendra Smith added, "Many students entering college have never thoughtfully or intentionally explored their own interests, skills, and values, or explored how 'who they are' can fit into different vocations that could be potentially satisfying. " In addition to finding a vocational 'fit', students can benefit from having a detailed and realistic plan to progress from where they are now into the job they want.  

Ozarka College Career Services provides career exploration and employability assistance to Ozarka career and technical education students through workshops and one-on-one coaching. For more information about the services available, please call 870-368-2056 or email: success@ozarka.edu.