Jacket Journey

We put the hire in higher education.

Jacket Journey is a career-readiness program that will help students see connections between their experience in the classroom, participation in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and the power skills needed for success in the 21st century workplace. This program is designed to help students better articulate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they acquire at Defiance College; foster dialogue between the college community and employers through an annual summit; and provide faculty with opportunities to connect with employers.

Your education is a journey. As a Defiance College Yellow Jacket, your journey will prepare you for a lifetime of professional possibilities. While most colleges tell seniors how to react when opportunity knocks, we teach students how to open doors for themselves.

 


Major Learning Outcomes (MLOs)

By the completion of this program, students will:

  1. Assemble a job-readiness portfolio that includes an applicant introduction, qualifications summary, professional resume, general cover letter, and self-reflective essay on why a particular field or career path is right for you.
  2. Summarize educational background, professional experiences, skills, qualifications and interest in a job and/or post-baccalaureate program both formally and informally.

WHAT'S THE VALUE?

  • Develop the ability to apply career-readiness skills in pursuing your next challenge
  • Become uniquely valuable and competitive in today's workforce
  • Earn points by attending Jacket Journey events and simultaneously refine the soft skills employers want to hire. Top point earners win prizes!

JACKET JOURNEY COMPETENCIES:

  • Financial Literacy: Understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.
  • Oral and Written Communication: Clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with persons inside and outside of an organization.
  • Equity and Inclusion: Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures. Engage in anti-opporessive practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism and inequity.
  • Critical and Creative Thinking: Identify and respond to needs based upon an understanding of situational context and logical analysis of relevant information.
  • Teamwork and Collaboration: Build and maintain collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and share responsibilities.
  • Ethical Judgment and Decision Making: The ability to assess situations and make decisions based on moral principles and values, especially in challenging circumstances.
  • Digital Technology: Understand and leverage technologies ethically to enhance efficiencies, complete tasks, and accomplish goals.

* These competencies are based off the career competencies defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).



Your education is a journey. As a Defiance College Yellow Jacket, your journey will prepare you for a lifetime of professional possibilities. While most colleges tell seniors how to react when opportunity knocks, we teach students how to open doors for themselves.

Man in business attire with a briefcase walking on a road into a sunrise
DEFI THE ORDINARY.


CONTACT US

Bridgette Winslow
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

419-783-2395 | bwinslow@defiance.edu

Tracy Armey
Senior Career Coach
419-783-2349 | tarmey@defiance.edu

Kim Esquivel
Office Coordinator, McMaster School & Institute for Career Readiness
419-783-2553 | kesquivel@defiance.edu

Kaitlyn Borgelt
Financial Literacy Educator & Career Coach
419-783-2350 | kborgelt@defiance.edu

Robyn Otey
Career Coach
419-783-2366 | rotey@defiance.edu


"To Know, To Understand, To Lead, and To Serve" is the mission of Defiance College and our commitment to the future.

Defiance College works with employers to learn the specific skills that are necessary for their industries and what skills they anticipate needing in the future. Pre- and post-program assessment data help us determine how to work together to unite higher education and workforce development.
Immersing faculty into business and industry for extended periods helps us better understand workforce development needs and how faculty can adjust instruction methods and learning objectives to meet those requirements more effectively.
Defiance College is leading the way to bring higher education and industry together to benefit our regional, state, and national economies. We provide a forum where educators and business leaders can articulate their objectives while working together to prepare students for successful entry into the modern workforce.
Through our efforts to develop future professionals, Defiance College is serving students, employers, and industries alike. We are responding to the challenges employers are expressing and preparing graduates for existing roles in their fields of study, as well as for careers not yet imagined.