New Student Welcome
July 2009
Dear Freshmen and Families:
On behalf of the Career Services staff, I would like to welcome you to Virginia Tech! What an exciting time of preparation and anticipation!
Interestingly, all in-coming freshmen will complete a survey during orientation, and one of the questions is “In deciding to go to college, how important to you was each of the following reasons?”
The top rated answers in the past were:
- To get a better job
- To get training for a specific career
- To be able to make more money
While these may be student sentiments before college begins, many wait three to four years before giving serious consideration to making career decisions and plans, including choosing/changing academic majors, gaining career-related experience through externships, internships and cooperative education opportunities, writing dynamic resumes, sharpening interview skills, or considering graduate or professional school.
We hope that all Virginia Tech freshmen will START HERE – START NOW!
The mission of Career Services is to prepare Virginia Tech students to make optimal use of their knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully:
- Explore and choose academic majors and career options,
- Obtain career-related experience, and
- Develop and pursue post-graduation career plans, including graduate/professional school and employment.
So, come and visit us at the Smith Career Center, located at the corner of Washington Street and West Campus Drive. Our office hours are Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Have a great first year and let us be a part of it!
Sincerely,
Donna Cassell Ratcliffe
Director, Career Services