From FUN to FORMAL:
Get your brand in front of students with sponsorship opportunities:

• EVENTS and SERVICES and benefits of sponsorship.
• ROOMS and SPACES in the Smith Career Center are and can be named for donor organizations or individuals.

We are very grateful for our kind supporters!

Events and services open for sponsorship

Throughout the academic year, student events are held and services offered that we could not provide without sponsor support. Sponsors are recognized in advertising and other materials for the sponsored event. Giving levels begin at $500.

Events:

Annual Open House Tailgate Party
First Friday of Fall Semester

• When: First Friday of fall semester.
  Held since 2004, first year in our current facility.
  This year's event: Friday, August 29, 2008
  10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
  
• What: Welcome event for all students to introduce Career Services’ programs, resources and services in a fun, entertaining atmosphere. Attendance approximately 1,000 each year.
• Funding levels and benefits of sponsorship:
  • Hokie Hi Level Sponsorship ($1,500 or more):
    2008 Hokie Hi Level sponsors: Caterpillar, General Motors, KPMG, Northrop Grumman

  - All Maroon-level benefits, PLUS:
  - One additional representative at the event (three total).
  - Table space in Career Services during the event to share your organization literature and information with students.

  • Maroon Level Sponsorship ($1,000-$1,499):
    2008 Maroon Level sponsors: Cisco, Danaher, Tindall

  - All Orange-level benefits, PLUS:
  - One additional representative at the event (two total).
  - Organization name on Career Services website for two years.
  - Organization banner (provided by your organization) on display in Career Services.

  • Orange Level Sponsorship ($500-$999):
    2008 Orange Level sponsors: DCS, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, Kohl's, Lockheed Martin

  - Opportunity to have one representative at the event.
  - Organization name on home page of Career Services website for one year.
  - Organization logo printed on posters, fliers, and newspaper ads for event.

• Committment deadline for 2009: Sponsorships must be confirmed in July 2009 to be included in all publicity for the 2009 event.
• Past sponsors:
  • 2007 event sponsors: Apex Systems, BearingPoint, Caterpillar, Danaher Motion, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Ernst & Young, Haley & Aldrich, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Newell Rubbermaid, Tindall, and Ferguson, a Wolseley company.
• The 2007 event and concept won one local and two national awards:
  • Virginia Tech, Division of Student Affairs: Program Award.
  • National Association of Student Affairs Administrators: Silver Program Award.
  • National Association of Colleges and Employers: Excellence Award.

Fall Dining Etiquette Program

• Held annually in fall semester.
  2008 event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, 2008.
  Location: The Inn at Virginia Tech
  2008 event sponsorship has been secured. 2009 sponsorship inquires welcomed.
  

  • This annual event accommodates up to 250 student participants, and our staff and sponsor table hosts.  Sponsorship of the event offsets the cost of dinner for students and supports costs of venue, program supplies and advertising.  Sponsor representatives are welcome to serve as table hosts during this event. More about the dining etiquette program.
  • Funding needed: $1,500 per sponsor; 2 additional sponsors needed.
    • 2008 sponsors are Wolseley North America (Ferguson), the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, Vanguard, Lockheed Martin, and Ameriprise Financial.
    • 2007 sponsors were Wolseley North America (Ferguson), the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, and Apex Systems.
  • Commitment deadline for 2009: mid-September 2009; exact date TBA.

   

Graduate Student Dining Etiquette Seminars: March

• This event, exclusively for graduate students, was launched and was a success in spring 2008. Thus we scheduled both a fall and spring event for the 2008-2009 academic year.
  Cancelled: Fall 2008 event date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
  Spring 2009 event date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
  Location: Graduate Life Center (GLC), former Donaldson Brown Center, next to Squires Student Center
  Event will accommodate 140 students.
• Funding needed: $1,000 per sponsor; three sponsors needed for each semester: fall 08 & spring 09.
• Benefits to sponsors:
  • For sponsorship secured at least four weeks prior to event, sponsor organization names will appear in event publicity.
  • Sponsors are recognized and thanked publically at the event, and a sponsor representative will have the opportunity to make brief opening remarks.
  • Sponsor organization representatives are invited to participate in the dinner as table hosts.
  • At the conclusion of the dinner, the sponsor representatives may host a table with organizational information and speak with interested graduate students who attended the dinner.

Ongoing services:

VT Career Services t-shirts for students for
November National Career Development Month

2007-2008 shirt

• T-shirts in VT colors, orange and maroon, are very popular with students to show our Virginia Tech spirit all year. In support of National Career Development Month in November, thanks to sponsor funding, we give our students t-shirts with Career Services information and sponsor logos.
• Past sponsors:
  • 2007-2008: Ameriprise Financial.
  • 2006-2007: Capital One and Norfolk Southern Corporation.


2006-2007 t-shirt

• Funding needed for 2008-2009:
  $5,500 to produce 1,000 t-shirts for academic year 2008-2009, and for refreshments for Career Development Month program.
• Commitment deadline: September 2008.

MyPlan.com

• An Internet-based resource offering students the opportunity to explore academic majors, plan for their first careers, and consider making career changes. This career exploration tool also includes career assessments and information about 900 occupations.
• Funding needed: $1,000 (for one-year license); funding needed for 2009-2010.
• Commitment deadline: January 2009.

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Smith Career Center

Building opened in summer 2004. Career Services opened in our current location for regular student and employer services on Monday, June 28, 2004, then named the Career Services Building. Our location is adjacent to the Student Services Building, across from McComas Hall and Litton-Reaves Hall, and near to student dining and residence halls. We have experienced a significant increase in student traffic since moving from Henderson Hall to our current facility.

Our grand opening ceremony and open house, with recognition of contributors and dedication of the first named area, was held Wednesday, September 22, 2004. We recognized Ferguson Enterprises (now Wolseley North America), for whom the Ferguson Interview Reception Area is named.

Dedication of the Smith Career Center in October 2007.

On Saturday, October 20, 2007, the Smith Career Center was dedicated, named for Garnett E. and Patsy T. Smith, generous and long-time supporters of Virginia Tech.

 

Donors for whom spaces within the Smith Career Center are named:

• Ferguson Enterprises (now Wolseley North America): Ferguson Interview Reception Area (2004)
• Norfolk Southern: Interview Rooms (two) (2006)
• Philip Morris USA: Interview Room (2008)
• SAIC: Interview Room (2009)

Donor recognition: Donors at particular giving levels (1-page PDF, 146KB) are formally recognized in the building with elegant brass plaques seen by the students, employers, faculty, and administrators who visit Career Services.

Opportunities still exist to have rooms and spaces named for donor organizations or individuals. Giving levels begin at $15,000.

All supporters of Career Services are listed on our home page.

View west from

Ferguson Interview

Reception area

Building features:

• Two floors, solely housing Career Services, designed to meet student and employer needs. Wireless Internet access throughout.
• 32 private, large, air-conditioned interview rooms.
• Two interview waiting areas: one for students and one for employer-greeters to meet with candidates.
• Space for information sessions and receptions; including a servery equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, and ice machine.
• Spacious Career Resource Center and adjacent computer lab for students.
• Classroom, seminar room and two conference rooms.

 

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Contact for print literature, tours and conversations about giving and recognition:

Donna Cassell Ratcliffe
Career Services Director
540-231-8077