Big changes in Career Services

Photo by Andrea Huls

Director of Career Services, Jenny Preffer, recently took over for Paul Carpino, who left last semester.

New director hopes to make four-year planning easier

By Ronda Grayson

The Career Services Department has undergone several changes for the new semester, including a new director, Jenny Preffer.

Preffer, who is expecting her fourth child next month, moved to St. Augustine from Virginia Beach, Va. in September 2006, and had no intentions of working.

However, when she came across the newspaper advertisement for the soon-to-be vacant position, she was curious.

“I was seriously intrigued and felt that if I was going to work, this was the job that I wanted,” Preffer said.

Preffer first earned a degree in restaurant management, and then went back to school to earn her BSN. Following her first husband’s death in 1998, she went back to earn her Master’s in Counseling.

Preffer has since remarried and will finish this December with her Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision.
Preffer is “amazed at how terrific the people at Flagler are.”

In addition to the change in directors, the Career Services department will undergo structure changes as well.
The three that students will be aware of immediately is the involvement with job placement, help with resumes and the four-year plan requirements.

A campaign has started to have all employers who contact the college register on the College Central database. The new system should make it easier to contact students and keep items updated.

Also, there is a new e-mail address, resumereview@flagler.edu, where students can send their resumes and they will be looked over and sent back with constructive comments.

The four-year plan will change for each grade level of students. The changes will happen gradually over the next 12 months.

“There are always challenges when beginning a new position,” Preffer said. “But it has been wonderful to find that the faculty, staff and students at Flagler are not only supportive, but excited about the changes coming in the Career Services Department.”