News

This post is part of a blog series called The Hill From A Distance that highlights how the St. Olaf community is moving forward together, even when we’re apart. The series features messages from a variety of campus leaders— and this week Piper Center for Vocation and Career Director Leslie Moore ’77 shares how career and internship support has continued in a virtual world.

I live on the “Carleton side” of Northfield, on top of a gentle hill that slopes toward the Cannon River. If I walk down the hill and look to the west, I can see the Hill in the distance. I have not been on campus for weeks. I have not driven up St. Olaf Avenue past the house with the beautiful garden. Like my colleagues on the faculty and staff, I have been sheltering at home, running the Piper Center for Vocation and Career from my dining room table.

One of the great joys of St. Olaf is the people with whom we work, the alumni and parents who provide us with support, and the students whom it is our privilege to serve. My team rose to the occasion, as I knew they would, joining hundreds of colleagues in Northfield and across the country to create a virtual world. 

One of the great joys of St. Olaf is the people with whom we work, the alumni and parents who provide us with support, and the students whom it is our privilege to serve. My team rose to the occasion, as I knew they would, joining hundreds of colleagues in Northfield and across the country to create a virtual world. 

As someone born in the 1950s who did not have access to a computer until she was 26 and email until she was 37, I could never have imagined that I would one day lead a virtual enterprise. And yet here I am, completely absorbed by the innovation erupting from my team. I think of the team member who spearheaded a virtual internship program; the team member who moved our student Peer Advisors online so that they could work with their peers on resumes and cover letters; the team member who partnered with an alum in public health to rescue all of our pre-health internships; the team members who have run virtual panels in which alums, housed in Zoom rectangles, have shared their lives and careers with students; the team members who imagined that we could hold the annual Ole Cup entrepreneurial competition virtually and who, with the support of our brilliant colleagues in Broadcast Media, did just that (you can watch it here). While I agree that “necessity is the mother of invention,” we need inspired teams to bring those ideas to fruition.

Nor would St. Olaf be where we are today without our alumni and parents. When the Piper Center reached out to our alums and asked if they could deliver 150 jobs and internships, within three weeks scores of opportunities had come our way. We learned a lot about our alumni and parents, about their willingness to shape roles to enable students to build their skills and find meaningful work when so many opportunities have faded away. And we had a chuckle or two: we learned that, no matter the role, the word “strategic” in the title enticed students to click the link. 

When the Piper Center reached out to our alums and asked if they could deliver 150 jobs and internships, within three weeks scores of opportunities had come our way. We learned a lot about our alumni and parents, about their willingness to shape roles to enable students to build their skills and find meaningful work when so many opportunities have faded away.

Let me end with our students, whose resilience has brought me such joy. As I meet with them over Google Hangouts, I celebrate their commitment to building a world that will care for those whom the pandemic has harmed or left behind and their energy in bringing into being communities empowered by social and racial justice. We have the privilege of watching our students’ lives unfold, and if the future is in their hands, we can lead our lives with hope.

We are continuing to meet with students throughout the summer. If you’d like to talk to us, we’d love to hear from you. Just drop us an email.

Sincerely,
Leslie