Reimagined Career Success Center takes a holistic, supportive approach to preparing students for career success

Sabrina Brown
April 22, 2024
 

Misha Wiley ’25 (left) and Gavin Burns ’27 look through the “merchandise” in Longwood’s new professional clothes closet for students.

From students’ point of view, the new professional clothes closet seemed to be the highlight of the grand opening earlier this month of Longwood’s reimagined and newly named Center for Career Success.

Free and open to all students, the professional clothes closet is stocked with a wide assortment of new or gently used career apparel, including suits, dress shirts, dresses, slacks, skirts, ties and shoes. Students can select five items each semester—and they get to keep them as a permanent part of their wardrobe to wear for job or internship interviews or to participate in an internship or work-based learning experience.

The closet is just one initiative supported by $200,000 in grants awarded recently to the new Center for Career Success, whose mission is to give students the skills and experiences they need to be successful after they graduate.

At the grand opening, students gave the “merchandise” in the closet a big thumbs-up, and they were excited that they would be able to keep what they selected.

“It actually looks like a nice store—not what I expected at all,” said Misha Wiley ’25, a business/management and accounting major from Roanoke. He planned to come back as soon as the closet was officially open to “put together a full professional outfit” that he could wear during his summer internship with Walker-Phillips Healthcare Consulting in Roanoke.

Visiting the closet with Wiley was Gavin Burns ’27, a business/management major also from Roanoke. “This is a great addition,” he said, adding, “I really like that tie.”

Funds from the $200,000 in grants also will be used to help make it financially possible for students to participate in internships, providing stipends for travel, housing and other living expenses, as well as to support alumni networking, job shadowing, career advising, job fairs and résumé building.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read more about the many ways the Center for Career Success can help prepare your student for their future career and encourage them to take full advantage of the programs the center offers.

—Sabrina Brown

It’s a Wrap: 2024 Commencement and Move-Out

Sabrina Brown
April 15, 2024
 

It’s hard to believe the end of the academic year is almost here. Classes end April 26, and the last final exams will be given May 3.

I sincerely hope this year has been productive, enlightening and fun for your student. In the course my job and through my participation in Longwood’s Chamber Orchestra, I have the opportunity to interact with quite a few Longwood students throughout the year. In my experience, they are friendly, caring, unpretentious, talented, helpful and hard-working. In short, they are delightful to be around. What I often say is that Longwood students were raised right. You have good reason to be proud.

Commencement

Special congratulations to those of you whose students will be graduating in May! The undergraduate ceremony is set for Saturday, May 18, and begins at 9:30 a.m. on Wheeler Lawn, weather permitting. Tickets are not required. Guest seating is first-come, first-served, with no limit on the number of guests students may invite to the ceremony. You can find more information about the undergraduate ceremony on the commencement website.

Move-Out

I hope the information below will make the moving-out process a little easier for those of you whose students live in Longwood-managed housing.

Residence halls close at noon on Saturday, May 4.
Except for the groups mentioned below, all students must depart their residences within 24 hours of the conclusion of their last spring 2024 exams or by noon on Saturday, May 4, whichever comes first.

The following students may remain on campus after noon on Saturday,
May 4*:
—Graduating seniors**
—Graduating master’s degree students who live in the residence halls**
—Students approved to assist with Commencement**
—Apartment residents participating in 12-month housing
—Students working with select faculty- or staff-sponsored department activities (for example, some athletes and students working with Brock Experiences)
*Students who believe they should receive special approval to remain in Longwood-managed housing after noon on May 4 should contact their coach or the appropriate faculty member for approval information.
**Students participating in Commencement must depart campus no later than 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18.

Helpful Hints

—Do not drive or park on the grass.
—Do not park in the nearby lots for private businesses. These lots are tow-away zones at all times, including weekends.
—The sidewalks in front of Wheeler and Stubbs halls are restricted for emergency or authorized vehicle use only.
—Farmville Area Bus (FAB) service ends at 6 p.m. Friday, May 3.
—Residents are encouraged to consider donating items—especially those they might otherwise throw away—to the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, FACES Food Pantry, Southside SPCA or a local clothes closet.  Collection boxes are available in all residence halls and at each Longwood-managed apartment community. For more information, contact steelecl@longwood.edu.

Checkout Process 

Remove all belongings. Residents must remove all personal items from their assigned space or any other areas of their unit before departing campus.
Abandoned property. Personal items still in a unit after a resident has checked out OR left in an unauthorized area of a unit will be considered abandoned and are subject to disposal and financial charges. Residents should be sure to double-check their unit and remove all personal items prior to departing campus.
Using checkout envelopes and drop box (available for all residence halls and apartment communities).
—Envelopes are available at each service desk.
—Fill out the envelope.
—Place key(s) inside envelope.
—Place the envelope in the drop box. For residence halls, the drop box is in the vicinity of the front desk. For Lancer Park, there is an exterior mounted box close to the Brown Commons front service desk. In the Landings, each ground floor elevator lobby area has a wall-mounted box.

Departure Expectations

Prior to leaving campus, all residents must complete the tasks below. Units will be inspected to ensure compliance. Failure to comply may result in judicial sanctions and/or financial charges.
Departure Checklist
—Remove all trash and perishable food.
—Thoroughly clean the unit, including the bathroom and common spaces.
—Remove all personal items (medication, electronic devices, eyeglasses, wallet, etc.).
—Turn off all lights.
—Close and lock all windows.
—Lower all window blinds/shades.
—Lock all doors.

Information for Residents of Moss and Johns Halls

—Loading zone access on the South Main Street side of Moss and Johns halls will be closed from Wednesday, May 1, through Saturday, May 4.
—In order to access Spruce Street, enter Wynne Drive to Pine Street and turn onto the sidewalk in front of the Fitness Center.
—Spruce Street and Redford Street will be open for exit only (one-way traffic) onto South Main Street from Thursday, May 2, through Saturday, May 4. Do not enter campus at Redford Street from South Main Street.

—Sabrina Brown