12/01/2016

NCDA Members Receive Prestigious Awards

By Holly Klenk

The NCDA Awards Committee is anxiously preparing for another year of recognizing our members for the impactful and meaningful work they do in the career development field. NCDA members can receive one of the prestigious awards in a variety of categories including Outstanding Career Practitioner, Legislative, Merit, Diversity Initiative, and more. In order to create an inclusive culture and recognize the diverse backgrounds of its constituents, NCDA continues to expand the areas in which it recognizes its members. It has recently broadened its award focus to include service to international students and added two categories to the exemplary career center award.

While the Exemplary Career Center award was an existing award, it has been expanded to include focus on two distinct areas: (1) higher education, government and business centers and (2) non-profit and community organizations. The Awards Committee is committed to recognizing the wide-ranging impact of all its members and is excited that this award has been expanded to include both industry sectors and represent the diverse backgrounds of NCDA members and the contributions they make in their workplaces.

The Kelley Undergraduate Career Services at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University received the Exemplary Career Center award in 2016 for the broad array of programming, services, and resources provided to their students. Marie Haraburda, Career Coach in Undergraduate Career Services who submitted the nomination says that department is “humbled and honored to receive the Exemplary Career Center award for 2016 from NCDA. Being recognized by NCDA has greatly impacted not only the Kelley UCSO, but the Kelley School of Business brand as a whole throughout the United States and globally.”

NCDA Presidents Cynthia Marco Scanlon and David Reile
present the Kelley Undergraduate Career Services staff with
the 2016 Exemplary Career Services Award.

Additionally, Haraburda indicates that “at the Kelley UCSO, our core values are not just words. Our committed staff lives our values daily to empower a diverse student population, foster collaborative partnerships with employers and “Team Kelley” to connect students to opportunities. Through innovation and technology, the Kelley undergraduate career services continue to grow and evolve to be the best we can be. And within the core value of collaboration, this value goes beyond the Kelley Team; we are pleased that other schools have been reaching out to us since the Exemplary Career Services Award was announced, so that we are able to share our Kelley UCSO best practices with our NCDA career services community.“

Cynthia Marco-Scanlon, Past President of NCDA, received the Outstanding Career Practitioner Award in 2011 after being nominated by her colleagues and as a result felt inspired to run for a board position saying “that recognition boosted my confidence to run for the NCDA Board (and eventually President), and I won’t forget the thought that I wanted to ‘pay it forward’ and do the same for others in the field.”

She also describes the feeling of receiving recognition from her colleagues, “I was thrilled to have been nominated for the NCDA Outstanding Career Practitioner Award but what was more exciting was learning that an NCDA colleague nominated me!  When I accepted the award, I felt honored that I was recognized by my peers for the many years of career counseling work that I had performed (way too many years to remember).” 

Deb Crapes, Career Specialist at Spokane Public Schools, describes a similar experience of receiving recognition by her colleagues and NCDA. Crapes received the Outstanding Career Practitioner Award in 2011, an award that recognizes practicing career counselors, consultants, or teachers for outstanding performance in their day-to-day work as well as service to the career counseling profession and development of innovative programs. She describes the impact of receiving this prestigious award for her as “one of the highlights of my career. It gives me the credibility that is recognized locally and nationally. It also reminds me how fortunate I am to have a career that I love and colleagues that share my passion.”

NCDA and the Awards Committee are proud of all the meaningful contributions made by hard-working members. The impact of our career development professionals’ knowledge and counsel positively influences the lives and well-being of students and clients alike.

Please consider nominating a colleague or yourself for one of these prestigious awards. Most Awards require the submission of the NCDA Award Form. All award nominations are due on January 31, 2017.  Awards will be presented at the annual NCDA Career Development Conference – June 28-30, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. For more information and to submit a nomination please visit the NCDA website, under Members: Awards.
Also notice the hard work of all the NCDA Committees! View all the Committees under About NCDA: Committees. NCDA committee chairs/members are eligible for award nominations while the NCDA Board and the Awards Committee chair/members are not.

Holly Klenk is a member of the NCDA Awards Committee. She works as the Associate Director of Career Services at Kent State University. She can be reached at hklenk@kent.edu

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