The Daily Bulletin Archive

The Buffalo State College Career Development Center received three awards from the Western New York Association of College Career Centers (WNYACCC) at the group’s 2022 annual meeting.

Spirit Award
Kayla James, Career Counselor
Awarded to a member of WNYACCC who enthusiastically attends events, promotes consortium-sponsored events on his or her individual campus, and volunteers on a regular basis. This award recognizes a WNYACCC member who consistently demonstrates excitement toward the mission of WNYACCC and continues to move the organization forward.

Ms. James, who serves as secretary of the WNYACCC, continually encourages the CDC to attend and support WNYACCC events. She also continues to educate herself on career coaching strategies by participating in professional development through the National Association of Colleges and Employers. As the spring 2022 semester was wrapping up, Ms. James developed a two-week workshop series, “I’m Graduating, Now What?” to better support Buffalo State’s graduating seniors. These workshops brought together local employers and CDC staff members to educate graduates on everything from the elevator pitch to successfully negotiating salary. Her energy and enthusiasm for career services and WNYACCC are truly remarkable.

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Outstanding Initiative Award
Lynn Rogers, Assistant Director of Employer Engagement
Given to a WNYACCC member who created a campus program, workshop, or initiative that promotes career exploration and development, this award highlights a new employee-led initiative that had a significant influence on the campus.

Ms. Rogers spearheaded the Bengal Internship Award this year at Buffalo State, a new initiative to raise funds to support students who take unpaid or underpaid internships. These internships disproportionately affect women, students of color, and first-generation students. Her efforts have had a significant impact on the Buffalo State campus. Five students were chosen as recipients of the award for this inaugural season. Ms. Rogers’s initiative led the center to work with several faculty members, employers, and donors as well as alumni and advancement personnel to bring this to fruition. The Bengal Internship Award not only significantly helped students but also greatly raised the profile of the CDC on campus and with employers.

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Building Bridges Award
Maureen Pernick Huber, Associate Director
This award highlights the collaborative aspects of our profession, recognizing and showcasing the work of two or more offices, colleges, or departments working together to promote career success for students.

Ms. Huber continues to build bridges among WNYACCC members. Most recently she continued the collaboration with SUNY Fredonia on the annual Graduate School Fair. This partnership allows both schools to promote, advertise, and virtually bring together students and graduate programs. Ms. Huber has also again taken on a WNYACCC leadership role as chair of the Professional Development Committee. She hosted a WNYACCC virtual roundtable for members to share ideas and get advice on challenges, and she is coordinating a session with the National Federation for Just Communities for members. She is always looking for ways to bring members together to create meaningful partnerships. Her bridge building extends beyond WNYACCC to Buffalo State, where Ms. Huber has taken the lead on a major initiative called Bengal Career Champions. Bringing together faculty and staff members with the CDC staff, she facilitates training to educate participants on career resources and best practices. This program helps build capacity for the CDC, strengthens our relationships with campus constituents, and encourages students to use our office. She is truly deserving of the Building Bridges Award.