From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on 2-25-21:
As our students prepare to join the workforce, we at New College are doing everything we can to equip them with the tools needed to outshine the competition.
One of our latest initiatives is especially exciting, as it focuses on helping students cultivate a skill that will serve them in any profession (or scholarly pursuit) for the rest of their lives: leadership.
Just this month, our Center for Career Engagement and Opportunity (CEO) launched the Certificate in Leadership: Liberal Arts Work in the Real World program, which will be hosted by renowned industry experts and executives through April.
This world needs leadership that goes beyond the traditional sense,” says CEO director Dwayne Peterson, whose team also brought New College the career-centric Professionals in Residence mentoring program last fall. “We know New College students are passionate about social change, advocacy and making a difference. This Certificate complements students’ academic knowledge to help them make a meaningful impact in the world.”
To earn the certificate, students are taking five 90-minute, virtual evening workshops, including “Collaboration Through Teamwork” with Art Lambert, co-founder of S-One Holdings Corporation; “Matching Your Talent with the ‘Business’ Setting” with Juliette Reynolds, vice president of digital strategy at On Ideas; and “Leadership Exists at Any Level” with Jeff Lundy, Ph.D., director of public policy for PepsiCo.
Patricia Courtois, one of New College’s Professionals in Residence, is the head instructor and coordinator of the certificate program.
“We’re discussing everything from creativity to collaboration to effecting change, all through a lens of our participating students and their own passions and career goals,” Courtois says. “I hope this will provide some context for students in applying their own unique skills. I enjoy providing my take on how I’ve learned to fail forward. Also, the unique culture of New College and its students inspires me.”
Courtois, a Northwestern University alumna, has spent 40 years leading communications and corporate philanthropy efforts for companies and brands such as Beatrice Foods Company, Sara Lee Corporation, Tropicana, Sweet’N Low, Butter Buds, Sugar in the Raw and ClosetMaid.
She joined Clarke Advertising and Public Relations (later rebranded as C-Suite Communications) in 1999, and later purchased the agency from founder Tim Clarke. During Courtois’ tenure at Tropicana in Bradenton, she oversaw advertising, public relations and promotions for Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice and orchestrated its launch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She also has been mentoring students for decades – since 1980, in fact, when she worked with the Chicago Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.
“It’s been a long and rewarding journey, helping students navigate the world outside the lecture hall,” Courtois says. “The best reward for me is when I see students I’ve mentored move on for new and more challenging experiences/jobs. I still get ‘thank you’ notes from people who remind me that I had some role in their success.”
We are thrilled to have Courtois onboard for the certificate program at New College. As a professional in residence, she is adept at helping students sharpen their competitiveness by learning to package their skills and effectively market themselves. As a liberal arts graduate, she knows the challenges her students will face as they pursue their professional goals. Courtois holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and journalism, and she believes “there is so much you can achieve with a liberal arts degree, no matter what direction your career takes.”
At New College, we wholeheartedly agree.
Patricia really understands how to think creatively about telling your story to an external audience in terms of standing out in the crowd, and I believe that’s because of her liberal arts training,” Peterson says. “And the certificate provides a little extra designation or proof that the student applying for a job has a little bit more than most – which is what students need in a highly competitive job market.”
They certainly do. And we are thrilled to help our students show future employers what they (with the help of their solid liberal arts and leadership training) can do to make a difference in the world.