SHECP receives NetVUE grant to help prepare students to thrive in “Common Good” vocations
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The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) has awarded SHECP a grant to explore what students need to adapt to and thrive in vocations in high-burnout, civic-impact careers.
For almost three decades, students within the Shepherd Consortium have been exploring the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality and questioning how they might integrate anti-poverty action in their post-graduate vocations and civic lives. These students have gone on to pursue a range of vocations, becoming educators, researchers, public defenders, doctors, policy makers, and more. While we know that civic impact careers can be rewarding, meaningful, and fulfilling, we also know that when individuals are unprepared for the unique challenges that can come with mission-driven work, it can lead to issues such as burnout and, ultimately, to leaving their chosen field.
While much attention has been paid in recent years to preparing students to be “career ready,” insufficient attention has been given to asking the question, “What tools, skills, mindsets, and understandings do students need to adapt to and thrive in vocations in the Common Good?” Thanks to the generous support of the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), SHECP will spend the next year exploring this exact question.
Grant funding from NetVUE, administered by the Council of Independent Colleges, has made it possible for SHECP to collaborate with Dr. Ellen Prusinski, Associate Professor of Education at Centre College, to design and facilitate a survey that will launch in early May. The survey, targeted toward program alumni and community partners, will gather information about experiences that shaped their career trajectory, including what experiences helped them the most, what they wish they could have known before entering their field, what has helped them to stay, and/or what pushed them to leave.
“It’s really exciting to have the opportunity to expand our understanding of what helps people to prepare for and thrive in fields that connect to the common good,” said Prusinski. “I’m looking forward to implementing the results of our research in my own work with students and hope that our findings can support the work my colleagues at other colleges and universities are doing to equip students for work that is meaningful, fulfilling, and makes a positive impact in communities.”
In addition to the initial survey, SHECP will host discussion sessions, facilitate the sharing of best practices, and collect narratives from seasoned practitioners who are willing to share their stories and advice. Through this research and these conversations, SHECP hopes to identify opportunities to foster further career readiness and longevity for students entering this meaningful work.
Jen Handy, Executive Director for SHECP, noted, “Here at SHECP, we say that ‘It is our mission to collaborate to understand and address poverty through innovative, comprehensive, and diverse educational opportunities and to inspire and equip the next generation of change makers to carry on the efforts of diminishing poverty while respecting the dignity of every person.’ Much of SHECP’s focus is on the undergraduate experience, but this work does not end with a capstone project or with graduation. If we aim to send students out into every possible vocation and encourage them to explore a lifetime of change-making and pursuit of the civic good, we must also consider what they will need to sustain their efforts long-term and how we can use our time with them to prepare them to thrive.”
Funding for the grant is provided through NetVUE with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. SHECP and Centre College will also participate in NetVUE conferences and national conversations related to vocation, mission, and institutional identity throughout the grant period.
