UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business student career services center has changed its name to the Business Career Center (BCC).
Ashley Rippey, managing director of the Business Career Center, said her group decided to change the name from Career & Corporate Connections after research showed some students thought the office’s focus was more on companies than students.
“We conducted several focus groups and surveys, and our research revealed that a large number of students thought our office’s focus was more on facilitating companies than on serving students,” Rippey said.
“We wanted to change the name to try to eliminate that confusion. We’ve always embraced a student-centered mission. Through this change and with the addition of several positions, we’ll be able to serve students better than ever.”
The research that informed the decisions Rippey and her staff made was conducted by a Smeal Management 496 class taught by Gus Colangelo, assistant professor of management and a former associate dean for undergraduate education and director of outreach.
In addition to the name change, three new employees have joined the BCC staff. Two assumed established positions and another fills a new role.
Emily Yanchuck is serving as a marketing communications specialist, a new position for BCC. She comes to Smeal after graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Rowan University in New Jersey.
Thompson Harner has joined BCC as the assistant director of corporate relations. Harner worked previously with Ernst & Young as a campus recruiter, focusing on Penn State and other schools in the Philadelphia region. Harner holds bachelor’s degrees in accounting, international business, and French from Penn State. He is a certified public accountant in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Emily Tressler joins BCC as the new events and special projects manager. She comes to Smeal after spending the last year as the assistant to the operations manager for a production company in Nashville. Tressler earned her bachelor’s in recreation, park, and tourism management from Penn State and a Business Fundamentals Certificate from Smeal.
Students also can look forward to a new, more robust career management system that was recently brought online — Nittany Lion Careers. The new system is a collaborative, University-wide network for all students, alumni and talent recruiting organizations. Nittany Lion Careers merges multiple portals across University colleges and campuses into one central platform.
“We’re excited for students to navigate Nittany Lion Careers,” Rippey said. “Not only does it provide one-stop job posting for employers, it gives students access to a broader range of employment opportunities.”
Students can find a story about Nittany Lion Careers online.