Career and Professional Development

Unique to Kalamazoo College and housed in the Center for Career and Professional Development, the Guilds convene students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the College around common professional interests. In a contemporary take on a medieval tradition, Guilds foster mentoring relationships in which professional “masters” share their experience, knowledge, and connections with student “apprentices.” Alumni and others offer online and in-person mentoring, job-search or grad school application tips, externship and internship opportunities in their organizations, and connections to professional networks and entry-level positions.

The Guilds galvanize participation around interdisciplinary fields and issues that encourage participants to identify and follow their “passions to professions.” Four charter Guilds were launched in early 2008: Business, Health, Justice & Peace, and Sustainability. In spring 2010, a fifth Guild – Law – was added. As the capacity to offer CCPD staff grows, we anticipate adding both and Education Guild and an Art Guild. Currently, these two “Pre-Guilds” are not staffed or funded but offer a space to to post questions, discuss ideas, and make connections.

Guilds foster intergenerational connections through face-to-face interaction as well as virtual communication, using the professional networking platform LinkedIn to connect the campus with Guild participants around the globe. A common LinkedIn group, The Guilds of Kalamazoo College, hosts a subgroup for each Guild. Since all Guild participants have access to one another through a single LinkedIn group, connections can be made between Guilds and collaborative interdisciplinary programs (the Business and Health Guild co-sponsor a discussion on “Careers in Sports Management,” for example).

For students, Guilds connect elements of their K-Plan (a highly individualized undergraduate curriculum of rigorous liberal arts scholarship and opportunities for experiential education in both domestic and international settings) into a more integrated educational experience and develop professional relationships useful after graduation. These intergenerational networks benefit alumni professionals as well, and involvement in the Guilds offers a meaningful lifelong connection to the College and a way to contribute time and talent at a level of their choosing, from answering a question posted on the Guilds’ discussion forum to hosting a K-Intern for the summer in their organization.  

Faculty and staff find opportunities in the Guilds to integrate classroom and community experiences within a curriculum that values learning through study, action, and reflection. As alumni and community members bring their real-world professional wisdom to campus – to classes, meetings, extracurricular presentations, and online webinars – the Guilds are a bridge between campus and “life after ‘K’.”

For more information on the Guilds of Kalamazoo College, or to join the on-line discussions today, visit the Guilds of Kalamazoo College.

• Rachel Wood, 5 October 2010
• Keywords: history