From panic to praise: Learning the value of networking
January 18, 2012
In the first weeks of last year's Career Network for Oles, Caleb Harrison '12 feared the worst — that no one would respond to his profile. "I was panicking. My peers were receiving responses from parents and alumni and I had yet to hear a thing," Harrison says. He was amongst one of the 300 Oles who participated in the program last year.

In his first year at St. Olaf, Tim Knutson '12 decided to study Chinese — in part because he thought knowledge of the language would open up career opportunities. His forward thinking paid off. Knutson's experience with the language and studies last spring in China him helped him land a job this fall at one of Minnesota's Fortune 100 companies.

An unconventional path to the corporate world
December 20, 2011
Lizzie Gelle '12 parlayed her volunteer experience and diverse course work at St. Olaf into a job offer from Best Buy Corporation six months before graduation.

While St. Olaf seniors — and identical twins — Kari and Esti Zimmerman interned with different companies this summer, they both came away from the experience having reached the same conclusion: a career in the corporate world could very well be in their future.

Bringing the lessons of the Holocaust to Nepal
September 20, 2011
Sudip Bhandari '14 set out this summer to educate youth in his native Nepal about the lessons of World War II — not an easy task in a country where many high school textbooks leave out any reference to the Holocaust or figures such as Anne Frank.

The Leaders for Social Change Summer Internship Program expanded this year, adding a St. Paul house and enabling 17 St. Olaf students to work with a variety of nonprofits.

Interns that eat together, learn together
August 6-7, 2011
On their second day as housemates, the 10 St. Olaf students sat down and discussed food. But not just food, says senior Eric Klein, they talked about the carnivorous tendencies of some and the vegetarian sensibilities of others. They talked about grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation and how every member of the house could respect each other’s needs and wants.

June, 2011
Teams of four undergraduate students with backgrounds in science and economics work under the leadership of a business graduate student to analyze the feasibility of potential new products or therapies submitted by Mayo Clinic scientists and physicians. 

With the support of a grant from the St. Olaf Center for Experiential Learning, four students launched a successful virtual-tours company that they hope will last long past graduation day.

Keeping the story alive
April 19, 2011
There are times when silence is the loudest voice. But there are also times when it isn't. Mara Kumagai Fink '11 has discovered that some stories simply must be told. Fink's grandmother was one of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans that the U.S. government placed in 10 internment camps across the West coast during World War II. In the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were seen by the government as potential threats to national security and forced into "War Relocation Camps" throughout the western half of the country.

April 18, 2011
The Be a Changemaker Challenge offers an online learning platform, staff support, and mentorship as teams of college students develop and pitch a social venture plan.  Teams received start-up funding of up to $1,000. 

An opportunity for discernment in D.C.
April 15, 2011
An "externship" in the nation's capital earlier this year prompted 10 St. Olaf students to think about far more than career paths. "I learned a lot about not only what I want to do when I graduate, but also about how I see myself being involved in this global community," says Leon Clark '12.

'Where are you going?'
March 30, 2011
The Quo Vadis Sophomore Retreat offers sophomores a chance to step away from campus to reflect on where you have been, where you are, and where you are going within a supportive mentoring community.

Students 'psyched' for community action
February 21, 2011
Psychology Dana Gross created a new course she calls Community Applications of Psychology. It was made possible with the help of the Bringing Theory to Practice grant project created by Nate Jacobi, associate director of civic engagement.

A global internship in Ghana
February 3, 2011
Liz Lampman '11 spent this Interim working for Global Mamas, a nonprofit organization in Ghana that promotes women's economic independence and fair trade. She shares what life there was like and what she found most rewarding about the work.

A $10,000 grant from the Target Foundation will enable St. Olaf students to travel to the nation’s capital to connect with alumni, shadow entrepreneurs, meet with political leaders, and visit organizations that are taking new approaches to addressing social problems.

Simple question leads to big internship
January 30, 2011
Bethany Olson ‘11 is proof that internships don’t always begin with a polished resume or three-piece suit. Sometimes they start with a simple question. Bethany stumbled on Mobile Baykeeper is a nonprofit organization committed to protecting Alabama’s Mobile Bay watershed.

Food and Nutrition Service-learning Collaborative Grant Project
St. Olaf, Carleton and three community partners received a $25,000 grant to involve over 120 students from St. Olaf and Carleton in service-learning activities that will increase healthy eating among K-12 students and other community members during 2011. 

The Ole Connection
St. Olaf Magazine - Winter 2011
Alumni and students reflect on what their connection to the Career Network for Oles program has meant to them and, for our newest alumni, how it has eased their transition into life after St. Olaf.

Media Minded
St. Olaf Magazine - Winter 2011
Andrew Foxwell ’08 has transitioned the entrepreneurial skills he developed at St. Olaf to power up a venture for iConstituent in Washington, D.C., further blending his passions for technology and politics.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Internships are a wonderful idea: not only do they add credibility to your resume, but they give you real-world experience that can either introduce you to your dream job (and future connections) or show you exactly what field of work you'll never want to try again.

Campus leaders honored for civic engagement, partnerships
June 18, 2010
A faculty member who routinely integrates civic engagement projects into his courses. A student who has worked tirelessly to bring education and opportunity to a remote village in Nepal. A local nonprofit organization that enables students to serve low-income residents.

Students embark on summer of research, service
June 2, 2010
Two academic scholarships will enable four St. Olaf students to spend their summer working on projects that range from interviewing members of the Khmer Kraom community in Cambodia to furthering hunger awareness and sustainability programs in churches across Minnesota.

May 25, 2010
A Minnesota Public Radio story that looks at how St. Olaf students are turning to alumni for career assistance and advice focuses on music major Ana Ashby '10 and her success with the Career Network for Oles.

For many St. Olaf students, the coming of spring means tuning up their bikes after spending the winter in drifts, and riding them all over campus. But what's different today is that a number of students are riding bright green bicycles from the new Green Bikes program that aims to promote fitness and decrease car use while providing transportation for students.

Live and Learn
St. Olaf Magazine - Winter 2011
The Center for Experiential Learning helps students find their strengths, passions, and livelihoods.

Grant targets Oles seeking pre-law experience
December 15, 2009
A $10,000 grant from the Target Foundation will provide the opportunity for four to six students to conduct research on social justice issues at law schools this summer.

Record Label Caters to Campus Bands
November 13, 2009
Few college juniors can claim to put CEO or CFO on their resume, or claim to run an incorporated record label. The resumes of Kai Hansen ’11 and Joe Erickson ’11 are likely to dazzle future employers, as they started Checkdown Records, LLC, a record label for St. Olaf campus bands.

Phillips Scholar designs program for Northfield youth
November 10, 2009 — Jennifer Kramm '10 used a Phillips scholarship to design a program for at-risk local students. “The most important thing I’ve learned is that this type of work has to be something that comes out of the community, not something I decide the community needs,” she says.