Student Success Center Opens with Expanded Career Services and Alumni Relations

Student Success Center

The new Kimberly and James Hill Center for Student Success offers a reflective space for students to study, receive career guidance, and consider their path in work and life.

The 7,000-square-foot building, which opened in August, is the new home for Aurora University’s expanded career services and alumni relations departments. It is designed to inspire students as they build a purposeful professional and personal life after graduation.

“The AU alumni community is united in supporting students as they consider career paths and options,” said Teri Tomaszkiewicz, vice president for alumni relations and career services. “We want this beautiful building to inspire students so they too can discover what matters most to them, just as our alumni have. And to our alumni, we want to extend the Spartan hospitality that they experienced as students.”

Here are some of the things that visitors will find at the new Center for Student Success:

  • A great room with a large fireplace and picture windows that invite visitors to read, study, or watch the seasons change.
  • Small rooms for students to talk to career counselors, practice mock interviews, and meet potential employers.
  • A large classroom for holding networking events, career events, and panels with alumni and employees.
  • A new and improved Spartan Attic, where students can find free professional clothing and accessories appropriate for interviews and internships.
  • Nathalie Miebach’s art installation “Changing Waters,” a 24-foot wall sculpture depicting coastal weather patterns, accompanied by a QR code linking to a video about the artist.
  • A catering kitchen to support events.
  • Free popcorn.

AU merged the career services department with the Office of Alumni Relations to ensure that today’s students benefit from the full experience of AU alumni. The new center connects current students and alumni in a variety of ways, including the Sundays @ 7 Career Conversations with Alumni. The conversations give students access to alumni, who share first-hand insights into the workplace and their chosen professions.