second generation,” says Elvove. She explains that they have hard-working parents and help at home or have part- time jobs, and “They have a work ethic that’s already there.” Others, though, often need a hand. The Student Success Center opened in May 2024 after an $8 million renovation of the Alemany Building, where it’s housed, and it offers the services of 24 integrative coaches in a course called Navigating College. Seventy-five
members who aren’t trained to teach those subjects and the possibility that they might lack soft skills themselves. He has seen peers struggle with interpersonal communication, thoughtful writing and public speaking, and even though “It seems like we should do it, especially if someone’s a business major,” he says, he doesn’t see it coming. Giving yet another perspective, Naomi Elvove, executive director of Dominican’s Student Success Center, points out that the way today’s students are going through college is different to previous generations, and that could leave them lacking the practical skills they need to be successful. “Everything is career- focused,” she says, and they are choosing majors that will give them specific knowledge, allowing them to go right to work in their chosen field and pay off their debts. A student majoring in financial management, for instance, might learn about the factors that influence financial markets and how to manage money, leading to a job in banking or corporate finance, but not have the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills or learn how to set goals. She’s also observed a greater concern about mental health, which became acceptable after Gen Z Olympic athlete Simone Biles took time out to address mental-health issues that interfered with her performance as a gymnast. She finds that it has become increasingly common for students to take mental-health days. “They can’t focus in class, so they don’t go in,” she says, adding that faculty struggle with that, as do employers. Pathways At Dominican University, some students have the desire and determination to succeed from the outset. “A lot of students are
Naomi Elvove, director of the Dominican University Student Success Center
percent of Dominican’s students take the course, and the goals include giving them the opportunity to learn soft skills not taught in academic classes, such as creating a résumé, writing a cover letter, time management and setting goals, which will be beneficial in the workplace as well as the classroom. Another popular class is Adulting for Seniors, based on the book Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, who wrote it after teaching a course using the principles it shares at the Life Design Lab at Stanford University. Elvove explains that the themes are work, career, play, relationships and money, and students learn to
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