The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Kim Reitter, who until recently was the associate director of Career services, has now taken the department's helm. "My dream is for student to graduate with a sense of their career direction," she said. [Click to enlarge]

The newly elected Director of Career Services, Kim Reitter, is looking to advance the role of career services in the lives of students in the coming years.

Reitter, previously the associate director of career services, has expressed her excitement and several dreams for her future as the new director.

"My dream is for students to graduate with a sense of their career direction and the knowledge to articulate the skills gained through their university experience so that they have the competitive edge in the job market," Reitter said.

Stressing the mission of career services, to help students and alumni find their path by discovering their passion and purpose, Reitter views herself as a facilitator of opportunities for students wishing to gain internship experience and assistance in their job search.

"I am very excited to be in my new position as director. I hope to help students have the opportunity to reflect on their career path and to continue to motivate students in trying out a career by gaining internship experience," Reitter said.

Kathy Humphrey, vice president for Student Development, and Reitter's supervisor, calls Reitter a strong leader who understands Saint Louis University students and is committed and motivated to giving them the resources they need to be competitive in both graduate school and the job market.

"When our former director left, Kim understood the direction we needed to go and she has the skills to take us there. I knew Kim could keep that momentum going," Humphrey said.

Career services has refocused its goals in the past five years, placing an emphasis on career placement rather than just on career counseling. Humphrey describes the director of career services as the link between the employer or graduate school and the student, and says Reitter will continue to strengthen that link in her new position.

Reitter, who has been working in career services at SLU for the past three years, took over the reins as director on Jan. 3 with the departure of former director Kathy Day.

She is now working on expanding the number of local and national employers who will be recruiting at SLU. Noting that 50 percent of SLU students come from outside the St. Louis area, Ms. Humphrey has said that the central goal for Reitter is to develop employment opportunities for students on a national level.

"We will be recruiting employers to post job openings and recruit on campus through career fairs and on-campus recruiting, so that students have more opportunities to locate job openings," Reitter said.

In conjunction with these efforts, the career services staff has been working busily this week in preparation for the job fair being held in the Busch Student Center today from 2-6 p.m.

"The career fair has been drastically improved, and students can expect to see lots of different employers. Kim made this happen," Humphrey said.

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