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Career Services welcomes new director: Meet Verne Walker

Verne Walker, Ph.D., the new director for Career Services, came to CCU in November with a vision, along with a confidence and spirit of collaboration to start turning that vision into reality. In short, that vision is one of teamwork and excellence. Walker and the Career Services team members are committed to collaborating with various departments on campus.

“I believe a departmental vision should be a shared vision,” he said, “one in which the talents of the Career Services team members should be included. As a team, we will work together, learn from each other, and collaborate with various team members on and off campus as we lead Career Services toward excellence.”

Walker moved from Bowling Green, Ohio, to the Carolina Forest area with his wife and niece late in 2018 after a 21-year career at Owens Community College, with campuses in Findlay and in Toledo, Ohio. As the assistant dean of student services, he worked with student resource departments including counseling, career services, disability resources, international services, testing services and veterans services.

The decision to move to the Myrtle Beach area came after several family vacations and a self-guided tour of Coastal about a year and a half ago.

After that tour, “I concluded that CCU had one of the most beautiful campuses I had seen,” Walker said. “I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to work on a scenic campus and to learn from such a talented team.”

The Career Services team includes Robert Bulsza, director of internships and service learning; Karen Arnie, career counselor and employment coordinator; Christen Cox, career counselor and outreach coordinator; Yvette Jefferson, employer recruitment specialist; and Jessica Small, administrative specialist. Walker already calls this team “collaborative, engaging, strategic and service-oriented.”

His goals include increasing on- and off-campus awareness of the importance of infusing career development into the student experiences; serving alumni with career development needs; and creating a program that is recognized on the local and national levels as excellent.

“I feel that it is a privilege to work with and learn from the talented team members at Coastal,” he said. “I will do my best to create and sustain positive and collaborative relationships with on-campus and off-campus partners. Together we will provide students with timely and valuable career services experiences.”

Outside of work, Walker enjoys walking on the beach or riding his bike. His core values are health, balance and wellness, which he lives daily by maintaining an active lifestyle. He also enjoys having walking meetings with colleagues, which he says can allow for conversations that lead to creative new ideas and planning.

Walker’s office is inside the Career Services Center, Lib Jackson Student Union A-203. He can be reached at vwalker@coastal.edu or ext. 2357. Visit coastal.edu/career.
 

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