MCDA Newsletter – Fall issue 2005
Letter from the President
Dear MCDA Members,
Have you ever been so excited about something that was about to happen that you started creating scenarios in your mind about the possibilities of things that might happen…things that could happen? That is interestingly where I find myself today.
Last year, as President elect, I found myself merely going along with the Maryland Career Development Association (MCDA) Executive Board. I supported their ideas, but was not proactive; I just let things happen.
Interestingly, a transformation took place during my first National Career Development Association (NCDA) conference this June in Florida. I heard great speakers; met other Career professionals; and had the opportunity to meet nationally known Career Counselors. I was suddenly motivated to envision MCDA as a big “cog” in an even bigger NCDA “wheel.”
Because of the efforts of previous leaders, and the support of NCDA, MCDA is in a position to plan a full 2005-2006 program year. We will have opportunities to cosponsor workshops with other Career organizations, and to support workshops of our parent organization, the Maryland Association for Counseling and Development (MACD).
We hope you will plan to join us at the following 2005-2006 events:
November 5 support MACD workshop at Loyola College Columbia Graduate Center: Living and Dying: Who Chooses? (http://www.loyola.edu/macd/profdev.html)
January 27, 2006 full day Conference to be held at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Highlights: Pamelia Brott, Keynote Speaker; A Storied Approach to Career Decision Making, business meeting during lunch.
March 18, 2006 support MACD workshop (location to be determined) Team Solutions & Solutions for Wellness for Mental Health Practitioners.
Friday, March 31, 2005 support MACD workshop tentatively scheduled for Frostburg State University
April 8, 2006 MCDA Leadership Training Marilyn Maze, Ph.D. “Noble Calling: Discover the Leader in You!” Johns Hopkins University, Columbia, MD
April 29, 2006 attend MACD annual conference, Heritage Community Center, Severn, MD. The Healing Journey
We may also have the opportunity to have Dr. Mark Savikas speak to our group. The Board is currently working with Dr. Savikas to determine a time he can be available.
Leadership is how you develop and how our organization flourishes! There is a great new opportunity for leadership development through NCDA, called the 2006 NCDA Leadership Academy. In addition to preparing for NCDA leadership roles, members of the Academy will have their annual conference fees waived for 2006 and 2007 and will receive a $500 travel stipend for the conferences. Information about this great opportunity and application is at www.ncda.org. Deadline to apply is November 10, 2005.
Additionally, MCDA members might want to consider presenting at NCDA’s Chicago conference “Honoring Community: Creativity and Collaboration” July 6-9, or even presenting at the National Employment Counseling Association’s March 31 – April 1 conference in Montreal “Facing the Challenges of Workforce Issues in the Global Economy. We have outstanding career professionals in Maryland who have lots to share. I feel that it’s important to “get the word out!”
The Board is currently working on bylaws to be submitted to NCDA for their feedback, and then to membership for your suggestions and ultimately for final approval. We also plan to have a link to the NCDA ethics site prominently displayed on our newly designed web site. Yes, MCDA has hired a web designer, Anne Squire, http://www.royalblueproductions.com, to help us to develop a new logo, and a new look for the MCDA web site. We hope to have the new design up and running no later than mid December.
We are also considering an increase in membership dues next year, which is currently a low $10/year. The Board believes that we have put together the basics for an exciting program year, so that members will find being affiliated with a strong MCDA to be worthy of a greater investment. If you know anyone who is thinking about joining, now before an increase would be a good time. Please remember that anyone who joins before June 30 will be guaranteed the current fee.
My vision for MCDA members is for us to see the organization as one that can have great impact on the State’s Career Counseling community. I would like for this year’s motto to be “MCDA helps Marylanders realize their dreams,” keeping in mind that our Career Counseling dreams are the ones that need realizing first.
Hoping to see you often this program year,
Karol Taylor, President
Letter from the Immediate Past President
Dear MCDA Members:
What a great year it was! My term as MCDA President during 2004-2005 was most rewarding and fulfilling, allowing me the chance to meet many of you for the first time! I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to represent our state organization at the NCDA annual conference in Orlando and to participate as a member of the delegate assembly. As a recent federal government retiree and new independent career practitioner, being part of MCDA as an officer gave me an entrée into and a perspective on the world of career development that served me both professionally and personally. I encourage every one of you, no matter at what point you are in your career, to make time for MCDA. You will experience tremendous growth, and your eyes will be opened to the many opportunities and talents of our Maryland membership. I am grateful for the chance to remain on the board as Immediate Past President, and I look forward to continuing to serve you.
Sincerely,
Janet M. Ruck
Find your passion, start today – surround yourself with positive people
MCDA Board 2005-2006
President Karol Taylor, MA, NBCC Board Eligible
Career Consultant
Email:
Voice: 301-772-8327
President-elect Marilyn Maze, Ph.D.
Principal Research Associate
ACT, Inc. Hunt Valley, MD
Email:
Voice: 410-584-8000 FAX: 410-785-1714
Secretary Pamela R. McHugh, M.A.
Career Development Coach & Consultant
Email:
Voice: (410) 692-2854 cell: (410) 215-1782
Treasurer: Ellen “Jinx” Jenkins, MA, GCDFI
Career Consultant/Trainer
Email:
Voice: 301-587-9263
Immediate Past
President: Janet Ruck, M.A., M.B.A.
Career Consultant
Email:
Voice: 410-992-7917
Counselors Learn that They Can Make Money by Helping Others!
By Janet Ruck
On September 20, MCDA partnered with the Association of Career Professionals International (ACPI) to sponsor Dick Knowdell, Master Trainer and Expert Marketer, in a most informative presentation “How to Market Yourself to Get More Clients”. Over fajitas and burritos at Mi Rancho Restaurant in Silver Spring, career professionals from both organizations networked and learned how to market their businesses, structure their service businesses and get others to provide services they sell. The audience was introduced to techniques designed to help them reconcile their fears of being self-serving in their marketing efforts while assisting individuals grow professionally. They learned how to provide services in the context of enhancing employer productivity, all the while reaping financial benefits of getting paid by employers!
MCDA has many other presentations planned for the upcoming year. Don’t miss out!
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
By Marilyn Handwerger
LeRachel Buffkins heard her first wake up call in 1997 while serving an internship in a Level 5 Washington D.C. school, part of her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Howard University. Originally headed for a career working directly with youth, LeRachel suddenly realized that this type of work was “not what I should be doing.” Still dedicated to assisting young people, she started her search to “find another way” to serve this population.
Landing a Technical Assistant position in the Governor’s Office for Children, Youth, and Families in Baltimore, LeRachel maintained files on children receiving services out-of-state, conducted workshops on opening group homes and visited facilities housing youth with emotional disabilities. When the contract was not renewed, her life headed in a new direction.
As a result of networking with family and friends, LeRachel found a position at Morgan State University as a Resource Coordinator, where she worked in the career library, assembling information on how to find jobs. After a short maternity leave, LeRachel returned to Morgan State as an Internship/Co-op Coordinator. In this job she gained experience with job-seeking skills such as resume writing, cover letters, and interviewing techniques.
After several years working at Morgan, LeRachel heard another wake-up call: the importance of family. She began to reevaluate her life after a series of personal difficulties, including a “messy divorce” and her beloved father’s battle with pancreatic cancer. The importance of family emerged as the central theme of her reevaluation. Spending quality time with her six year old son, Jakob, became her top value. The winds of change were in the air!
Armed with her experience gained at Morgan and a lot of fear about earning a steady income in her own business, LeRachel began to research how to start her own resume business. She earned certifications in federal and civil resume and job search and became a Global Career Development Facilitator. In 2002, she struck out on her own. The result is Writing for You, Inc., a Laurel company based in her home, offering resume writing and interviewing techniques to high school students and adults in the Washington area.
Now LeRachel has found the balance between a satisfying career and her family life with Jakob. “I am enjoying my life now. The decision to go into my own business has changed my relationship with my son. I have more time to spend with him; I can even volunteer to go on school trips with him. At the same time, I use my social work skills counseling clients as they tell me their life story and use my creativity in developing new workshops, such as the Hire Me!Series.”
Welcome LeRachel to Maryland Career Development Association!
MCDA to Help Maryland Fuel Fund
Look for something different at our upcoming January professional development event…besides providing the usual opportunities for networking and learning enhancement; we’ll be offering the opportunity to help the Marylanders we serve remove some of the barriers that prevent goal realization. A gently used book sale of recent mysteries and thrillers will simultaneously occur. All profits from the sale will go to Maryland’s Fuel Fund. Last year’s SUN paper reported that fuel fund donations were at an all time low because of $monies$ donated to tsunami relief. With much being done to help Katrina and Rita victims, your state Career Development Association thought we’d create something to be proactive for those in need within our state. We look forward to seeing y’all in January!
A Recipe for a Life of Purpose
By Janet Ruck
As we approach the end of 2005, and the beginning of a new year, we are reminded that there are many opportunities for us to take stock of where we are and where we wish to go next. Perhaps we decide to find a new job, improve our business, get a mate, or finally get smart about money. All too often, we find that these resolutions are short-lived, because what we really need to change must come from within. But, external pressures being what they are, sometimes we focus on the outside world instead. The newspapers and television blare promised results with a new diet, new exercise program, new dating service, whatever it might be. Try as we might, we just cannot make the lasting changes that we yearn for to make our lives what we want them to be.
I’d like to offer a better way, one that gives lasting satisfaction because the desire and the motivation come from within. I’m not promising a quick fix solution to lifelong habits, but a gradual and deep metamorphosis that emanates from the place where it brings the best and the most of what your life has to offer.
Many of us find that what we is missing in our lives is options – or so we believe. The fact is that we create our own options, our own realities, by the choices we make. Of course, many of our choices have been based on lack of information, or maybe lack of awareness of ourselves and our desires. However, once we connect with that part of ourselves that is our essence, we find that our options are more abundant than we ever thought possible. This is advice that we give to our clients. As the saying goes: “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.” Perhaps it bears repeating for our own ears.
Over the course of many years, I have worked tirelessly to create a life for myself that is complete with options. I’d like to share with you what has worked for me. I have discovered that success in creating a life I love has been accomplished by considering all of the options.
O – Opportunity. This is the first and a most important ingredient in the recipe for new beginnings. Seeing opportunity is the first step to creating opportunity. We are often so blind to the potential for new challenges, that we miss opportunities when they are presented to us. By expanding our awareness, we expand our horizons, and can find opportunity where there was once none.
P – Perseverance. Once we have committed to a vision for our lives and the goals that will mark the path to realize our vision, we must be prepared to work hard. There may be times when we feel like giving up. It’s important that we keep going by taking continual action. Sometimes the smallest step in the direction of our goals is enough to begin the process. Action begets action…don’t give up!