Not sure how you are going to impress your future employers and get that job of your dreams or get into grad school? A great start could be to make a co-curricular portfolio. There is an organization at West Chester University that can help you do just that, it is called the Co-Curricular Portfolio Organization (CCP). There are many reasons to make a co-curricular portfolio. First, it is another source of information to hand to employers to make yourself stand out. The document lets employers know more about who you are as a person and what you are interested in. It can also help when applying for grad school by outlining all your specific activities that were completed outside of the classroom.
Your portfolio will have six different categories. Your leadership experience will be the first. The paraprofessional work section includes all on-campus work experience. Honors, awards and recognition are next. The professional or educational development section involves any participation in workshops, seminars or conferences. After that is participation in a student or organizational activity followed by Service learning or volunteer experience.
Now if all of this seems like too much work to do in your senior year when you have tons of other work to finish before graduation, there is still hope. Organizers of this program have recently redesigned the whole program to make it easier for students to use. They advise students to start writing their portfolio as early as their freshman year. Every semester updated entries can be added to make the portfolio more accurate. This way you are completing the portfolio throughout all four (or five or six) years and therefore alleviating some stress at the end of your West Chester University experience. Also, if done this way it will not take as long to receive your final portfolio.
A CCP grad assistant will be available to critique your portfolio and assist with whatever questions students have. They will also help with the personal reflections part, which is an additional feature. This section gives students the opportunity to describe their own personal development and is what makes a CCP more than just a resume.
To get started on your portfolio today simply e-mail portfolio@wcupa.edu to receive an entry form. Just fill out the form and email it back and, where the CCP staff will validate the entry form for you. You are then ready to meet with your grad assistant to discuss your portfolio and after the personal reflection part is completed the portfolio has to be validated again. Finally, a completed portfolio will be sent out at the end of each semester.
So if this sounds like a worthwhile endeavor then email them to get started right away.