Blog by Jake Hipsher, Strategic Communications Intern at The DeBruce Foundation

The DeBruce Foundation and College of Independent Colleges Webinar 

In partnership with the Council of Independent Colleges, The DeBruce Foundation moderated a webinar session to discuss using the Agile Work Profiler ^© (AWP) and Agilities^© within higher education environments. The panel included a range of academic leaders from colleges throughout the nation, who all shared their unique experiences integrating The Foundation’s resources into their universities’ career development programming.

“Our purpose in utilizing the DeBruce Agilities and all of their materials is to kind of open our student’s eyes and give them a better understanding of what it is that they need to do while they are in school to better prepare for life after graduation,” said panelist Gabriela Morales.

With over 120 registrants, The DeBruce Foundation was able to extend its reach and introduce its career development resources to academic leaders from across the country. 

Panelists:

(Pictured from left to right: Michael Levesque, Morehouse College National Alumni Association; Gabriela Morales, Missouri Valley College; and Michael Padow, Rockhurst University).

Each panelist was able to provide their unique insight and experience integrating the Agilities resources into their academic curriculum.

Michael Levesque joined the panel from the Morehouse College National Alumni Association, where he serves as Executive Director.

Gabriela Morales shared insight as the Director of Student Success at Missouri Valley College.

Dr. Michael Padow spoke on experiences from University of St. Mary and Rockhurst University, where he currently works as the Senior Director of Student Success.

The panelists were joined by Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of The DeBruce Foundation. Dr. Taylor Knight had the unique opportunity to guide the conversation and showcase The DeBruce Foundation’s resources to attending members of a CIC member institution.

Use of Agilities© in Higher Education:

Through The Agilities framework, The DeBruce Foundation offers a range of activities used to grow people’s career readiness and professional skillsets. Each tool has a clear purpose for users to better prepare for their education and future careers.

“We’re really utilizing the Career Explorer Tools. Our favorite one is the Occupation Explorer,” Morales said.“With that one, students are able to see their number one Agility, the salary range – which in this day and age with a lot of our students, that’s what they’re focused on.”

The Occupation Explorer and other Career Explorer Tools allow students to gauge their career readiness and set goals for the future. Applying Agilities© towards the college experience expands students’ career pathways and professional capabilities.

“It kind of opens their eyes to say, okay, my number one Agility is Serving and Caring – what kind of careers can I get with that? Not only does it highlight what the typical salary range is, but it also gives the students the education that is required,” Morales stated.

Accessing the AWP in Higher Education Environments:

A portion of the panel’s conversation centered on the accessibility of the AWP. The DeBruce Foundation strives to provide accommodating resources for inclusive learning environments.

“I tell you, part of what helped them get comfortable, was the fact that the tools are not overwhelming, right?” said Levesque. “The way you guys have distilled the information makes it accessible. The tools in themselves are very user friendly.” 

The usability of the AWP benefits many audiences, allowing anyone to reflect on their professional skills and plan for their future careers. Resources from The DeBruce Foundation build a comfortable environment to discuss pathways towards economic growth and opportunity.

Use of Agilities language:

During the webinar, panelists discussed advantages around the language of the AWP.

“It’s beginning those initial conversations to get used to the language – to get used to vocabulary of the Agile Work Profiler as well,” Padow said. “You can use the language of the Agilities, leveraging those active verbs to add to your resume.” 

As students plan ahead, higher education professionals have an opportunity to offer their support through The DeBruce Foundation. The Agilities© and AWP help students make a successful transition into professional environments.

A free, cost-effective resource:

Throughout the webinar, the AWP was highlighted as a free, cost-effective tool for educators to utilize in learning settings. For those looking to develop their workplace skills, the AWP and accompanying resources stand as an easily accessible, affordable option to enhance professional development and career literacy skills.

“Free is good. Free is great. You know, it made it so easy. Once we said, yep, it has the content, and I didn’t have to go find a grant to pay for it and all that,” stated Levesque on behalf of his team at Morehouse Alumni Association.

Professional development programming can be costly. The DeBruce Foundation has recognized that throughout the development of its resources, currently available to all. 

“I’ll be very blunt. Strengths is expensive. Agilities are free. And that’s a huge opportunity, you know, the cost effectiveness,” said Padow. “They’re certainly different [Strengths and Agilities], but I do think that, working in partnership with each other, we see Agilities as more of a meta cognitive piece of that direction toward career exploration.” 

The AWP works to complement – not compete with – other learning tools:

There are many professional development programs out there. With a range of tools available, the Agilities© offers a unique chance for educators and students alike to maximize learning opportunities.

“We [Rockhurst University] began a partnership with Clifton Strengths. What has been really helpful is The DeBruce Foundation, it’s not competing, you know, one program or the other,” said Michael Padow on the AWP. “We’ve talked about integrating strengths and Agilities, so we’ve added that unique feature where students will get both their strengths and their Agilities and know how to market those for the future as well.”

Not only are the Agilities resources fully equipped to stand on their own, but these resources also work in tandem with other tools that may already be in use. The Agilities do not take away from varying educational resources; its structure allows tools from The DeBruce Foundation to work alongside other pre-existing programs.

“We’re not trying to come in and take over anything that you’re doing,” said Dr. Taylor Knight. “We really usually can find that beautiful marriage of how the Agilities can actually enhance what happens for your students and your graduates along with the wonderful tools that you are already supplying for them.” 

The DeBruce Foundation’s Agilities create partnerships between students and educators. There are a variety of offerings to help integrate the Agilities into current learning curriculum or assist in the creation of new career readiness programming.

Agilities Tours and Agilities Coach Training:

The DeBruce Foundation offers Agilities© Tours as one-hour, high-level introduction to The Foundation and Agilities© framework. Once familiar with The Foundation’s resources, organizations can complete Agilities© Coach Training to learn how to fully integrate the Agilities in their workplace. Agilities Coach Training is an immersive two-day training experience hosted by The DeBruce Foundation, resulting in an Agilities Coach certificate.

These opportunities provide prospective partners with a comprehensive understanding of what tools The DeBruce Foundation has constructed. It also creates an opportunity for members of The DeBruce Foundation’s team to help equip higher education leaders with the necessary tools to best support their students.

“Our entire student success department staff, we went to the 2-day training at DeBruce and got trained to be Agility coaches,” said Morales. “Then we got back, we decided that we were going to develop a second 8-week career exploration seminar utilizing all The DeBruce Foundation materials.”

The trainings and overview sessions are a great place to start with The DeBruce Foundation’s mission and greater purpose. It allows visitors to get to know the organization and understand how The DeBruce Foundation can contribute toward its mission.

Integrating outside learning resources can prove to be a substantial process. At The DeBruce Foundation, there is already a team in place to help make this transition as smooth as possible. 

• Gabriela Morales: “If you are thinking about utilizing these materials, just do it.”
• Michael Levesque: “So, you know, try it. You will love it, it worked for us extremely well.”