After three years, Calvin’s LifeWork program is progressing into its next chapter. This program was originally designed as an optional career and life readiness program. It allows students to be more prepared for life after graduation and learn about challenges beyond the classroom. 

Laurie Lemmen, communication and events manager at the Calvin Career Center, commented on how the program is moving forward:

“Now that we have three years of proven program operation under our belt, we are transitioning to the next phase,” said Lemmen. “Starting with next year’s freshmen (the fourth cohort in the program), Calvin LifeWork will be offered as part of Calvin’s programming, but participation will no longer be incentivized by a scholarship.”

Monthly modules, completed by students online, cover a wide range of topics and activities including conflict resolution, creating a personal budget, succeeding at career fairs, and preparing for graduate school. 

As an incentive, Calvin used to offer a $3,000 scholarship to students who complete the program. Students do so by completing one module each month on the LifeWork website. Prizes are given out for early completion. If students fail to complete a module, they are suspended from the program after that month is up. 

As a response to student feedback, LifeWork is opening up modules earlier so students are able to access necessary content at any time. For example, all first semester modules will open at the beginning of the semester rather than one opening each month. 

LifeWork plans to eliminate the monthly suspensions for first-year students and instead suspend them at the end of the year. One hundred percent completion will no longer be required to stay in the program. Students will instead be able to skip two modules per year, which should allow for more flexibility and give students a more tailored experience. 

Previous requirements mandated that students complete an internship related to their field of study before the end of the summer before their senior year. Now, they are reevaluating this requirement but are not set on a firm plan yet. 

Those who remain in the program will be given perks by the Career Center such as targeted networking events, employer visit trips, graduation cords and more. 

Students who are currently freshmen, sophomores and juniors will not be impacted by these changes. They only apply to incoming freshmen in the next school year.

“Calvin is strongly committed to preparing our students and graduates through academic and co-curricular programming, and we are excited to continue moving forward with the unique, unparalleled Calvin LifeWork in its new iteration,” said Lemmen.