Home to volumes of educational manuals and college preparation resources, the Career Center has long been one of the most frequented sites on campus. Students across all grades congregate in this intimate room for a range of purposes, from seeking help for the college application process, to learning more about enlisting in the army. This year, however, new Career Center liaison Le-xuan Cao will be remodeling the room that has long stood as a constant in the center of student life. She hopes that by doing so, the Career Center will be an even more welcoming place for everyone. EE reached out to Cao to inquire about some specific plans and goals.
El Estoque: What are some of your general plans in restructuring the room?
Le-Xuan Cao: I want to take down all the pennants first and end up designating just one wall to pennants. I’m thinking of lining them up on the wall behind the computer. It will kind of serve as the wallpaper too.
EE: Are you planning on doing anything to personalize the environment?
LC: I’m [not] used to this counter area so I’ll be changing it. I want to do something personalized on this wall behind me too. I love butterflies, spring and cherry blossoms, so I think I’ll decorate it with those.
EE: What is your impetus behind implementing these changes?
LC: When students walk in here, I don’t want them to just see college, careers and so on. I think you already get enough of that on this campus, so I want this space to be something comfortable. I figure that if we’re [at school] most of our waking hours, we might as well enjoy the space.
EE: Is there anything you will be doing with the current supply of books, brochures and pamphlets?
LC: I will have to organize all the books we have right now and see which are still not outdated. We’ve already started recycling anything that’s more than five years old and anything that aren’t useful.
EE: Are there any new procedures or functions you wish to initiate this year?
LC: I’m trying to work on a new system where students can come check out Career Center books and somehow link that to the school library system. I don’t see why I should hold onto all these and not share them with the students. They’re really good resources—especially the test prep books.
EE: How do you see this ultimately unfolding?
LC: I just want to categorize everything. I mean when you walk in now, things are everywhere and I don’t even know where to look. I’m hoping that come second semester, things can be rearranged and each wall would hold something different, so information is easier to find.
