Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Denver, Colorado through Sinclair for a conference. Unlike my typical professional development, however, it wasn’t a library conference.
Instead, it was the NACE Conference, for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I even knew what NACE was about 6 months ago, but recently I’ve been working on a project related to career development. I was invited to a cross-college team creating career modules based on the 8 NACE competencies that will be embedded into Sinclair courses.
Students are already building important career skills in their courses, but don’t always recognize that. And relatedly, they often don’t see the value in their gen ed courses like English composition, Communication, and more since those don’t have as direct an application to their chosen job or career path. But the skills they are cultivating in those courses, ranging from critical thinking to leadership and teamwork, are so important for their journey in the world of work in 2026 and beyond, and these modules are designed to help them recognize that connection.
Fortunately I was able to travel to Denver to learn more at the conference, and although it was all a bit outside my direct library job duties, I found a wide variety of sessions that were really interesting and helpful. I have often found that going a little outside my own professional circle can be extremely valuable for seeing some of the same issues from a new perspective and better understanding how my work fits into the larger whole of the college enterprise.
My sessions ranged from analyzing data, to making smart technology decisions (which is actually the exact topic of the module I am working on), to embedding career content into a composition course (also directly related to my work). I also found a few great sessions on AI, especially ethical and smart uses.
And one session even linked strongly to my work on connecting Sinclair and Downtown Dayton, and highlighting our presence at the Dayton Arcade. It was about how colleges can better support and serve the startup ecosystem, including tailored events, experiential learning, and more. I immediately thought about Sinclair’s entrepreneurship classes which we hold at the Arcade in the Hub alongside UD, the Entrepreneurs Center, and a wide variety of local startups. An attendee even shared their situation in Richmond, VA
Before and after the sessions I also was able to get out and explore Denver’s downtown which was a lot of fun. I logged a massive number of steps as I walked around, and as I tend to do, even delved a bit into the history and urban renewal of the area I was staying in, and even wrote up a few short articles for my new website:
Leave a Reply