Career Hub: A comfortable, professional center with a new emphasis on early job exploration

Located in the Student Union, the Career Hub’s goal is to help students explore career opportunities earlier in their college years, offering services in one specialized location. (Photos by Erin Pence)

By Jessica Graue ’04, ’09

Finding a career path or job and internship opportunities can be daunting for students, but the new Career Hub in the Student Union at Wright State University will help students and alumni in their journey toward a rewarding future in their field or discipline.

The Career Hub is part of Career Services. However, the Career Hub’s goal is to get students thinking about those jobs and internships earlier in their college years, offering services in one specialized location. Previously, career consultants would maintain a physical location in a specific college.

Kim Gilliam, Ed.D., director of career education and success, was hired in November 2023 to make the hub a reality.

“The vision was to bring everybody together under one roof in the center of the Student Union,” Gilliam said. “So that’s much more visibility, making it obvious to students that we exist and what we’re here to do to help them. It’s also a place for employers, so that was part of the vision: to create something where students are comfortable and employers are comfortable.”

Gilliam said the hub looks different than the rest of the campus. She wanted to create a place that would pique students’ curiosity and get them excited for what lies beyond the doors. There are large windows and doors where students can look and see and ask, “what is that?” With a leather sofa and fireplace, it’s meant to be an inviting space.

“When I worked with the interior designers and architect, I said I don’t want it to look like everything else at Wright State or just another student space,” she said.

The Career Hub offers a variety of services, including major and career exploration, job and internship searches, and resume and cover letter assistance.

The Career Hub offers a variety of services, including major and career exploration, job and internship searches, and resume and cover letter assistance. The hub also offers mock interviews, which help build skills many employers say students are lacking. Gilliam said they want to help students learn the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career readiness competencies, which include career and self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity and inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and technology.

“Some of the issues we hear from employers are that students are not able to translate their college experience into a professional interview, into selling themselves, into telling their story,” she said. “I think students that use our services will be able to do that, whether it’s in the written form of a cover letter, in a resume, or verbals and non-verbals during an interview. It’s learning how to tell their story and be able to show those transferable skills from being part of a student organization or doing a classroom project, all activities students do on campuses that aren’t paid typically, but they gain a lot of skills.”

The Career Hub, which opened in January 2025, is 5,700 square feet in space and includes offices for career consultants, as well as three conference rooms and a lounge space. A photo booth is available for anyone needing a professional headshot for their resumes or LinkedIn pages. Appointments are available for more in-depth consultations.

With large windows, a leather sofa and a fireplace, the Career Hub is designed to be an inviting space.

Mariann Boron, associate director of career advising operations and data management, said students are definitely intrigued. She said he new space is making it easier for students to understand what the Career Hub offers.

“Students didn’t always know what was career [services] and what was academic advising,” Boron said. “I think now it gives at least an easier divide on who we are and what our services are. And, with it being a new space, I think students are really wanting to get in and see it. I think everyone likes something new, and it always just sparks curiosity.”

The first Career Fair in the Career Hub occurred in February 2025; about 700 students and 65 employers attended. Boron said the headshot booth was popular, with at least 40 students using it on that day alone.

Ashley Hill-Mercer, assistant director and career consultant, said the Career Fair was successful, and she has seen students making more appointments, especially for help with resumes. Her meetings with students typically entail multiple items.

“Anything from trying to figure out what they want to do to what their major is,” Hill-Mercer said. “Writing career documents, resumes, cover letters, CVs for some students applying to grad school and how to navigate that. Interviewing, job search and internship strategies, salary negotiation, professional dress. It runs the gamut really and usually it’s not one thing. That’s kind of the tricky part is that they think they’re going to talk about internships, but they’ve never actually built a resume, so we have to back up and say, ‘What are you applying with?’ It’s usually a multi-faceted conversation.”

Wright State alumni, faculty, and staff can utilize the Career Hub, as well as employers looking to hire.

Both Hill-Mercer and Boron said there haven’t been too many challenges since they opened. The logistics of merging employees from all over the campus into one place is taking some getting used to, but both are sure any issues will be ironed out over the coming months. There are 10 staff members at the Career Hub, including six career consultants, one for each college. Boron is also training student workers to help the staffers at the front desk.

The Career Hub staff is optimistic about the buzz at the hub and look forward to the construction being completed. An area with conference rooms, a career lab, kitchen, and storage is being developed. Students can drop in without an appointment to get quick questions answered.

“We’ll have probably one or two peer career coaches for drop-in students who don’t have an appointment, but need something right away,” Boron said. “That way, they are not waiting a week or two. They can get a question answered if they have an application that is due before they could get an appointment. Alumni are still welcome to come back and schedule appointments to meet with us, too. This isn’t something you only get when you are in school. It’s one of those services that keeps on giving.”

Wright State alumni, faculty, and staff can utilize the Career Hub, as well as employers looking to hire. The hub’s associate director works in external relations with employers, but each of the career consultants work with employers as well. The hub will host another career and internship fair in the fall. For now, the staff hopes the community will become more familiar with the services offered and know there is a place where they can get help.

“My hopes are that it [Career Hub] becomes a staple for students, that it really just starts to become part of the culture that they use the space,” Hill-Mercer said. “Also, that they don’t think of is it as something that they only need to drop in as they approach graduation, but that they can come in and have conversations while they are navigating their career journey. Because that’s a big misconception that we are trying to change with students is that your career planning doesn’t happen after you graduate, but that it should be happening at the same time.”

There are 10 staff members at the Career Hub, including six career consultants, one for each college.

About the Career Hub

The Career Hub is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. in 108 Student Union. Students can meet with a career consultant by scheduling an appointment at the Career Hub front desk or through Handshake.

For more information about the Career Hub, visit wright.edu/career-services.

This article was originally published in the 2025 issue of the Wright State Magazine. Read more stories at wright.edu/magazine.