Dozens of Mount Saint Mary College freshmen explored what career paths would be the most fulfilling for them during the “What Makes You Spark?” event at the college.
The event was sponsored by First-Year Experience (FYE), Career Services, Residence Life, the Office of Student Success, and Student Engagement.
Mount alumnus Nick Tucker and Vinnie Birkenmeyer, residence directors at Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus, were the keynote speakers at the event. Tucker and Birkenmeyer utilized the 16 Personalities assessment tool, based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, to guide students through structured reflection on who they are and how that knowledge will help them choose the right major and career path.
Gina Evers, director of the Mount’s Writing Center and FYE program, said the students valued the workshop. In September of 2022, when the same freshmen had just started their college journey at the Mount, Evers encouraged them to “be attuned to what makes them come alive.”
Now, as the same freshmen stand at the precipice of their sophomore year, events like this one are helping to set them up for success in their remaining three years of college.
“By using the 16 Personalities self-assessment tool, students were given a framework to help them identify their preferences and strengths,” said Evers. “Now that they have language to articulate those, I hope they’ll start thinking about how their preferences and strengths might inform their major declarations and potential career paths. I also hope they had fun!”