Muskingum News

Muskingum’s Impact Center serves as a career catalyst for students and as a connector for employers, providing comprehensive career education, experiential learning, community partnerships, and student engagement in preparation for employment as well as support for regional workforce and economic development initiatives.

The Center’s Trips and Tours program provides Muskingum students with off-campus immersion experiences with regional and national employers. Thanks to the generosity of Muskingum alumni and friends, these Trips and Tours are offered at no cost to students. Held throughout the academic year, the program offers transformative opportunities for students to observe real-world operations.

“The Trips and Tours are great because it gets the students off campus and exposes them to these different career opportunities and career paths that they may not have known about,” said Jackie Vascura, Director of Career Services at the Impact Center.

During one trip, students visited the Ohio Statehouse, where alumna Kayla Wilkerson ’19, Director of Budget and Finance for the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus, welcomed them and shared the career journey and experiences that led her to her current role.

“It means a lot to be able to continue to share my journey with students. The Senate was never a job I envisioned for myself, so being able to talk about my experiences to hopefully inspire future public servants is incredibly special. I think as a college student, it’s easy to get ‘tunnel vision’ when working in your major and looking for jobs, so being able to talk to people who ‘made it out’ and have very niche jobs can be transformative for students,” said Kayla.

These trips are open to students of any major and class year. Each visit highlights a variety of elements that connect directly to students' areas of study and interests. For example, students toured the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside alumnus Mike Miller ’77, gaining insight into the industry from multiple academic perspectives.

“At the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there are different career opportunities that aren’t just sports related. They have careers for people in history, digital media design, philanthropy, communication and more. It’s a spectrum of careers and so we partner with different faculty and ask that they identify students who would really benefit from this experience,” Jackie said.

“It was a great experience for me to have current students from Muskingum come visit the Hall of Fame, where I’ve been employed for 13 years as an Operation Supervisor, after 35 years in public education and coaching football,” Mike added. “I was able to speak to the group about some of the positions that are filled by our staff. When students are given the opportunity to visit and tour locations of possible employment it gives them much better insight into prospective career choices.”

These transformative experiences are made possible through the generosity and engagement of Muskingum alumni and friends—and there are always opportunities for more alumni to get involved. Whether by hosting a site visit, sharing career insights, mentoring students, or providing financial support, alumni play a vital role in expanding access to these impactful programs.

For alumni interested in partnering with the Impact Center, Kayla offers this advice: “Don’t think twice—just do it. The students are so interesting and invested in learning from us. You never know who you may reach by inviting them in.”

Click here to learn more about Trips and Tours or contact Jackie Vascura at 740-826-8085.