Careers in Higher Education (Student Affairs) 

Student affairs professionals direct learning opportunities on college campuses outside of classrooms and laboratories. Students in this CORE-P 201 course will learn about function areas within student affairs, learn student development theories common in the profession and put those theories into practice in student-facing offices on campus. Students taking this course will be equipped to gain experience from college offices with a primary student learning or student development focus. Examples include residence life, student activities, career and professional development, health services, financial aid, etc. for any college or university, not solely SMCM. On campus hands-on experience will be required

Medical Services (EMS) 

This course will provide a basic overview of the emergency medical services (EMS) system in St. Mary’s County and the greater Maryland EMS system. Students will have the opportunity to learn the basic skills necessary for assisting in patient care in an emergency situation, including acquisition of vital signs (e.g., blood pressure, pulse), radio communication, personal safety (e.g., bloodborne pathogen), and operation of ambulance equipment (e.g., stretcher, LifePak, oxygen/suction). Students will have the opportunity to visit key emergency services infrastructure in the local area (e.g., emergency communications). Students will also gain certification in CPR through the American Heart Association and will be provided information about opportunities for future certification paths (e.g., EMT, paramedic). By the end of the course, students will be qualified to volunteer as crew members at the Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad and will be eligible for membership. Off campus hands on experience will be required.

Boyden Art Gallery and Collection

Students in this course will work as gallery assistants where they will assist in visitor engagement, exhibition, creations, research and planning. Students will learn about collections and experience installation techniques for gallery shows. Off campus hands on experience will be required. On campus hands on experience will be required.

Land Use and Conservation

Land conservation is not just about tree-hugging – although tree-hugging is encouraged! This course will explore the urgent need to preserve our open spaces and the many aspects of land conservation, from planning and zoning and legal issues to funding and program management. We will discuss the various career paths that can touch land conservation (real estate, land surveying, GIS, agriculture, forestry, etc.) and hear from guest speakers in some of those areas. Students will understand the importance of partnerships in land conservation, and in particular the local partnership among land trusts, County and State government, and the Navy to protect land in St. Mary’s County. Finally, students will get outside and visit some nearby properties that are protected by conservation easements.It is expected that hands-on experiences will be performed at Southern Maryland Resource Conservation & Development in Leonardtown and possibly at other conservation organizations in the area. Off campus hands-on experience will be required. 

Shoreline Management in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with over 20,000 miles of estuarine coast. In order to understand man’s impact along the shorelines of the Bay and its tributaries we will review the geologic history and stratigraphic underpinnings  of the Mid -Atlantic coastal plain. Ever since World War II development along the shorelines of Maryland and Virginia has been significant. We will study the role of tides, currents and waves on shoreline processes and shoreline change both accretion and erosion. Understanding the wide suite of upland, shoreface and nearshore habitats is critical in assessing the impact of storm surge and sea level rise on waterfront properties both developed and not. Shore management can range from doing nothing to shoreline hardening to living shorelines. The class will include field trips to the nearby St. Mary’s City Living Shoreline Projects which were designed and installed in 2002 and provide examples of long term project performance. On campus hands-on experience will be required. 

Encourage and Engage: Careers in High School Education

This course will provide an opportunity to engage with high school students in Leonardtown and Great Mills. Students will learn about the various careers in secondary education, student support programming, and educator effective practices. The hands-on experiences will include mentoring, classroom discussions with 9-12 teachers, student support practices, and teacher/staff shadowing. The CORE-P 201 students will also work directly with St. Mary’s County, MD neighboring high schools to provide additional hands-on experiences in the secondary education career sector. Off campus hands-on experience will be required.

Sports Management

Students in this course will be placed into externships that allow for direct work experience in one of three areas:

* College athletics administration/coaching

* Professional sport organizations

* Health and fitness field

 On campus hands-on experience will be required.

Building Strategic & Effective Partnerships

No matter what career path or industry one endeavors, building strategic and effective partnerships/alliances will strengthen not only your own skills, but also those of your organization – creating a greater opportunity for a more successful and sustainable outcome.

A successful partnership/alliance shares resources between two or more individuals, organizations, or companies to produce a better outcome for all involved – as well as others not directly involved in the partnership. Successful partnerships require creativity, collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking, communication, resourcefulness, flexibility, patience, and trust. Students will learn that strategically partnering with others will supplement their capabilities and weaknesses with strengths. They will learn how to share resources with the mission of growth and mutual success.

Every student will be assigned a project and challenged to create innovative and strategic partnerships to accomplish a common goal from different perspectives. Students will use their newly acquired professional skills and learn how to apply them during hands-on experiences in the community. Finally, students will learn how to monitor, manage, and nurture those partnerships for long term sustainability and effectiveness. On campus hands-on experience will be required.

More Psychology Than Counseling

This course will explore the diverse applications of psychology in the work world – teaching, social work, school sports, forensic psychology, private testing and counseling.   The field of psychology is expected to grow by 14 percent through the year 2026. Students will learn about requirements, credentials, earning potential and varied opportunities in the field of psychology. The Expert Practitioner is Mariah Covington, who earned a Master’s in forensic psychology after studying sociology at Howard University. She is a Graduate Licensed Professor Counselor at Wake Kendall Psychotherapy Group in Washington, D.C. Students may access her How Come They Didn’t Teach Me That in School? to learn more about Ms. Covington’s approach to psychology. Virtual work experiences will be required.

Keys to Success in Project Management 

Building good systems in the first place leads to more efficient business operations, more effective staff training and reduced turnover.  Students who may be contemplating starting their own company will leave this class with a greater understanding of these key principles, as well as the importance of strategic management and planning, and the role of transparency and clarity in engaging employees. Virtual work experiences will be required.

Making a Difference: International Non-Profit 

This course will focus on ways students can work and lead in the nonprofit world.  North America is the largest region for Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) growth currently, but going forward the fastest regions are expected to be the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Students will learn how to identify or create opportunities for themselves in nonprofit employment, where the number of jobs in the U.S. grew by almost 19 percent from 2007 to 2017.The Expert Practitioner is Carrie Rich, co-founder and CEO of The Global Good Fund, which she and a mentor created to pair experienced business executives with emerging social entrepreneurs. Ms. Rich received POLITICO’s Women Who Rule Award, honoring women who are leading change in policy, politics, and communities in unique ways. Ms. Rich talks about her insights on building confidence and networks here. Virtual work experiences will be required.

Project Management Process in Engineering 

Using an effective project management process is key to successfully planning, delivering, and operating projects of any kind. Most of the important advancements in the field have grown out of private sectors desire to develop and deliver their projects in the shortest period of time for the least cost, but most of those endeavors are rarely made public. Conversely the public generally has a bad impression of the ability of public sector project managers to deliver infrastructure projects within schedule and budget. Examples include the popular accounts of overspending, missed deadlines, and poor quality on the Big Dig in Boston, replacement/repair of infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy or Katrina, and almost every transportation infrastructure project. Through examining available literature and case studies in the instructor’s career and their successes and shortcomings, students will critically analyze project management processes and apply them to projects that they would like to take on in their professional development. Virtual work experiences will be required.