Honoring the retirement of Dr. Robert Chope and all his contributions to the Career Counseling Specialization

Dr. Robert Chope, after 35 years at San Francisco State University in the Department of Counseling, retired in the Spring of 2011. We thank Dr. Chope for his years of leadership and are very appreciative of his willingness to continue as a guiding mentor for me and the program. Thanks so much Dr. Chope!

Dr. Rebecca Toporek

Winners in the National Career Development Association Poetry and Poster Competition from SF State Counseling Program!

More exciting news! Monika Lynch and Skyler Barton placed in the top three nationally in the National Career Development Association Poetry and Poster Competition in the Adult Student Category. See their poems at the NCDA website.

Emerald Templeton as well as Monika and Skyler placed in the top three at the state level of the Competition. Congratulations to all three! And many thanks to the 10 other students who entered the competition.

California Career Development Conference in Santa Clara, May 2011

Fantastic opportunity to meet up with alumni from across the state doing amazing things! Some working in community colleges, some with their own business, some in universities, some working in rehabilitation, all fabulous!

Career news from New Orleans and the American Counseling Association

The American Counseling Association Convention in New Orleans last week was a great opportunity for San Francisco State University Career Specialization to show it's social justice commitment. Drs. Rebecca Toporek, SFState, and Cyrus Ellis, Governor's State University, were featured speakers in a special forum: the Multicultural Social Justice Leadership Academy. They focused on the turbulent economic times, immigration, and career counseling for social action. In addition to several other professional presentations on advocacy and publishing in professional journals, Dr. Toporek spent a half day working with New Orleans youth who were graduating from Cafe Hope, a training program for young men and women.
Finally, Dr. Toporek and Dr. Judy Lewis (Dr. Vong Ratts was unable to attend) were featured in a book signing event for the book,

ACA Advocacy Competencies: A Social Justice Framework for Counselor, published by ACA. 

 

Career Counseling Program at NCDA 2010

Big showing at the National Career Development Association Conference in San Francisco 2010! Dr. Chope and Dr. Toporek are presenting extensively at the conference! In addition, Dr. Toporek is presenting on a panel at the International Symposium, a collaborative pre-conference symposium for the 2010 NCDA Conference in San Francisco organized by the National Career Development Association (NCDA-US), the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG), and the Society for Vocational Psychology (SVP). The panel focused on interventions for career counseling in difficult economic times.

The SFSU Career Program is proud to be a part of the founding members of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the California Career Development Association (Bay Area CCDA). June 30, the first event of the organization will be held to link NCDA with the San Francisco community. Bay Area CCDA has facilitated a partnership with NCDA and St. Anthony's Tenderloin Tech Lab to offer a job search workshop for the community.

Preparing for Fall 2009

First, a note of congratulations to the fabulous group of students who graduated in May 2009! Second, a rousing welcome cheer to those students who are joining us this fall! Finally, to those students midway through the program, keep the faith!

This summer has been particularly busy with many faculty and students presenting at the National Career Development Association Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, the Interamerican Congress of Psychology in Guatemala City, and the American Psychological Association Convention in Toronto, Ontario.

As we enter this fall semester, there are many challenges. The State of California is struggling with budget woes and the CSU is struggling with the fallout of that. The Department of Counseling, under the leadership of Dr. Williams, is working to ensure that the Department minimizes its pinch on students and has maintained its commitment to offering the classes that students need to graduate and is offering as many or more fieldplacement opportunities for students.

Together, we will get through this and Career Counselors are in the best position possible to help the world and the San Francisco Bay Area get back to work!

January update

As we begin the spring semester, students are beginning to look for jobs as they anticipate the moment they've been waiting for...graduation! We have former students everywhere in the Bay area from non profit organizations to colleges and universities to government positions and private practice. Our graduates are doing such fabulous things contributing to the advancement of the field, sharing their expertise with colleagues and clients, and working to change the injustice faced by so many in poverty, workplace discrimination, lack of access to resources, and trauma due to job loss and instability. Our current students are interviewing for field placements for next year and will move into these positions to provide valuable service to clients and receive incredible field training and supervision. Thanks to all of our supervisors across the Bay Area.

Alumni, keep your eyes open for an announcement later this spring regarding an alumni get together.

Two Career Specialization Students and Faculty present at the National Career Development Association Conference

Great things happened this summer in Washington, D.C.! Not just the election campaigns, but even closer to the career home, Felicia Tripp and Robin Gluck, two students in the Career Specialization at SFSU, as well as Dr. Robert Chope and Dr. Rebecca Toporek, presented at the National Career Development Association. The powerpoints for the two presentations "Everyday Social Justice" and "Narrative Multicultural Career Counseling" can be viewed on the Career Specialization website at http://online.sfsu.edu/~rtoporek/presentations.html

Another fabulous group of students prepares to graduate

As another group of fabulous students prepare to graduate and spread their compassion, expertise and energy in the world of career counseling, we also welcome a group of promising new students. We are fortunate to have wonderful students continuing in the program who will undoubtedly mentor and share sage advice for new arrivals.

This past spring, a number of students shone as they presented at the American Counseling Association and at the SFSU Graduate Showcase. In addition, one of our students received a national award in the area of multicultural research. Stay posted for more specifics and photos.

Entry for October 29, 2007

This fall is an exciting time for the Career Counseling Program at San Francisco State University. The International Career Development Conference holds its 2007 meeting in Sacramento on November 9-11, 2007. We are pleased that Dr. Rebecca Toporek and Dr. Robert Chope will be presenting on Social Justice and Career Counseling on November 9. On Saturday, November 10, recent graduates, Jill Schontag and Danielle Niland will present "Laughing Matters: Counseling Through The Funny Bone" and Fatima Jinnah and Tedmund Munoz, will present "Will Ugly Betty Ever Fit In? Career Counselors As Cultural Brokers Shaping A Resilient Workforce". We are currently arranging a get-together for students and alumni in conjunction with the conference.