Heidi Edwards Receives the Nancy Hargis Award for Leadership in Career Development

The March 19, 2009, Portland Community College Board of Directors meeting was the venue for the presentation of the first CIS Board award this spring.  Heidi Edwards, the college’s Retention Coordinator, is the 2009 recipient of the Nancy Hargis Award for Leadership in Career Development.  This award, first given in 1990, is presented annually by the Oregon Career Information System (CIS) Board.  Cheryl Buhl, Director of Oregon CIS, presented the award.

The CIS Board selected Heidi Edwards in recognition of her creativity, commitment, leadership, and collaboration in developing models for career planning and student retention and for the integration of the Career Information System in that work.  Prior to working at PCC, Edwards helped newly arrived refugees at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) learn about the world of work.  While at PCC, Edwards has worked in a variety of programs, such as workforce development, student employment, and cooperative education.  She has also taught classes in job finding skills.  All of her work has reflected her belief in the importance of setting goals and having a vision of a career path.

In her current role as Retention Coordinator, Edwards was the team leader for a federal grant project that included the development of the customized version of the CIS online program.  This PCC version of CIS includes a college-designed planning component called “MAP-My Academic Plan.”  In designing MAP for the college, the project team focused on defining how PCC students can and should be engaged in career self-management and designed a self-directed process.  Through MAP, PCC students are thinking about their career direction and “mapping” it from the moment they start PCC classes rather than waiting until they have completed their degrees.  Students and staff have had an overwhelming positive response to MAP as a rich and interactive planning tool.  Through Edward’s efforts CIS and career planning have become institutionalized at PCC.  Additionally, MAP and the PCC project is serving as a model for other community colleges around the state.

The Nancy Hargis Award serves to recognize people in the fields of education and workforce development whose contributions are making a difference in the career decision-making and preparation of Oregonians.  The award is named after Nancy Hargis, retired School-to-Work Program Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Education.