Help Us Launch the Cleary Compass Career Development Center!
Picture a Cleary student walking into a space where their career questions aren’t met with canned answers, but with a process, a process that helps them discover what energizes them, imagine multiple paths forward, and begin prototyping their future before graduation. That’s the vision of the Cleary Compass Center, our new home for the Life & Career Design Process.
Inspired by the groundbreaking design-thinking model from Stanford, the Compass Center will guide students through tools such as balance dashboards, “good time” journals, and Odyssey Plans, which are practical and creative exercises that turn uncertainty into possibility. Instead of asking, “What job should I take?” students learn to ask, “What kind of life am I designing?” and then test answers in the real world through employer projects, mentorship, In-demand roles, and hands-on experiences.
Though the Center is still in its early stages, momentum is building. With the Robert W. and Maxine C.Parker Foundation’s generosity, we’ve begun vital renovations to create a welcoming and innovative space. And thanks to the Hanover Insurance Foundation, we’ve already started connecting this life design process with high school students, so they arrive at Cleary ready to dream, plan, and build. The spark is lit, but now we need your partnership to bring the vision fully to life.
Your gift to the Annual Campaign will make the difference. It will:
Equip students with Compass toolkits: journals, dashboards, and design guides that help them map their journeys.
Provide 1:1 coaching that turns sparks of curiosity into confident, tested career pathways.
Expand partnerships with employers, creating micro-internships and projects where students can prototype their ideas in real time.
Build the necessary infrastructure to support a visionary space to meet.
The Cleary Compass Center represents more than just a program; it’s a promise to every Cleary student: that they won’t just graduate with a degree, but with a compass in hand to navigate a future of meaning, purpose, and contribution.
We invite you to join us at this exciting moment. Your support of the Annual Campaign will ensure that when students walk through the doors of the Compass Center, they walk out with clarity, courage, and a vision for the life they are ready to design.
