Career Development Center: Home

Hello and welcome to the James C. Denneny Jr. Career Development Center webpage!  

The mission of the Career Development Center is to empower students to develop the tools needed to successfully transition from college life to a professional career. The information and tools included on these pages are great resources to provide support and answer questions as you develop and execute your career plan. 

I encourage all students to begin defining their career plan early.  Shadow experiences and internships are particularly important in today’s job market employers looking for experience.  A well-crafted and updated resume, cover letter, and elevator speech are especially important because opportunities happen quickly.  If your path is graduate school, I encourage you to begin preparing early to take advantage of early admittance, where available, and graduate assistant positions to help pay for graduate school tuition. 

I have been employed at Central Methodist University for 6 years following a twenty-two-year career at a corporate technology company.  I really enjoy working with students and sharing my background in business hiring and career development.   My staff and I continuously watch the latest trends and work to ensure our students have the latest data and formats available to career plan to successfully transition from being a student to a professional. 

As you progress through your career plan, remember, we are here to help!  The office is available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Central Time.  We offer resume and cover letter support, graduate school application support, mock interviews to practice your skills online and in person, job search techniques, networking skills support, career counseling and a career closet.  

Mary Lay 

Hello and welcome to the James C. Denneny, Jr. Career Development Center Lib Guide pages. 

Our favorite quote is “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”  As a Career Success and Professional Development Specialist, I capitalize on my 33 years in education, making sure students gain the skills needed to grow in their career pathway. 

I have been at Central Methodist University for 6 years, after retiring from 26 years of teaching middle school for the St. Charles School District. Additionally, I have been an adjunct professor at two universities for the last 20 years, teaching courses from Literacy Acquisition for the Secondary Teacher to Take Flight, and my new favorite, our Career Courses! Whether meeting with students one-on-one, in classrooms, Greek Life meetings, clubs, or teams, helping students to develop the skills they need to be successful in their job search has become a passion. Nothing is more fun than posting another “CMU Hired” when students let me brag about them on social media. 

Whenever you have questions about anything career-related, remember to stop by, call or email our office. It is an absolute pleasure to help our students. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and our email is careeer@centralmethodist.edu .  You can upload resumes and cover letters for review in the “My documents” section of your Handshake account at any time.  As Mary has stated, we have so many tools and programs to support you! 

Tina Queen