Dannie Lacks, the new career development director at Worcester State University, believes he is the “luckiest man alive” because he gets to partner with students and help them land their dream jobs. Lacks, who previously worked in human resources and recruiting, says the greatest joy of his role is when students come back and tell him they’ve secured the position they were hoping for.
“I get to partner with students and help them navigate their career path and the recruiting process,” he said. “I find a great deal of joy in seeing students land jobs they are excited about.”
Lacks sees his role as having more of a “career development” focus rather than just “career services” and to that end, Lacks suggested a change to the long-time name from “Career Services Center” to “Career Development Center,” which President Barry M. Maloney recently approved. “I think it better represents my goal of developing a student’s career path by engaging students early on and developing a partnership with them throughout their entire academic journey,” he said.
Lacks grew up in a small town in southern Virginia and earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Lee University in Tennessee, where he studied music education and a master’s degree from South University. After college, he became a high school choir teacher.
“As a child, I always wanted to be a teacher, and that was my goal from an early age,” he said. “However, after actually becoming a teacher for a few years, I realized it wasn’t the right fit for me longterm and after I started exploring other options, I found that I was really passionate about helping people connect with the right career opportunities.”
That led Lacks into jobs such as a headhunter/recruiter and various other HR roles, including as a director of HR at a small company. Most recently, he worked in career services at the University of Rochester.
What attracted him to the role at Worcester State was the opportunity to be more involved in strategy and engagement across the whole career development center with center staff, and Julie Kazarian, vice president of student affairs and dean of students. “I really enjoy the strategic and collaborative aspects of this role,” he said. “I find it very fulfilling working with Julie and my team to help determine the center’s overall strategy and direction.”
Lacks said he thrives on engaging with people and building relationships, which he gets to do in this role by connecting with employers and the local community. He sees his many years in HR as an advantage that helps him to advocate for the students while also understanding the employer’s point of view. Through managing recruitment and working directly with them in prior roles, Lacks gained insights into employers’ needs and priorities which he said enables him to help bridge the gap between students and employers.
Many students enter college undecided about their major or career goals, and Lacks wants to encourage them to embrace this uncertainty. “My hope is they will use the Career Development Center to explore options through things like job shadowing and volunteering which can help them determine their interests and goals,” he said.
But that process must start as early as possible to be truly effective, he said. “We need to get in front of students early, like at orientation, to raise awareness about career development resources and services available,” he said. “Many students are unaware that career development services even exist when they start college.”
Lacks said he believes the key is building an ongoing partnership and relationship between students, rather than just a few transactional interactions, such as resume writing, during their senior year.
He said he enjoys being able to make a real difference in students’ lives by helping them explore options and develop their careers. “I wake up every day with the opportunity to change a student’s life,” he said. “I get to build a partnership and, either directly or indirectly, help them navigate the recruiting timeline, and then the greatest joy is when I get an email or a student comes in and says,’ I landed that job and now I get paid to do what I love.” I am the luckiest man alive to be doing what I’m doing.”
Beyond the Classroom
Fire & Water exhibition opens at Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery
The Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery of Worcester State University opens Fire & Water, a juried exhibition on September 5. Fire & Water will feature artwork from local established and emerging . . .