King’s Awarded $60,000 NetVUE Grant to Develop Vocation Fellows Program

The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) awarded King’s College $60,000 to mobilize a cohort of faculty and employee advisors who will assess, improve, and expand the College’s vocational exploration services over the next two years.

NetVUE, a program of the Council of Independent Colleges supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., is a nationwide network of 300 colleges and universities formed to support and enrich vocational education services among undergraduate students.

The College is using the grant funds to form its Vocation Fellows Program, which will train personnel who regularly counsel large student groups, better integrate vocational elements into student orientation courses, and improve vocational services offered by major student programs like athletics, career planning, financial aid, and campus ministry.

The effort is led by Kelly Lettieri, director of KC Pathways and International Student Services; Jennifer McClinton-Temple, Ph.D., professor of English; and Anitra McShea, Ph.D., vice president for Student Affairs.

“Vocational exploration helps students think beyond going to college and getting a well-paying job,” said Dr. McClinton-Temple. “This institution-wide movement will help them discover their callings and pursue futures they find meaningful and rewarding. This is even more important for our first-generation students or those from underrepresented communities, who feel intense pressure to succeed quickly and may not have the luxury to dream.”

Monthly meetings and workshops will bring in employees and faculty from across campus to discuss three major subtopics: vocational exploration outside of the classroom, the unique challenges minority students face in exploring vocation, and how the Congregation of Holy Cross mission intersects with vocational advisement. 

The College aims to launch the new vocational exploration services by the Fall 2026 semester. In addition to the leadership team mentioned above, the 11 other program fellows include:

• Ricky Bevington, C.S.C., assistant director of Campus Ministry for Student Outreach
• J.C. Blewitt, Ph.D., associate professor of Management
• Megan Casey, associate vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students
• Kristi Concannon, Ph.D., professor of Physics
• Jasmine Giddings, director of Multicultural and International Student Services
• Caitlin Hadzimichalis, head coach, Women’s Basketball
• Martin Lacayo, director of Hispanic Outreach and Student Services
• Maura Modrovsky, assistant director of Financial Aid
• Marie Patterson, O.T.D., associate clinical professor of Occupational Therapy
• Father Brogan Ryan, C.S.C., director of Campus Ministry
• Christopher Sutzko, Ed.D., director, Career Planning Center

Photo (L-R):  Dr. Marie Patterson, Fr. Brogan Ryan, Martin Lacayo, Caitlin Hadzimichalis, Jasmine Giddings, Dr. Anitra McShea, Kelly Lettieri, Maura Modrovsky, J.C. Blewitt, Ricky Bevington, Dr. Jennifer McClinton-Temple, Dr. Christopher Sutzko, Megan Casey, Dr. Kristi Concannon