Klein EDGE

How the programs in Annenberg’s basement are evolving.

Walking into the basement of Annenberg Hall, you might have noticed orange arrows scattered across the floor pointing to Room 007. Tucked into the corner of the basement, you would have seen a shell where Klein Global Opportunities (or Klein GO) and Klein Career Services shared their respective offices. Now, Klein EDGE occupies the space.

According to Klein’s website, “Klein College of Media and Communication’s Engagement, Development and Growth Experiences office provides students with a centralized hub for experiential learning and professional development programming.” 

While some students may have had to visit three or more resources for their professional and study abroad needs, Klein EDGE has simplified the process with all resources now being held in one place.

With such a sudden adjustment, the rebrand of Klein EDGE has taken students by surprise. Shayla Cotterman, a sophomore journalism major, has expressed her support for the rebrand.

“I didn’t expect the rebrand at all but I think it was a really good idea,” Cotterman said. “Before I feel like no one really talked about it unless you were in the first-year seminar or Introduction to Professional Development.”

On the internal side of the production, the departments still hold their place. Klein GO, Klein Career Services, and Klein Rising still serve as individual programs of Klein EDGE despite currently collaborating.

While the departments have held their place, Klein EDGE has merged its workers. Historically, Klein Careers and Klein GO have had specific employees for specific tasks, but all workers, including returning ones, have been trained in all categories of EDGE.

Alexandra Pombo, a senior communication studies major and longtime Klein GO employee,  explained how this change has impacted the previous position she held. Pombo’s primary job was to organize the social media calendar, which she still cites as her primary position, however, things have changed.

“I now run one big calendar for the Instagram for Klein GO and Klein EDGE,” Pombo said. “It is a lot more work, it’s double the amount of content, but it’s a lot of fun!”

Alana Beltran, a junior journalism major and new Klein EDGE Student Worker, explained her experience as coming in with a fresh slate.

“From a worker perspective, I like that we are trained in the career side and global opportunities side,” Beltran said. “I am able to be a resource for students when advising and engaging with them.”

Beyond the student employees, the full-time staff has also experienced changes in responsibility. But most of all, they’ve been working more closely together to support each other’s programs.

The executive staff consists of four people, Allie Miller (Director of Klein EDGE), Hannah Braid (Student Success Program Coordinator for Global Opportunities), Tyler DeVice (Assistant Director of Student Success), and Chris Blackman (Director of Career Services). 

In addition to large changes from the internal perspective with workers and format, Klein EDGE has already made substantial changes with student resources, starting with moving away from Klein Connect to Handshake.

Klein Connect served as the primary career and internship resource for Klein students, but similarly to the theme of EDGE, Handshake is meant to be used as a user-friendly resource to improve student engagement and participation with EDGE resources. For DeVice, the final goal of Klein EDGE is apparent. 

“We’re past the point where a simple degree, a piece of paper in your hand is going to get you somewhere,” DeVice said. “But we really wanted to create a one-stop shop for people that wanted to do stuff outside of their classroom.”

Using Klein EDGE is simple, you can stop into Annenberg Hall Room 007 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday, or make an appointment on Handshake for all needs (headshots, résumé review, and more). 

For Klein EDGE, growth is a main goal throughout the year. While not perfect, the staff is consistently working to improve.

“There have been a lot of changes implemented in a short amount of time for the Klein EDGE team, and we are not immune to the challenges and tough lessons to be learned when making an organizational shift,” said Miller. “But at the heart of it, we all strive towards our common goal of providing the most robust outside-of-the-classroom support we can to our students.”