The 2018 OCDA conference was held on Friday, April 20th, 2018 at the Quest Conference Center in Columbus. Below is a summary of our speakers and their presentations.

This year we had the pleasure of honoring three award winners during our lunch at the conference.

Outstanding Graduate Student Award Winner: McKenna Koewler

Outstanding New Professional Award Winner: Natalie Fox

Bob Windle Leadership Award Winner: Ryan Wilhelm

Dr. David Reile, Ph.D., Past President of NCDA, Managing Director & Executive Coach of Career Development Alliance was our Keynote presenter. He discussed how the media and other external influences shape the career development of ourselves and clients. 

Tom Payton, Coordinator of Career & Counseling Services at Southern State Community College, presented on the impact of job loss, career well-being and culture, choice theory, and hardiness techniques. 

Zack Beck, the Manager of Strategic Partnerships at the Dayton Society of Natural History, shared with participants different LinkedIn strategies for both themselves and clients. 

Dr. Brad Imhoff, Assistant Professor at Liberty University, and co-presenter Molly Perkins discussed cognitive behavioral understanding of social anxiety disorder and its implications for career counselors and their clients who struggle with it. 

Charene Thornton, Recruiting Coordinator for the Career Center at Wright State University, and co-presenter Carleen Beckermann spoke about best practices as it relates to working with on-campus recruiters as well as effective communication. 

Dr. Kim Gilliam, Director of Medical Student Services at Boonshoft School of Medicine, focused on self-awareness, self-care, and client behaviors in relation to resilience skill development and stress management strategies.