You Are the Edge

Cascades Edge offers career and self development to every student, every term. Through courses and co-curricular Cascades Edge activities, students gain essential skills and knowledge to excel personally and professionally.

Career and Self Development, Every Term

Students explore their interests, set goals and land new experiences with Cascades Edge activities curated to their academic standing.

How it works:

  1. Explore it: Students will engage in an introductory college and career course, career fairs and industry guest speaker events. They will gain valuable insight into potential career paths, helping them make informed decisions about their future.
     
  2. Plan it: As they progress through their degree program, students will design an action plan, setting clear goals and charting the steps to achieve them. Planning helps students stay focused and proactive in pursuing their goals.
     
  3. Land it: Cascades Edge offers internships, research projects and experiential learning. By taking advantage of these hands-on experiences, students can gain valuable practical skills and establish meaningful connections in their fields. Students will be well-prepared to find and apply for post-graduation opportunities that align with their individual strengths and goals.
     

Professional Skill Badges

As mentors to OSU-Cascades students, you will witness their growth and achievements through Cascades Edge's professional skill badges. Integrated into their major coursework and co-curricular experiences, these virtual badges (in Bend Beavs Central) give students a competitive edge in the job market. You play a vital role in preparing our students to excel both academically and professionally, helping them to thrive in their future careers and to make a lasting impact in their fields. Badges offered:
 

  

Communication

  

Critical Thinking

  

Equity & Inclusion

  

Financial Literacy

  

Leadership

  

Professionalism

  

Teamwork

  

Technology

*Competencies adapted from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Faculty Engagement

Staff Engagement

Resources

The Career Development Center has produced a faculty guide to support academic faculty in adding the Cascades Edge module to their Canvas courses, highlighting existing or integrating new career and self development activities into their curriculum, and promoting Cascades Edge to students.

Faculty Guide

Members of the campus community can submit event ideas to the Cascades Edge Coordinator for event planning and marketing support. This includes existing in-class lectures and campus events, or new ideas, that align with one of the four co-curricular competencies — equity and inclusion, financial literacy, leadership and technology.

  • Tier 1: Event Planning and Production — Full-service event planning and marketing support for large or complex events. Examples include prominent guest speakers, intensive workshops and networking dinners. Event submissions must align with the equity and inclusion, financial literacy, leadership or technology competencies. Event ideas must be submitted one academic term in advance of the desired event date, and will be evaluated at the beginning of each term by a diverse group of campus leaders for selection. Not all event idea submissions will be selected for production as university resources are only available to support no more than four large events each term. Selected large events will be funded, planned and executed by the Cascades Edge team.
  • Tier 2: Event Planning and Production — Full-service event planning and marketing support for basic events. Examples include in-class guest lectures, basic skill workshops and movie screenings. Event submissions must align with the equity and inclusion, financial literacy, leadership or technology competencies. Event ideas must be submitted three weeks in advance of the desired event date, and will be evaluated on a rolling basis by the Cascades Edge Coordinator for selection. Not all event idea submissions will be selected for production as university resources are only available to support no more than six small events each term. Selected small events will be funded, planned and executed by the Cascades Edge team.
  • Tier 3: Event Marketing Only — Marketing design and distribution for events not selected for planning support. Event submissions must align with the career and self development, communication, critical thinking, professionalism, teamwork, equity and inclusion, financial literacy, leadership or technology competencies. Marketing requests must be submitted three weeks in advance of the desired event date.

Cascades Edge Event Submission Form

For Career and Self Development event support, please complete the Career Development Center Event Submission Form.

Cascades Edge is delivered to students through Bend Beavs Central, our virtual student engagement platform — previously called CampusGroups.

Bend Beavs Central is a one-stop-shop for students with events, activities, resources and information from various units from both student and academic affairs. Staff and faculty can also use Bend Beavs Central to discover campus events and engage with students through student organizations.

Staff and faculty will not have access to view or contribute to Cascades Edge content in Bend Beavs Central. Instead, we highly encourage all staff and faculty to be comfortable with the platform features and know where to point students to find their Cascades Edge content.

You can access training videos, tutorials, and technical support on the Bend Beavs Central technical page.

We'd love to hear from you. For general questions, please use cascadesedge@osucascades.edu.

Cascades Edge Team

Dianna McGinnis: Cascades Edge leadership and oversight
Jen Hoffmann: Cascades Edge curriculum development, internships, experiential learning, faculty support
Jeremy Hansen: Cascades Edge advising and submission evaluation, resumes, cover letters
Quentin Comus: Cascades Edge coordination, events, marketing, implementation, and assessment
Assistant Director of Career Development (vacant): Career counseling, resumes, cover letters, graduate school, career fairs, events