Online Career Development that Reaches All Ages, Programs, and Places (feat. Amy Ballard)

What does it take to build a career development program for students you may never meet in person—students scattered across time zones, juggling jobs and families, logging in at 3 a.m.?In this episode of the Career Everywhere Podcast, Amy Ballard of Eastern University talks about how she built an online career development program from scratch for a population that's as diverse as it is distributed.Eastern University, located just outside Philadelphia, serves close to 10,000 students—and roughly two-thirds of them are online. Amy joined as a new hire in early 2025 with a background in adult education rather than career services, and was immediately tasked with creating something that didn't yet exist: a centralized, meaningful career experience for online learners of all ages, across all programs.Drawing on adult learning theory and Priya Parker's philosophy on the art of gathering, Amy shares how she moved away from generic programming and toward targeted, high-impact content built around specific student populations. She scaled from occasional drop-ins to 90+ events in a single year—webinars, networking nights, alumni panels, employer presentations, and more—reaching thousands of students who might otherwise never have connected with career services.She also shares what didn't work (an alumni event with 40 RSVPs and zero attendees), why those flops were just as instructive as the wins, and the practical principles any career services team can apply—regardless of staff size or institutional type.Key topics include:— Why targeted, program-specific events outperform general programming every time— How to partner with academic departments to reach students who are already gathering— Turning one-on-one appointment FAQs into scalable webinar content— Using platforms like Gatherly to make online networking feel less like another Zoom— Why belonging—not just information—is the real goal of online career programmingResources from the episode:Amy’s LinkedIn profileEastern University Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)Gatherly: The gamified virtual networking platform Amy uses to host interactive events where students navigate a map and join themed conversation booths.The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker: A book on creating meaningful gatherings rather than simply fulfilling a function. Amy highly recommends it for career development professionals working in online spaces.Malcolm Knowles – Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy): The foundational framework Amy used to understand online learners' motivations and needs.Career Everywhere Community: where Amy first presented this session liveAmy’s slide deck: from Amy’s original presentation in the Career Everywhere CommunityNew episodes every other Tuesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and visit gouconnect.com/career-everywhere/podcast for full show notes, transcripts, and more.  Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community