The Hiatt Career Center is developing new programs and expanding old ones in order to reach out more to students and become a better resource for them, according to Hiatt Director Joseph DuPont."We want to make Hiatt more visible," said DuPont, who took over as director last August.

The Hiatt Center recently developed the World-of-Work Internship program. Fifty sophomores and juniors receive a $3,500 scholarship to pursue unpaid internships of their choice this summer. "It creates a way for them to explore their passions, and at the same time, to learn more about a career field," DuPont said.

Some ways to focus student attention on Hiatt have included tours of the Hiatt office, the Hiatt in the Atrium program last Wednesday, consisting of workshops which are being held this semester, and increased publicity for the Job Shadowing program, which Hiatt offers over break, DuPont said.

"We're really trying to reach out to students and really be in the community," Assistant Director of Experiential Programs Rusmir Music said.

DuPont explained that Hiatt will also be hiring three new staffers, including two associate directors and someone to help with marketing, in order to deal with the increased student interest in the Center.

"The University's shown a really great commitment to Hiatt and to what we're trying to achieve on behalf of the students," DuPont said.

Student Union Director of Academic Affairs Kimberlee Bachman '08 said Hiatt is trying to address student concerns, but it will take one to three years to see palpable change. According to Bachman, the two main student concerns have been the need for more on-campus recruiting and alumni networking.

"I think that Hiatt is improving," Bachman said. "I think that there's still a long way to go. It's a priority for everyone on campus. I'm very optimistic about it."

Cindy Kaplan '08 said she would like to see more post-graduate programs offered by Hiatt and would like to see more diverse career fairs that are better publicized.

"We're doing much more in terms of career programming," DuPont said. On Feb. 7, Hiatt will co-sponsor the 2008 Idealist.org Non-Profit Boston Career Fair. "In the future, too, we do want to put a greater priority on job development, especially as we have more staff," he said.

"There are a lot of things that Hiatt is addressing. . But it's hard to address everything at once," said Bachman, who says that "the freshmen and sophomores, even juniors, are really utilizing Hiatt."

Opinions on the usefulness of JAMIN (Advice, Mentors, Internships, Mentoring), the Center's Web site, differ among students. "My best experience has been with the online tools for finding internships," Elana Sandler '10 said. Kaplan, however, said that "the Web site is a little unclear."

"We're revamping our Web site this spring and summer to make it more user-friendly and to organize it more in a career development context," DuPont said.

According to DuPont, Hiatt is constantly asking that alumni help provide more internship opportunities for students. However, Sarah Schenter '10, who is from a small town four hours from Seattle, Wash., said that most jobs or internships are located on the East Coast and in major cities. She said she has not used Hiatt extensively, but may go there in the future for help in finding internships or polishing her résumé.

DuPont said that students can make the most of Hiatt by coming in as sophomores or juniors so that they do not become pressured for time.

"We want people to view Hiatt as a resource and a place that they can go to for their career needs," DuPont said, because "the essence of what we do is career counseling . and guiding students to finding work that's meaningful to them."

Hiatt has also added evening drop-in hours and has begun doubling availability during the day, Music said. This will be on a trial basis, and if there is adequate student response, these initiatives will be expanded, he said.