Megan Beck | Assistant News Editor

After working with colleges for 40 years, Jeff Stocco has decided to retire and to spend time with his family in Minnesota. He has been serving as the director of Career and Personal Development Center for 3 years and has helped many students find the right path for them.

Mr. Stocco was originally hired to help evaluate career services, but ended up working for the center and assisting students with career counseling, teaching interim classes, and finding internships and jobs. The center is not expecting to eliminate any of the services they offer in Mr. Stocco’s absence.

Although he would still like to be involved on campus, it becomes difficult with relocating to another state. However, he is a big fan of Buena Vista University sports teams and will continue to follow them.

BVU has felt like another home for Mr. Stocco. He explains how profoundly rooted the connections between staff and students are. Everyone wants the best for everyone. It is his goal for Career Services to have every student work an internship before they graduate.

When asked what was his favorite part about working at BVU he responded, “One thing I love about BVU is that the staff here are really deeply committed to student success. That is why I loved working here.”

There are many things Mr. Stocco will miss, from the campus itself to the work being done, however, Mr. Stocco said what he will miss most about BVU is the people. “Students, staff, and faculty are all deeply caring. Since coming here I feel like I have been able to do very important work.”

Staff are currently looking for someone to fill Mr. Stocco’s position. One of the potential candidates is Lori Berglund who now works as the assistant director in the Career and Personal Development Center. It is expected to be decided who will take the position in the next couple of weeks.

Mr. Stocco is currently working part-time and will retire after the spring 2017 semester.

Photo by Megan Beck