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The Power Skills Suite is a comprehensive program designed to empower you to develop in-demand professional competencies for real-world success.
Why Develop Power Skills?
You’re here because you want that competitive edge! You want to balance your Power Skills with the field-related skills that you learned in your coursework, internships, and early career roles. You want to stand out from the crowd and have documentation to prove it.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook for Class of 2020 Report, 93.2% of employers want “Oral and written communication skills” in their recent hires. Not only will the Power Skills Suite help you develop these same skills, but you will also have the proof when you go for the big interview! You will already have an advantage over the competition from the moment you walk through the door or fire up Zoom.
What’s the Bottom Line?
In this program, you will:
- Harness your Power Skills to leverage in your professional — and personal — life.
- Prove to employers that you have acquired these Power Skills and that you take being an effective communicator seriously.
- Earn a digital badge from Penn State – evidence of your participation and completion of this course. You can display this digital badge on your LinkedIn profile, resume, portfolio, social media, and a variety of digital places.
93.2% of employers want “exceptional written and oral communication skills” as a requirement for the position.
Meet the Creator
Dawn Pfeifer Reitz, Assistant Teaching Professor and 2020 TLT Faculty Fellow
Dawn Pfeifer Reitz’s expertise is communication across disciplines, including extensive collaboration with non-humanities courses and undergraduate student research experiences. With more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of higher education — from counseling to student affairs — she creates a vibrant, engaging community within her communication classrooms. She considers herself an unconventional academic, with a passion for working in the basic course space. She has forged her way through thirteen years of learning experiences that keep her fresh in the discipline and uniquely attuned to the needs of her students. From conversations with others who teach public speaking; to attendance at key state, regional, and national conferences; to participation in Basic Course Directors conferences, she has fine-tuned her approach to learning about the teaching of public speaking.
Dawn has held positions at King’s College, Kutztown University, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania prior to coming to Penn State Berks.
Dawn has served in leadership roles at state and regional levels of professional associations, including as a Basic Course Conference planning assistant for Eastern Communication Association in 2017, as the assistant conference planner for Pennsylvania Communication Association in 2019, and as the Eastern Communication Association Basic Course Conference Director in March of 2021. Dawn has been a presenter, facilitator, or co-presenter for various panels, programs, and preconference sessions specifically targeted toward the basic course.
Dawn was recognized in October 2018 by the Pennsylvania Communication Association with the Harvey Kelly Excellence in Teaching Award and in May 2021 as the recipient of the Penn State Berks Outstanding Teaching Award for full-time faculty.
Development of the Power Skills Suite was made possible with support from Penn State’s Teaching and Learning with Technology Faculty Fellows program.
Dawn Pfeifer Reitz