The new Patricia and Harold Toppel Career Center celebrates its soft opening on Wednesday, January 22, from 3 to 6 p.m. with a Block Party featuring music from DJ Push Play, food from local restaurants, activities, and tours of the facility, which is located at 5225 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, just behind the Pavia Garage. University of Miami students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend the event, which will also feature a giveaway.
The new Toppel Career Center, made possible by a generous lead gift from alumna and longtime UM trustee Patricia Toppel as well as significant support from the UM Parents’ Council, is more than twice the size of its former home, featuring North and South Wings adjoined by a grand lobby and outdoor Career Pavilion.
The North Wing is the center’s technology and recruiting hub—a venue that will serve as an on-campus interview site and live training ground for students preparing to enter the workforce or start their own businesses. The latest technologies will be used in this space including videoconferencing and 360-degree video recording. The building will also allow for lectures to be fully captured electronically through video and audio capabilities.
The South Wing, or the “heart” of Toppel, houses the center’s highly trained staff charged with guiding and preparing students for graduate school, internships, employment, and more. All of the center’s planning and operations occur on the first floor of this wing. The Career Loft, located on the second floor of the South Wing, overlooks the Career Reflections Courtyard, which is equipped with advanced technologies and will host company information sessions, career development programs, entrepreneurship workshops, and panel discussions.
“The new Toppel Career Center building and its technology lets us provide significantly more programming for students, alumni, and employers, locally, nationally, and internationally,” says Christian Garcia, executive director.