Damian Thomas, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs | Deputy Student Affairs Officer, Elizabeth City State University

In an interview with Invest:, Damian Thomas, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and deputy student affairs officer at Elizabeth City State University, discussed the Viking Experience, career preparation, student support, and internships. “Providing the service comes first, but the data helps us demonstrate its impact,” Thomas said.

How are you approaching the student experience at ECSU?

I have been here for about a year and four months, and it has been really good. Interestingly, the student experience is currently something our chancellor is talking about through the Viking Experience. It is not just my area that focuses on the student experience outside the classroom.

What I have come to see is how we support students from the time they arrive through graduation. We hear that in terms of retention, but it includes career development, student engagement and leadership, wellness and recreation, counseling, accessibility and testing, and other support functions.

With career development, my understanding since coming to ECSU is that the work has already been happening to support our students. What we have done is strengthen the coordination across those areas, making sure that our work is connected and that we reach students in ways that support their success.

Ultimately, we want students to have opportunities to grow personally and professionally, but first holistically, whether they are student leaders or traditional students. When they leave ECSU, they should be prepared for what comes next.

What I have seen in my first year is a lot of good work happening across the division. My role is to help connect those pieces, identify where we can strengthen the student experience, and make sure we are able to demonstrate the impact of the work already being done.

How does career preparation fit into the Viking Experience?

Career development is definitely important to the Viking Experience because it gives students access to opportunities and prepares them for what comes after college. Our mantra is “Come to Discover. Leave to Conquer,” and part of that is building professional networks, gaining experience, and getting an early introduction to different industries.

Soft skills are also important. At a recent State Employees’ Credit Union internship luncheon, employers talked about students who showed up on time and how significant that was. One thing we continue to emphasize is earlier engagement. We want freshmen and transfer students connecting with Career Development early.

The Career Development team does a great job of getting students’ attention. They connect with students through email, flyers, and even TikTok. The Viking Experience really speaks to students from all walks of life and what they go through. When people hear “student life,” they may think only about Student Affairs, Student Engagement, or traditional campus life, but these students are also leaving ECSU with jobs, good benefits, and professional opportunities through the Career Development Center.

We recently had the Vikings PREP program, which introduced incoming freshmen to many aspects of the Viking Experience. Some of those students had great GPAs but had not yet developed the same soft skills or interpersonal skills. Through Career Development and our other colleagues in Student Affairs, we helped bring that Viking Experience to life for them.

There is also some trial and error involved. Students may enter a program thinking it is what they want to do and then discover that the career requires something they had not anticipated. We see that in aviation. A student may decide a particular path is not the right fit but still have opportunities elsewhere within aviation or engineering. They do not necessarily have to stay on that original track.

What opportunities could further strengthen career preparation within the Viking Experience?

I would like to see us continue expanding internships, strengthening our alumni partnerships, and engaging students in career preparation earlier.

Many students arrive without knowing how to build a resume or navigate some of the basic steps of career preparation, and the Career Development team helps teach those skills. We also need to continue improving how we track that work. Providing the service comes first, but the data helps us demonstrate its impact.

We understand that data can help drive funding, and additional resources would allow us to support students more effectively. That gives us an opportunity to strengthen the Viking Experience while showing the impact it is having on student success.