How 40+ people at USC’s Career Center turned a retreat into a launchpad for student-centered problem solving. Why it matters: A few hours together can do more than tick boxes—it can surface unspoken challenges, reveal shared instincts, and turn a retreat into a working lab for problem-solving. At South Carolina, the right prompts, data, and pacing helped the Career Center team move from insight to action fast. A gallery walk grounded ideas in evidence before we used the Game of 35 to narrow dozens of possibilities into eight focused pursuits, most centered on reaching students who don’t yet know the value they offer. By the end, teams left with confidence, language, and a method to investigate—not just admire—the problems, and a clear next step: meet students where they are, learn from them, and shape what comes next.
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Turning shared challenges into focused action
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How 40+ people at USC’s Career Center turned a retreat into a launchpad for student-centered problem solving. Why it matters: A few hours together can do more than tick boxes—it can surface unspoken challenges, reveal shared instincts, and turn a retreat into a working lab for problem-solving. At South Carolina, the right prompts, data, and pacing helped the Career Center team move from insight to action fast. A gallery walk grounded ideas in evidence before we used the Game of 35 to narrow dozens of possibilities into eight focused pursuits, most centered on reaching students who don’t yet know the value they offer. By the end, teams left with confidence, language, and a method to investigate—not just admire—the problems, and a clear next step: meet students where they are, learn from them, and shape what comes next.