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QualificationsPatrick Mazzocco image

M.S.Ed., Indiana University Bloomington (USA)
B.S. (with Distinction) in Kinesiology, Indiana University Bloomington (USA)

About Patrick

I have a diverse professional background having worked as a photographer, horse wrangler, tour guide, strength and conditioning coach, corporate program coordinator, educator, and consultant among other professions. My work has taken me around the world, providing many unique experiences that have led me to a career in higher education and student development. Collectively, these wide-ranging experiences allow me to apply the information and skills I have acquired towards helping students maximize their time at university and develop their professional competencies.

Research title

Career development through career breaks

Research summary

The post-pandemic workforce is facing a multitude of challenges – both situational and existential. Heightened feelings of burnout, job insecurity, and work-life imbalance stew in the background while economic instability, international conflicts, climate crises, and the arrival of artificial intelligence further complicate these matters. Simultaneously, there is a call to action for enhancing career development initiatives that will better support learning in less formal modalities and be more accessible to larger populations. I propose a solution often referenced anecdotally, but rarely academically: career breaks. Career development literature and modern societal norms perpetuate a linear progression paradigm, seldom acknowledging or appreciating the value of career breaks. These planned intermissions from professional activity are primarily associated with life-changing circumstances such as maternity leave or prolonged illness, thereby limiting their narrative to necessity rather than strategic choice. This study challenges that narrative, proposing that career breaks, instead of being perceived as undesirable interruptions, might be integral to 21st-century career development and personal growth.

Research interests

  • Career development
  • Student outcomes
  • Enrolment and retention trends
  • Co-curricular teaching methods
  • Student academic support models
  • Student services technologies
  • Decision-making processes
  • Lifelong learning and social learning

Scholarships

University of Otago International Excellence Scholarship

Honours

Excellence in Service to Students (Indiana University Bloomington), 2019

Activities and roles

International student representative for the Graduate Research Student Liaison Committee

Creator and host of podcast Scholarly Yarns Unspun where the individual journeys of PhD pursuers unravel

Featured panelist and moderator for CALT Kōrero Episode 5: Student perspectives on the shifting landscape of education

Otago Mentor Match programme coordinator with the University of Otago Career Development Centre

Research assistant with Student Learning Development

Supervisors

Dr Russell Butson

Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith

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