College of Education & Human Sciences

Pronouns: She/Her

How did you gain experience when you were a student? 
Through successes, failures, moments of accountability and tough choices, undergraduate research, work study jobs, job shadowing and informational interviewing, interning, joining student organizations, being on Orientation Leader, and exploring my academic interest areas. After dropping out of the honors program and finally admitting to myself that a C+ in biology meant I needed to reevaluate my career goals, my advisor recommended a pre-health exploration course. An assignment had us doing multiple job shadows and informational interviews. These were such informative experiences for me, I now recommend it to all students. My work study positions allowed for networking with campus faculty and staff. Joining UCARE was an opportunity to build relationships with faculty, peers and helped push me in an unexpected graduate school direction. Being selected as an orientation leader even ended up being a catalyst for my career path. At the time, I was on my fifth major, paying out of state tuition, and feeling lost. Having a campus leadership position, like being an OL, made me feel a deeper sense of purpose and belonging here, which lead to more motivation and success academically.

How did you become a career development professional?
There’s a career theory called “Planned Happenstance” from John Krumboltz at Stanford University. It focuses less on having specific plans for your future and more about finding opportunities in unplanned events. Actively embracing the up-and-down nature of career development. I had some moments of breakdown near the end of my masters in college student development (breakthroughs as Brene Brown would so lovingly call them). An overwhelming national job search left me exhausted and unsatisfied. Location was my value, but I was misinterpreting it. I moved back to Minnesota to reconnect with my family instead. Through network connections, I was able to supplement my roles in the hospitality industry with a position as a Professor of Leadership Development at the University of Minnesota. After 4 years of hearing over 300 students’ development journeys, I saw a need for assistance in navigating their next steps after college, beyond solely focusing on how the experiences of their past molded who they are now. COVID disrupting both of my fields of work pushed me into making a career move. A friend suggested I move back to Lincoln, and I decided to search for my next position here at UNL. Having my search criteria be UNL and a position in alignment with my values opened my job search to a variety of positions. Career coaching was a perfect fit to build on my current qualifications and where I saw a need in the world moving forward. You could say it was an opportunity in an unplanned event…

Who is someone who impacted your career development?
Dr. Helen Fagan inspired my exploration of leadership development. Celeste Spier helped me graduate in 4 years and find a major I truly enjoyed (the 6^th major was the charm!). Pat McBride and UNL Orientation taught me about purpose and belonging and owning my story. Dr. Tracy Davis provided support and reassurance at times when I was on my own timeline and opened my mind to areas not previously explored. David Hellstrom showed me how to be a compassionate, authentic, hopeful teacher (and human). My mother never let up on lecturing me about health insurance. AND it may sound self-centered, but I made a huge impact on my own career development through actively making time for self-reflection, exploration, joy, and understanding of my strengths/values/needs/interests.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers 

How did you gain experience when you were a student?  

I gained much of my early career experience by trying a lot of different part-time jobs and volunteer opportunities. I worked in food service, retail, clerked in a law firm, and I held several positions in my sorority and the Panhellenic community on campus. Then more specifically as an undergrad, I sort of stumbled into assisting my professors with their research projects and presentations at conferences. I realized then that I didn’t enjoy conducting research, but I loved working with and helping people in real time. This led me to pursue a graduate degree in therapy. In my assistantships as research and teaching assistants to my off-site placements in a domestic violence shelter/non-profit agency and even working with some extension projects, I was able to work with a wide variety of populations and in many different settings in my graduate program. Looking back, these very different experiences really helped me decide what I wanted to do in my career and has led me where I am today.

How did you become a career development professional? 

Going into college I had a few ideas of what I might like to do as a career, but I decided to go in as undecided because I wanted to see all my options. I had a few credits to fill so my advisor recommended I take the popular Human Development and Family Sciences class called ‘Intimate relationships’, and I was sold! As I continued through my course work, I was able to take classes and find experiential work where I was able to engage with different populations. I found how much I enjoyed working with young and emerging adults who are looking to better themselves and cultivate bright futures for themselves. This led me to go to graduate school for Marriage and Family Therapy, where even more doors to new populations and experiences were bust wide open for me.  I was then able to work with at-risk youth and their families at a non-profit in Tulsa, OK for several years. But if COVID has taught us anything, life has twists, turns and we often end up in different places than we anticipated. I am lucky to be able to put all my experiences and skills together now to meet with CEHS students to help them on their own adventures!

Who is someone who impacted your career development? 

I have been very fortunate to have a great support system personally and professionally. As a student, I was lucky to have had several faculty members, in both my undergraduate and graduate courses, that challenged me, encouraged me and supported me to continue exploring my interests further in school and to find my right career path. Additionally, my family has been my biggest supporters throughout my career development, specifically my dad. He has been a recruiter for as long as I can remember and always has the best advice and knowledge when it comes to all aspects of careers. From reading my statement of purpose, cover letters and resume’s to helping pump me up before/after interviews, networking tips to even listening to me vent or cry about all my assignments or struggles adjusting to new workloads or caseloads, my dad has really shaped me into the professional I am today. Without the love and support from all these people and so many more, I’m not sure where I would be today, and I am eternally grateful to them.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

How did you gain experience as a college student?

I spent my undergraduate career in Washington, D.C. where most of my experience came from finding opportunities within the city and metro-area. I volunteered for organizations and had internships that connected me to people and places across the city.

How did you become a career professional?

After graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice I spent four years working in many different industries including teaching, business, and big companies. This allowed me to try out different industries and find out what I truly valued and desired in a career path. This led me to pursue a Masters in Educational Administration. I enjoy working with students one on one and sharing my own experiences with them in an effort to guide their own path.

Who is someone that impacted your career development?

I did speak with multiple Career Coaches as an undergraduate student, and they helped me fine-tune my experiences and explore paths. However, I think the most influential piece was the jobs and opportunities I had post-undergrad. I had supervisors I really enjoyed and supervisors who did not support me. I had jobs I really enjoyed and others that left me unsatisfied. These all led to my own exploration of what I valued and required from a career.