FA 25-Present
Career Consultant
In Fall 2025, I transitioned from a career advisor role to a consulting role to prioritize focusing on my PhD Career/Professional Development Dissertation research. In the consulting role, I focus less on student advising and more on administrative tasks, while still supporting the office and its mission. While I was unable to commit as much time to advising as previously, I am still extremely passionate about graduate student career development and feel it si important to retain my legitimacy and association with the office while engaging in research around this topic.
Tasks
In Fall 2025, I...
designed training materials and provided onboarding sessions for the office's new Master's and PhD career advisors
periodically answered new advisor questions and forwarded student queries to new advisors
maintained the office's LinkedIn Page, sharing relevant articles, promoting events, and providing transparency around our hiring process. I grew our office's page to 400 followers
provided a graduate career lens when engaging with the School of Education Alumni Board, building partnerships between alumni and MSU Career Services Network. Participated in mock interview sessions as the MSU College of Education Alumni Board Graduate Student Representative for the Arts and Letters Career Prep Strategies course
put in more work hours for the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) in various committee tasks (see GCC section, below, for more details)
FA 23-SU 25
Graduate Career Advisor
For two years, I was the PhD Career Advisor for MSU's Office of Graduate Career Development. In this role, I got to explore my passion for student support by helping graduate students on every step of their career search. I hosted one-on-one advising sessions with students focused on career exploration, job search fundamentals, resume reviews, CV reviews, Federal resume reviews, cover letter writing and editing, mock interviews, academic cover letters, DEI statements, research statements, teaching statements, networking essentials, LinkedIn, portfolios, personal websites, and more. I also organized and delivered workshops, class sessions, and training sessions focused on career essentials. I supported the Director of the Office of Graduate Career Development in running various programs, including STEM- and International-Student-specific programming. I also had the opportunity to lead numerous initiatives and participate in numerous collaborative programs between offices.
Tasks
In Summer 2025, I...
supported the Women of Color and Allies monthly workshop series as the sole career expert. Informed by women of color feminism, provided general and graduate-specific career support and responsive to student concerns and career needs
served as the sole grad career advisor, supporting students' summer career needs
translated our general advising content into videos for students to access to expand reach and allow for more tailored one-on-one advising sessions
designed academic research around graduate career support
attended the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) conference in Minneapolis and expanded my network of graduate and postdoc career advisors
Participated in two hiring committees for Graduate Assistants (PhD Career Advisor and Master's Career Advisor)
Grew our LinkedIn Page following to over 350 followers
In AY24/25, I..
built new collaborations with offices of student service, including the Writing Center
explored ways to incorporate AI into the career search and office administration
created an office blog to capture and share qualitative data about our office's impact
improved my practice by attending various information session/workshops and joining professional associations such as the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC)
obtained my Certified Curricula Vitae Writer (CV) certification through the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
continued collaborating with the Women of Color and Allies Initiative to plan for upcoming workshops. As a team won an Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award (https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2025/excellence-in-diversity-equity-inclusion-awards-ceremony)
joined the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) as a Trainee Member and supported the Midwest Regional Director in designing and running Midwest Regional meetings
participated in a 3-person hiring committee for the Career Services Network (CSN) to hire a full-time All-Major Career Advisor
participated in mock interview sessions as the MSU College of Education Alumni Board Graduate Student Representative for the Arts and Letters Career Prep Strategies course
supported the development of an Ice Cream Flavor to celebrate Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week, partnering with the dairy store to brainstorm ideas, narrow down flavors, and sign off on design. The Ice Cream flavor, Grad School Grind, was debuted at the MSU Dairy Store in April 2025
In Summer 2024, I...
helped design, run, document, and assess the MSU Global Talent Accelerator (GTA) program in collaboration between MSU Office of Graduate Career Development, MSU OISS, and Global Detroit. This program was a competitive 4-session initiative serving international STEM students interested in working in industry in Michigan after graduation. We hosted sessions on Networking, U.S. business etiquette, immigration, and document involving guest speakers, activities, and a field trip to LinkedIn
supported the Women of Color and Allies monthly workshop series, introducing a recognizable face for graduate student women of color to seek graduate-specific career support and providing a graduate-specific career outlook to supplement the Career Service Network presentations. Balanced my role as a resource but also as an outsider to the identity group by uplifting the women of color as the primary speakers/sources of information for the sessions
supported the design and running of student-led PILOT speaker and workshop 8-session series, focused on collaborative career support with MDARD (Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development). Held periodic check-ins with student intern to support pre-series conceptualization and establishment of through-lines, advised on workshop and activity preparation, and presented on the Office of Graduate Career Development resources during workshop sessions
Participated in two hiring committees for Graduate Assistants at the Graduate School (Master's Career Advisor and Content Development Assistant)
supported the running and assessment of BESTxMSU Technologies workshop series, a 4-session program designed to support STEM students looking to work in technology transfer or launch Startup businesses
aided in the design and execution of professional development sessions during the 4-day Hypertension Summer School (hosted by the American Journal of Hypertension at Loyola University Chicago). Sessions focused on supporting STEM students, post-docs, and faculty in telling their professional story
served as the sole grad career advisor, supporting students' summer career needs
joined the MSU College of Education Alumni Association as a Graduate Student Representative with the goal of building my network
In AY 23/24, I...
spearheaded a graduate assistant task force to identify needs and design specialized programing to support international students, including hosting an Alumni speaker event
was invited to present my workshop "Women in the Workplace" at the STEM Women's Lunch
created and distributed a biweekly newsletter to inform MSU community about career-related events on and around campus
advocated for the creation of an office LinkedIn profile as part of our career-support and grew follower count. Posted career-relevant tips, highlighted student achievements, and reposted career-related LinkedIn content
In AY 24/25 and AY 25/26, I was part of the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC), a professional association that supports career advisors serving graduate students and postdocs. My supervisor was elected as the Midwest Regional Director, and I supported her in various programming for this role. After the 2025 GCC Annual Conference, I joined committees and sub committees in order to support the research and professional development goals of the association
Tasks
In AY 25/26, I...
will write an article for Carpe Careers, the career section of Inside Higher Education
joined the Non-Academic Career Readiness Assessment (NACRA) qualitative research committee. Developed a codebook and helped code interviews with Research and Development recruiters to support the improvement of career readiness of PhDs entering the workforce
participated in the GCC History Committee
Attended Professional Development Committee meetings as a member of various sub-committees
supported the planning and running of the Big 10 Virtual conferences, including attending meetings, recruiting participants, and supporting the day-of virtual conference needs
provided free resume reviews and career advice for federal workers who were laid off during federal employment cuts
In AY 24/25, I...
helped my supervisor run the Midwest regional meeting at the 2025 GCC Annual Conference
attended the new professionals PreConference as part of the 4-day GCC Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota
supported the ideation, design, and execution of the GCC Regional Midwest Power Hour, a series of hour-long meetings over the course of one week as a mid-year regional check-in
The Office of Graduate Career Development has both a PhD- and Master's-focused Advisor
Sparty and I both support New Graduate Student Orientation!