From Career Development Coordinator to Director

Written by Hannah Fischer, Student Assistant for Employer Engagement | Interview conducted by Olivia Harris, Student Assistant for Student Outreach

In this article we would like to specifically highlight and recognize Hannah Su Hepler for her promotion to Director of Chatham’s Career Development Office! Keep reading to find out more about the promotion and Hannah’s experience working with the office thus far. The interview responses have been edited for clarity and concision.

What inspired you to pursue a career in career development and how have your previous roles at Chatham prepared you for this exciting new experience?

Whenever I was pursuing a career originally career development was not something that was in my scope at the time. My background is in counseling because I have a Master of Arts in College Counseling from Slippery Rock University. I was looking for jobs in a clinical or mental health role at a college campus, but then I started to pivot with my career choices and expanded my job search shortly after I graduated from grad school.

I saw the open Coordinator for Career Development position at Chatham and it piqued my interest. Career development does have mental health aspects involved with it. I really like that it is intentionally named career development versus career services because I like the focus on the developmental side. I feel like career development aligns with my two main career desires of wanting to do something within mental health, and also still being within the higher education field.

My previous roles at Chatham as the Associate Director and the Coordinator has really helped me be able to have a firm understanding of the nuances about the career development office itself, the campus culture, and the student body since I have a lot of interactions with them doing career consultations. As changes happened and some staff left the office my roles expanded to meet student needs and I sought out a title to match the work I was doing, landing in the role of Director. I feel like combining all of those together have prepared me to think holistically with how I want to continue to better and what I want to bring for the office moving forward.

On that sort of same note, can you tell me about your journey within Chatham that led to this role?

Whenever I originally got hired on as the Coordinator, it was a new role intended to help organize and support the three other professional staff members and oversee student employees. So I did a lot of everything. I got exposure to the Internship Program, got exposure to how to best interact with employers from the former Associate Director of Employer Relations, Dr. Lesli Somerset Talley, and then also began taking student appointments. I also took an interest in doing more with the student employees, like supervision.

I talked about my interests in doing more with student employees with Kate Sheridan, the former Director of Career Development, and that's how I got more involved in shaping what the Student Assistant role looked like within the office and implementing a more structured supervision. Being a Coordinator allowed me to learn a lot of a different aspects of the office.

Whenever I got promoted to the Associate Director of Student Support and Programming, that moved me away from the more generalist tasks and doing more specialized work. In that role I was working with other departments on campus more closely, seeing how we could collaborate with all things under career development, and also took more ownership of student employee processes.

As Director of Career Development, what are your main objectives and goals for the department?

The one goal I want to prioritize moving into the next academic year is being able to put out a consistent message of what career development does. I think there sometimes is that misunderstanding about career development equaling career services. What I mean by that is, I think sometimes career development is still seen under the scope of being a placement center or a temp agency. Those are really great resources that are out in the community, but they are not reflective of what our office can do or provide for the students.

I want to make sure that not only students, but also our other campus partners understand what really we do. Then whenever someone talks about career development, it can be a consistent message all around. It can also help others understand that career development goes deeper than just resume and cover letter reviews. I also want to espouse that career is not a linear path or career is not a linear idea. There's so many other things that fall under the umbrella of career development that our office can offer.

I feel like this is on the same direction. What do you see as the biggest challenge a student can face in their career and how do you plan to address these challenges?

The biggest challenges I have noticed from doing career consultations with students are hesitance and self confidence. The students I have interacted with are incredibly talented. They have such a strong drive and interest in their fields. It's sometimes a struggle to be able to tell your story in a professional manner or concisely capture your achievements and abilities whenever you're talking to employers or doing some networking.

I feel like I address some of those in my one on one appointments with students by having a goal setting appointment while also building in self confidence naturally. At a bigger viewpoint of how to plan to address that is being more intentional with events such as workshops, presentations, or other events students are really looking for that can continue to increase self confidence.

In what ways do you tend to foster a culture of lifelong learning and professional development among our students?

Instead of just one big way to foster lifelong learning I like espouse those ideas many different small ways. For example, within one on one appointments with students, starting to plant the idea or working to expand their thinking from“I have this degree and I wanna go for this job.” Throughout different interactions and events with students, it’s important to expand a student’s scope of career. Having them understand that just because they want to go on to do something really specific does not mean they can't find fulfillment in more varied fields.

I also feel like fostering a culture of lifelong learning and professional development comes with having a further understanding and pulling in a Life Design framework. That framework is what the office grounds itself in. If you don't feel personally fulfilled by your job, it doesn't mean you're incapable of performing it well. Instead of drawing all your passion from one place, ask yourself: What are the things that excite me outside of paid employment? How can I invest time, energy and attention in cultivating passion in that space?

Having a career is just one aspect of what you're gonna be doing lifelong. Being able to make sure to balance and create boundaries at work is important not only for your professional identity but your identity as a growing person.

What excites you most about leading the career development efforts at Chatham and what impact do you hope to make in the long term?

The thing I am most excited about is being able to see the transformation and growth from students that I've had meetings with. One of my other favorite things is when students reach back out to me and tell me that they're doing really impactful things within their career. Other times they may reach out mentioning how much they appreciated me taking the time to do a mock interview with them, they feel more confident in what they're saying to their employers, and have the tools to present themselves in the best kind of light. This kind of wonderful feedback keeps me driven in the work I do, and it's really exciting to have the privilege to be able to watch a student be able to reach their goals.

I feel very honored to receive updates like “I got into my top choice of graduate school” or “I got this scholarship that I really wanted, and it's really thanks to you”, and it's thanks to the students or alumni putting in the hard work themselves. The impact I hope to make long term is helping students realize that career can be many things and is not just two options. It’s very important to me that students know they have a sense of choice and control in what they can do.

Do you have any other thoughts regarding your recent promotion that you would like to add?

Shout out to Jeff Bukowski for supporting me. He's my supervisor and I’m thankful that he acknowledged my leadership and ability to step into this role and shout out to my Student Assistant team. They are definitely the backbone to this office and truly the people that drive me to continue to be the best that I can be.