Northern Michigan University Careers

I'm a regional employee based in lower Michigan. My primary responsibilities include recruiting High School Seniors and transfer students to attend Northern Michigan University. I do this by attending high schools, community colleges, regional college fairs, and other opportunities to educate students, parents, teachers, and school staff about what NMU has to offer. I help students from Pre- Application (why should I apply to NMU) through the application process, and eventually through the actual enrollment process after they've chosen to attend NMU. In order to do this effectively I need to stay tuned to what majors and academic opportunities NMU has to offer, what kinds of jobs and internships students and recent grads are obtaining, Unique opportunities such as the Brain Tumor Center, FROST, and Medicinal Plant Chemistry programs. In addition to recreational opportunities such as clubs, sports, arts such as Theatre and Music, support opportunities such as NMU Wellbeing, Tutoring services, Health services, etc. I also help to coordinate on campus recruitment events such as Wildcat Weekend, Presidential Scholars, and the Summer Counselor visit, to provide opportunities for prospective students and their families to experience NMU for themselves.

Northern and specifically my direct supervisors over the years have always been super supportive of me taking my job and making it mine. The way I do it may be different than a person with the same job title, but I've always been empowered to lean into my strengths and interests. I have a passion for helping first generation or underprivileged students and to empower students to take chances and try something new. The university community has always been supportive of shared initiatives like Wildcat Weekend, where it really does take the collaboration of faculty, staff, students, and SOOOO many behind the scenes people that are always willing to try something new and lend their expertise or their influence to help make an idea come to life. My supervisors have given me flexibility in my schedule as well, as the nature of my position is different throughout the cycle of the year. I've been encouraged to maintain a healthy work/life balance, while still providing exceptional service to prospective students and community stakeholders. I'm also fortunate to have so many wonderful colleagues across various departments at the University. I only get to campus 4-6 times per year, but I always look forward to catching up with my colleagues and seeing what's new on campus.

I always encourage newcomers to ask questions! You're new to the role, company, team, culture, give yourself grace for not knowing the answers right away! Get involved with committees, organizations, extra opportunities that interest you and allow yourself time to really understand the job, the importance of the work, and don't be afraid to get to know your co-workers!! When in doubt track down a student and ask them why they decided to attend NMU. That always helps me to recenter, the students are at the core of what we do!

As a very active member of a professional association, my colleague Nichole and I often volunteered to help with events, recruitment, activity, and otherwise support the goals of the organization. At the time the organization only had service awards for newer professionals (rising stars) and lifetime achievement (typically going to retirees). In order to recognize Nichole and I for the work that we did they created a Mid-Level award called ACE award and honored us at an annual conference. They even bought us personalized statues as symbol of the award. All awardees since get a standard plaque, while Nichole and I have unique personalized statues! During covid we all had to get creative about the way we do our work and how to continue to connect with prospective students with limited interpersonal interactions. As a member of the Admissions events committee we hosted several virtual programs and events to connect with students and were awarded a Distinguished Team Award for our creativity and ingenuity.