The Blog

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Ninoska Peterson

The Gator Career Consultant Q&A Series aims to create a diverse collection of career experiences through highlighting University of Florida (UF) alumni. Ninoska Peterson graduated from UF with a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. She is a health psychologist in the Department of General Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In her role, she evaluates patients seeking bariatric surgery, prepares them before surgery, and sees them after if they have adjustment issues. The UF Career Connections Center spoke with Peterson on her experiences at the university and her career journey as a clinical psychologist.[/cs_text][cs_text]Can you share your experiences with involvement at UF? During my time as an undergraduate, I was involved in a couple of different research labs for the Department of Psychology and in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I also worked in a research lab in the College of Health and Human Performance, and that was more of an exercise psychology lab. Hence, my transition from psychology to exercise. It was actually fun. I also did some volunteer work with Shands Hospital. I remember it was playing with kids in the waiting room,probably for pediatrics. And then, when I started my Ph.D., we actually worked with a lot of undergraduate students in our lab. At that time, I was a peer mentor. In my master's, we also got to teach different sport and exercise classes for undergrads. What did you learn about yourself from those experiences? I liked the interaction with people, whether it is patients that we were working with or in the context of teaching, research or mentoring. I wasn't the person that just wanted to sit in front of the computer and do data entry and write. That was a piece that I enjoyed, but I actually liked the interactions. How did you learn about the different opportunities? In our undergraduate classes in psychology, it was something that was mentioned. Also, I think that was a part of the UF career center where you could also look up the different opportunities that you can do, whether it was work-study or an opportunity to volunteer to get the kind of experience under your belt that you don't just get from sitting in a class and reading a book. How did you develop professionally from those experiences? The networking piece is something I really liked. It gave me a chance to meet graduate students when I was an undergrad working in the lab. It was reaching out to people that happened to take me under their wing and talked to me about, "Hey, here are some other opportunities that maybe you haven't heard about." Especially in psychology, people don't even know all the different things you can do. I didn't really know about health psychology and all the different aspects of that. Working in different labs helped me learn about that. I worked in the exercise science lab in Health and Human Performance, which I ended up doing my master's in. I didn't even know that was a thing. It was just meeting different people and then being able to go to conferences and present posters to meet more people and get different opportunities with that. Is there something that you know now about your career path that you wish you knew while you were a student? It's not a straight line. I think we always come in with our goals. Thinking, “This is what I want to accomplish.” People kind of tell you that. I finished my undergraduate degree in four years, and when I started, I thought I was going to go to medical school, and that didn't happen. I always stuck with psychology, but I did veer off into exercise science, and I'm kind of going back to psychology. But everything I've done really helped me with my career today. So I can look back and say it wasn't necessarily a waste of time, even though it wasn't straight line doing a bachelor's, doing a master's, and doing a Ph.D. It kind of went off a little bit, and it came back to where it was supposed to be. What is one thing that you have accomplished in your career that you're really proud of? I'm doing what I set out to do. I'm working at the number two hospital in the nation, which is amazing. I never thought I would see myself in Ohio. I'm from South Florida, and I lived in Gainesville for a really long time with all my degrees. I moved to Virginia, and now, all of a sudden I'm in Ohio. Never say never, and stay open. What are two things that you would tell current students to do now to prepare for their future careers? Reach out, ask questions and talk to people. I met with professors. I talked to graduate students and people who were in the field. So ask questions, and be curious. And again, be open to new experiences. It may just teach you what you don't want to do, which I think is just as important as learning what you want to do and what you enjoy. Want to share your experience with other Gators? The Career Connections Center is recruiting Gator Career Consultants.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

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Patrick O'Keefe

The Gator Career Consultant Q&A Series aims to create a diverse collection of career experiences through highlighting University of Florida (UF) alumni. Patrick O’Keefe graduated from UF in 2014 with a master’s degree in mass communication and is currently an adjunct lecturer for the political communications master’s degree program at UF. He is currently the director of customer success at Anedot, a financial technology company that helps nonprofit organizations collect donations. O’Keefe is responsible for managing the Success team to help Anedot customers get the most out of their efforts to drive fundraising and engagement. The UF Career Connections Center spoke with O’Keefe on his experiences at the university and his career journey as a director of customer success.[/cs_text][x_image type="none" src="https://career.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Patrick-OKeefe-Headshot.jpg" alt="Patrick O'Keefe Headshot" link="false" href="#" title="" target="" info="none" info_place="top" info_trigger="hover" info_content=""][cs_text]How did you balance your full-time job and your time as a graduate student? It varied depending on the semester. I think when you first get started, it's very challenging. The university provided a lot of resources, and I was able to come through it. And then after that, I felt really good about it. Towards the end, it became a struggle again, but that was mostly because I was working a lot. If you have a 9-to-5 workday I think it works pretty well. If you're working 80 hours a week, then it becomes a little more challenging. I did a lot of coursework on the weekends and in the evenings. I think it was a huge leg up to be able to do that because if I had to take time off and not be able to have that full-time working experience, it would've hurt my career. It would have also hurt in terms of income. I was able to not take out as many loans because I was working full time, and I was able to pay off a lot of the degree. It was really huge for me being able to do the degree the way the university positioned it because I have firsthand knowledge from the person who hired me that I got a promotion because I was doing the degree. I got to move from sales into more of a consulting role because of that. It was a huge jump for my career both in terms of advancement and in terms of salary. What were you involved in as a student? I did my undergraduate at Florida International University, and I was very involved. I was in Student Government, I was Student Body President when I was there and I was involved in a fraternity. I always encourage everybody to get involved because I think that was a huge learning experience for me, just in terms of maturity and meeting people. A lot of the people I'm still friends with to this day. There's a lot of advantages to that. Now I'm in Daytona, I think the cool thing about UF was that I felt a strong connection despite being online and not being on campus. Beach and I'm looking at the local Gator club here, which I really didn't know a lot about until recently when other alumni mentioned it. It's been helpful to be able to connect in that way. What advice do you have to students who are not on campus and might have to build connections virtually? The key is to take advantage of the resources you have and really put yourself out there. There are usually Facebook groups for the colleges and there are alumni groups local to your area. Take advantage of all those big names on LinkedIn. If you do meet an alum, see who their second connections are. See who went to UF and lives in the area and reach out to them. I think a lot of what you need to do is make yourself valuable in a lot of ways. If you reach out to somebody and say, "Hey, I really respect you. I'd love to get to know you because I like the path you've taken. Is there an opportunity to volunteer with you, or is there somebody else I should meet?" Most people are not going to say no. Most people are at least going to have the courtesy to say, "Hey, I'll take a call. Hey, I'll meet with you. Hey, talk to this person." When I think of networking, I think of, "How am I going to reach out to people that I respect? How can I get them to help me? How can I be useful to them potentially?" I think most people think that it needs to be like a formal internship, which can be really hard with COVID, where a lot of companies don't have these formal paid internships. But if you reach out to them and say, "Hey, can I volunteer with you five hours a week?" I think most people would be fine with that and let you shadow them. Did you always know you wanted to hold the job you have at the moment? Not exactly. It's kind of been a meandering path. I always had an interest in politics. I really thought I wanted to work on Capitol Hill, and then I went to D.C., did an internship on Capitol Hill, and really didn't like it. I went into business and found I actually didn't love sales, but I was fairly good at it. Then I moved into marketing. I did digital marketing a lot. I sort of used my interest in politics and my interest in digital marketing and brought them together. I definitely didn't always know. I tried a bunch of things out. I found a couple of things I liked, and then I found the cross-section between a couple of the things I liked. What are two things that you would tell students to do now to prepare for their future? It's all networking. When you're in college, get involved, whether that be in student government, a fraternity, a sorority or a club. Whatever that is you're passionate about. Also, connect to your professors. I found some of my professors had amazing networks. Especially in the political field. Even though they may not have done it, they had friends who were consultants or people that connected with them, and they did things on an academic level. They worked with the people who were doing on the practice level when they were writing the report. I think building those connections and really exposing yourself to a bunch of different types of opportunities is really important. Talk to people who are more senior level, who have the jobs that you think you want one day. Talk to them about their paths because everyone has a different path, but they can give you some good steps. I think the other piece of advice I would give is don't lose hope. A lot of people come out of college, and they can't get an entry-level job in the field they want. They think they are not cut out for this. Go get the job you can get and go spend five or 10 hours a week volunteering with the company or organization that you're really interested in. If you don't have the experience now, look at the job description and say, "What do I need to do to get that experience?" Even if it's not paid. With today's technology, you can go and Google anything and learn how to do nearly everything. Use LinkedIn and use Google to their full potential because if you hustle, you really can make it in any field. Want to share your experience with other Gators? The Career Connections Center is recruiting Gator Career Consultants.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

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Elena Pastore

The Gator Career Consultant Q&A Series aims to create a diverse collection of career experiences through highlighting University of Florida (UF) alumni. Elena Pastore graduated from UF in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in international business. In addition to being a freelance consultant, she runs her own career coaching business that helps develop and train college student leaders, especially in Greek-letter organizations, to enhance their leadership skills. Pastore’s programming includes career coaching and consulting services for people of all ages, industries, and experience levels and enables clients to be impactful and influential in their roles. The UF Career Connections Center spoke with Pastore about her experiences at the university and her journey as a leadership and career coach.[/cs_text][x_image type="none" src="https://career.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Elena-Pastore-Headshot-scaled.jpg" alt="Elena Pastore Headshot" link="false" href="#" title="" target="" info="none" info_place="top" info_trigger="hover" info_content=""][cs_text]Can you share your experience with involvement in UF? My involvement pretty much spanned Greek life and business school. Those were the two major groups that I was involved in. I really loved being a business major. We gained a lot of great insights in class, but then the learning really comes with the application of the principles and the things that you learn. There was one specific program that I was involved in for my whole duration of college, which was called the Leadership Development Program. I was a mentee my freshman year, then I became a mentor and then I had a few director roles. Eventually, I became president for my senior year. One of the things that really meant the most to me in pouring my time into that organization was creating the optimal experience for the mentees—making sure that they were getting a lot out of their participation, engaging with the group and the other mentors and mentees, and setting up the organization with a strong culture where everyone feels comfortable sharing, participating and feeling that sense of value and belonging within the organization. How did you come to create your own company? I had those leadership positions in college, and I've always liked helping develop other people. I’ve always loved teaching them how to be successful for the job and internship search and how to be a good leader when they embark on that next step. I wanted to find a job as a leadership coach or some type of people development coach where, regardless of whether it was a career- or leadership-related, I would be able to help them develop their interpersonal skills. That's what I wanted to do, but I couldn't find a company that hires a fresh graduate for that. I said, "I'm confident that I can get my own business if I start a company doing this, and I think there's an opportunity that I can take advantage of." I had the vision to start my company doing leadership coaching for students in Greek life organizations by training, coaching, and working with the executive boards. I had that specific idea because that's a group that I know. I had similar leadership positions, so I can relate to them. I've learned a lot from my business experience to where I feel like I can help them be really effective leaders and sort of walk them through things that I learned to prevent from making mistakes and being any less effective than they potentially could be. I'm very qualified to do that. It's just that there's no company that already does that. I really feel like there's always a way to do something you love, and you don't have to feel like, "I can't do something I love now. I have to wait five years." I would have probably enjoyed a lot of other jobs out there, but I didn't want to wait to do what I love because someone couldn't hire me to do it when I could hire myself to do it. What is one thing that you would tell students to do now to prepare for their future? Even when you don't know what you're going to be doing in a few years, you're always selling yourself. You don't know who might be able to hire you for a job or what person might be able to introduce you to someone that can hire you for a job. You don't have to have the end in mind, and you don't have to have the outcome picked out today, but you need to be meeting people, making connections, and treating everyone kindly. You need to be putting yourself out there, learning from people and learning about different things and different topics. All of those things can be connected in some way down the road that will make a transformational impact on your life and what you're trying to do. A lot of times, that's very hard for students to understand because it's very intangible. It's very hard to see or to picture how an ambiguous or seemingly insignificant situation could help me or how it could help you. Many connections I've made over the last few years have already paid off in the most unpredictable ways, and I'm still not even that far out of college. I think students really underestimate the power of networking and building those connections early on because it really does serve you well when you put the effort in. Want to share your experience with other Gators? The Career Connections Center is recruiting Gator Career Consultants.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

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Victoria Steele

The Gator Career Consultant Q&A Series aims to create a diverse collection of career experiences through highlighting University of Florida (UF) alumni. Victoria Steele graduated from UF in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She is currently a principal software engineer at General Electric Appliances, where she develops firmware for induction cooking and motor control inverters. Steele also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. The UF Career Connections Center spoke with Steele on her experiences at the university and her career journey as an electrical engineer.[/cs_text][cs_text]Did you ever use the C3 or attend Career Showcase during your time at UF? I went to the career resource center quite a bit. I used their resume and interview prep services and went to almost every career fair starting my freshman year. I obtained my job with GE Appliances by attending a career fair. How did you feel about attending Career Showcase your first year? My freshman year, I went right in the fall semester when I got there, and I kind of wandered around like a deer in the headlights. It was really overwhelming, but then, by my last semester, it was honestly really fun and invigorating. When I was actually seriously looking for a job, I already had some co-op experience because of the CRC, which was really cool. By then it was really fun talking to recruiters, getting dressed up, and having your resume game plan ready. It was awesome. Did you get your co-op through Career Showcase? I actually did seven internships. I started out in the Department of Transportation for Lee County, which I got through a connection through my high school. Based on this experience, I decided that civil engineering was not for me, and I switched to electrical engineering. I interviewed with GE appliances through the CRC my sophomore year. I joined GE Appliances full-time in 2013, so my job now is definitely because of Career Showcase. Can you share the skills you developed through your involvement in student organizations? I was involved with SWE (Society of Women Engineers) primarily and a little bit with Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering (WECE). For SWE, I actually chaired one of their organizational events for incoming freshmen. The event is called eSwamp. When all the incoming freshmen engineering girls came in over the summer, we would organize a day down at Lake Wauburg where they would do canoe races and all sorts of other icebreaker activities. Honestly, I think that experience has made me really interested in bringing more women into STEM, which is one of my personal goals. It also helped me understand how to interact with new people that are coming into our organization, how they might be nervous or uncomfortable, or what their fears are. It was really a great opportunity to just be involved with an upcoming generation of new engineers. What advice do you give to women in STEM? I absolutely love my job. I love my career. There are so many opportunities for you as an individual to grow. I think being in a STEM field really means being independent and courageous, and it's really empowering to be a woman in this field. Do you ever suffer from imposter syndrome? I work in a field called power electronics, which is part research and development and part product development. When I'm in the office, I sit between two PhDs guys that have over 20 years of experience. One of them has been writing code since I was born. Every day, I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth, but I think what's important to remember is that I have skills that they don't. I bring something to the team that they can't bring. I am the only woman on the team. I've been the only woman on the team for five years now. That in itself is a position of power. Is there anything that you know right now about your career path that you wish you knew while you were in UF? I think one of the things that I really wish I hadn't focused so much on when I was a student is being absolutely perfect and knowing the right answer all the time. I absolutely had to have a perfect grade. When you go to the workplace, you realize that you are not going to know the answer all the time, but you were equipped to find the answer, and it is okay to make a mistake. What career accomplishments are you proudest of? When I joined the group that I am on, it was really kind of a disparate group of individuals. Everyone worked in their own silo. Everyone wrote code in their own silo. Nobody really communicated. Since I have joined the team, one of the things that I have worked really hard to do is to make us more cohesive and interactive. From a software development perspective, to bring up the current coding standards and make sure that we're really operating as a unit instead of 10 different individuals. I personally feel that I have worked and contributed to making that happen. And I'm proud of that. Is there anything else you would like to share? Be bold. If you're thinking about going to the Career Showcase, do it. The earlier you get out there and start exploring options, the earlier you figure out the right path for you. Interning, co-oping and working part-time are all really important experiences to help you develop as a professional. Those experiences make sure that not only are you finding a job, but you're finding your calling. Want to share your experience with other Gators? The Career Connections Center is recruiting Gator Career Consultants. [/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

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Ryan Chase

The Gator Career Consultant Q&A Series aims to create a diverse collection of career experiences through highlighting University of Florida (UF) alumni. Ryan Chase graduated from UF in 2007 with a master’s degree in education. He is currently a middle school principal with Sarasota County Schools and has been in education for 14 years. The UF Career Connections Center spoke with Chase about his experiences at the university and his career journey in education. [/cs_text][x_image type="none" src="https://career.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ryan-Chase-1.jpg" alt="Ryan Chase's headshot" link="false" href="#" title="" target="" info="none" info_place="top" info_trigger="hover" info_content=""][cs_text]While you were at UF, did you ever utilize the career center? I did. Back then, they had some resume workshops, and I did some work with them. Then, through the UF education department, they would do career fairs in collaboration with the university’s career center; it’s actually how I got my first teaching job! As an administrator in my county, I have participated in UF career fairs to represent Sarasota County and try to hire Gators. I found it to be a great resource. I've hired probably a hundred people over the last 10 years, and workshops like these can help recruit some of the best talent coming out of college programs. Can you share your experiences with involvement at UF? I worked at the front desk of the Reitz Union Hotel, which was a fun experience. What's funny is when I got there, I didn't even know there was a hotel. I ended up interviewing because I met somebody in a class who worked there, and I got an interview, and it was just important to stay connected. I thought it was nice to work on campus because I got a good feel for what was going on. That was when we won a bunch of basketball and football championships, so I got to meet a bunch of the guys that would walk by. It was kind of fun. Then, when I was in graduate school, I ended up playing some intramural sports, and I thought that was such a good way to connect with people, too. We played softball and kickball, and I found that to be a nice way to stay connected to the campus because we were all so busy and we were also tired and stressed, but we would go out, we'd have fun and we’d connect in a different way. I find that that's like how we do business at the school I work at. As a principal, I connect with not only teachers and students in my building, but also when I see them outside of work, or I go to a student's basketball game. It's like that extra connection is what really drives home that relationship. That's really been an important part of how we can stay successful as educators, too. Did you have experience with job shadowing or practicum opportunities? As part of my degree, I had to teach in multiple locations. I did a practicum teaching experience at Kanapaha Middle School. I taught social studies there. That was a great experience. Then I did my internship teaching at Buchholz High School. Luckily, I got to go around to a bunch of different schools in the area and participate in those experiences. Those are the experiences that I remember because going into a classroom the very first time as a teacher, you draw on those experiences, and you remember what you've done. Having an internship or practicum experience provided me the confidence to say, "I know how to do this" or "I know who to ask when I am struggling." The group of people I taught with in those experiences was amazing. I still have relationships with a lot of them and I still talk to some of the professors and email with them. There are resources that are on my bookshelf from when I was a student 15 years ago, and I still look at them every year when I start the school year or am seeking assistance.[/cs_text][cs_text]What did you learn about yourself from those experiences? I'm a first-generation college student, and literally, no one in my family had ever been to college. No one had even thought about it and some members of my family barely graduated from high school. My dad got his GED, and my mom graduated with my brother in attendance. It wasn't a given. My brother finished high school but went to the Navy. When I graduated from high school, I knew I would go to college, but I didn't really know where to go, so I did two years at home, and then I transferred to UF. I felt like I was taking a chance. I was investing in myself for the first time. I was moving away from home for the very first time, and I was experiencing new things that I never knew. I think what I learned about myself through that is that I was far better than I ever gave myself credit for. I was far smarter than I would have given myself credit for. I had more skills than I would have believed in myself. I had the ability to be more confident. A kid like me who grew up in a small town in Connecticut, who came from almost nothing, moved to South Florida, knew no one, and went on to graduate with two degrees from UF, a third degree from another university, and is a principal by age 35. It's something that I'm very proud of. Just last week, I was elected the president of the Sarasota County Gator Club, the alumni association here in my area. Now I get to give back, and I get to be a part of this university that did so much for me and that really opened a lot of doors. Everything opened when I started believing in myself, and those experiences did a lot for me. What are two things you would tell current students to do now to prepare for their future careers? Get involved. Find something you're passionate about and find a way to get involved in it. Whether that's working with student government, starting an organization, working on campus, or volunteering. This has been vitally important throughout my career. I worked three years as an assistant principal at the high school level, and kids who were involved in the high school were so much more successful. What I find to be really kind of powerful is to find people that you can connect with on some level; it doesn't have to be academic. You could just start a bowling club, and that's it. It's people that you're interested in. When working with students, we talk about developing four key competencies: critical thinking, communication, sense of self, and teamwork. Would you be able to give me an example of how employing one of these competencies or all has helped you in your career? I have hired quite a few people: teachers, district staff, paraprofessionals, teachers' aides, registrars, secretaries, and anybody you can think of. One day I'll get to hire an assistant principal. I would say all of these things are important to me. When I look at a resume, I feel like I can see these things. When I ask questions, I can hear these things. These are definitely areas that I'm looking for. When I ask a question, sometimes it's not what I'm asking or what you're saying; it's how you're saying it. It's how you carry your response that I think is very important to me. Teamwork is critical to what we do. It's actually so important to us that our teachers teach on teams. As a school, teamwork is so important. I can't teach all those classes. I have to rely on our team of people to get the work done. I've got a team of assistant principals. We've got a team of support staff. I've got a team of teachers. And if we're not all working through the same shared vision, which is my responsibility, then we are not going to get our job done, which is to create a safe and effective learning environment for students. And that's our responsibility. That's what we get paid for. Every single one of those things is extremely important. Without a doubt, these are things that we can see in interviews and read on resumes. They are definitely part of our decision-making and interview process. Want to share your experience with other Gators? The Career Connections Center is recruiting Gator Career Consultants.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]