A Little Recognition

Today is the last day of finals for all 3Ls.  (They make us finish a day earlier than the 1Ls so the professors can get things graded before graduation next week.)  Pretty much, it's the official end of the semester.  All that's left of our time at Vanderbilt is to walk across that stage.

As that stage gets closer, I want to take a moment for a little recognition.  You see that picture there, the one that isn't that great because I had to screen-shot crop it out of a group photo?  Yes, that one -->

That is Lisa Doster and she has been hands down the most influential person during my time at Vanderbilt.  Lisa is one of the Career Counselors in our career center.  Our career center is pretty vampire good, but Lisa is incredible.

1L year we were assigned career counselors alphabetically, and I got her.  Her specialty is government and public interest.  How perfect is that?!  (Mr. Trizzle has worked a lot with her too, for this reason.)  Despite this focus, Lisa doesn't try to shoo everyone that walks into her door into public interest or government.  What she does is encourage everyone to try everything, at least a little bit.

"Don't want to work at a firm?  Ok, but still go through OCI (on campus interviews with mostly stuffy young over-paid attorneys who probably don't want to talk to you anymore than you want to talk to them).  Do it for the interview practice.  Interview practice is always good.  Why not get it when it's so easy and right here?  Who knows, you might find a place where you click anyway."  That's the sort of thing she'd say.  "Just try it."

And she is always there to help.  Stop in, send an email, make a call, and she's there.  I can't count the times I've sent resumes, cover letters or personal statements to her for review.  She sends them back with neat edits, encouraging words and helpful comments, usually by the next day.  Even when I was in Nigeria, she would help me with applications.  When I got a phone interview with CC, she gave up her office so I could conduct the interview in a quiet place that had a back-up land-line.

That all sounds pretty kick-vampire.  But, the best part is that she doesn't just want you to find a job, she wants you to find a job you'll love.  And she works really hard to help you find it.  She takes the time to find out about you, your goals and your skills.  And she helps you find that dream job, even if the path there isn't the usual OCI/send out a gazillion applications process.  That's the part that means the most to me.

Lisa, Thank You!!!

 

[Although I said she was the most "influential person during my time at Vanderbilt," that's sort of inactive.  I'm sure she will continue to be influential after I leave.  Our career services is cool like that, always there to help, even 20 years after graduation.]