Aisha Davis
Just a few months into her new role as Associate Director for Multicultural Affairs with Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Aisha Davis (MS05) believes she is exactly where she needs to be in her career. Davis says she was “picky” during her post-graduation employment search, turning down offers until she found a job that would fit her current interests and position her for additional advancement within the field of higher education.After her undergraduate schooling Davis landed her first job in a law firm, a logical move for someone who thought she was headed to law school. For fun, she decided to volunteer with her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, in the Alumni and Parents Admissions Program. “That experience made me switch my focus from law to higher education,” she says.
Capitalizing on her volunteer experience and communication skills, Davis entered the field as director of admissions at the Illinois College of Optometry. Soon after starting her job, she applied to the Higher Education Administration and Policy Program. “I wanted to be able to advance in the field and knew a degree would be the first step,” Davis says.
Throughout her degree, she balanced a full-time job with part-time schooling and found that having the dual pursuits helped her prioritize her time. She advises prospective and current students, regardless of whether they plan to work while in school or not, to maintain a balance between academics and career aspirations.
Davis knew that she wanted to work with diversity issues in higher education, so she chose her master’s project topic – student involvement in multicultural activities – with this goal in mind. “This was a strategic decision on my part,” she says. “I wanted to be able to say to an employer, ‘I may not have worked in this particular area, but look at the other things I’ve done that show that I can do the job.’”
As associate director, Davis provides leadership on campus around the issues of diversity, race and tolerance. “I’m a resource when the value of diversity comes up,” she says. “We manage programs and services to help create a community where difference is seen as positive and can help us learn from one another.”
Each day brings her closer to the fulfillment of that goal and, thanks to her degree and accumulated experience, even more opportunities for advancement.
Nancy Dunham
When her husband’s job necessitated relocation from Chicago to Washington D.C., Nancy Dunham was a little apprehensive about job searching. Leaning on her Higher Education Administration and Policy program network, however, made the search easier, and she quickly found a great position as assistant director of student services in George Mason University’s Graduate School of Public Policy.Dunham credits the higher education curriculum for fostering a strong sense of community. “It's hard not to form close bonds when talking to each other about master’s project details for nine months!” she says. “I am lucky enough to call several of my former classmates close friends, and love that we serve as a professional network for each other.”
In her new role, Dunham coordinates student services, counsels and advises students daily, collaborates with faculty on various initiatives and plans large scale events, from new student orientation to commencement. She most enjoys her student advising responsibilities, and she believes her switch from working with undergraduate students at Loyola University Chicago to graduate students at George Mason has helped her become a more well-rounded higher education professional.
“While undergraduate and graduate students both present their share of challenges, it's always great to talk with them about their academic plans and career aspirations,” Dunham says. “Because there are so many course options and internship opportunities available to today's students, no two are exactly alike in terms of their end goals or pathways to degree completion. These differences often create unique and complicated academic situations that help keep me on my toes!”
Dunham’s success in her career move and happiness with her new job has given her confidence for the future, and she is grateful for her graduate degree’s role in that confidence development. “I'm glad I chose to enroll in a graduate program at such a nationally recognized university,” Dunham says. “Because of my husband's job, we will likely need to relocate every four to five years. I am certain that having the Northwestern name on my resume has been, and will continue to be, a great help to me in my frequent job searches.”
Julie Emms
Unlike many people, Julie Emms (MS07) has no problem identifying the relevance of her schooling to her professional practice. With a master’s degree in higher education administration and policy and a bachelor’s degree in communications, she puts her education to work every day as communications manager in DePaul University’s Office of Community, Government and International Affairs, where the mission is to connect DePaul to Chicago and the world. Emms’s job is as multifaceted as the name of her office implies. Whether assisting the community affairs director with urban planning issues and community program development, networking with civic leaders, communicating with government officials or preparing materials for the vice president’s international travels, she rarely sits still.
“I enjoy the diversity of projects I work on every day, as well as the people I work with,” Emms says. “We are all working toward a greater good – educating tomorrow's leaders. When working in higher ed, it’s important not to lose sight of this ultimate goal.”
After nearly 10 years of experience working in several different types of institutions, Emms is still excited about her career choice. “With each new position and institution comes a different challenge,” she says. “I believe that working in higher education gives an individual a variety of opportunities to expand their talents, as well as their careers. There are several industries inside of an institution of higher learning: customer service, finance, communications, community and government relations, operations, human resources, management opportunities and so many more.”
Emms credits the Master of Science in Education (MSEd) program for its liberal arts approach to teaching higher education administration and policy. “The program helped me to see there was so much more to the higher education field than student affairs and admissions,” she says.
The foundation of knowledge acquired through her graduate training helps Emms navigate her wide-ranging duties. “I don't have a typical day,” Julie says. “My position spans from managing our budget, developing and designing a database to manage our contacts and issues, creating a communications plan for the office and managing several office and university-wide projects. I also sit on several internal committees; as our office is externally focused, we needed someone to keep a pulse on the internal community.”
As if that is not enough, Julie has sought additional opportunities, including helping to organize an international honor society, in order to have more interaction with students. She also pursues research opportunities every chance she gets in order to improve her practice as an administrator. This commitment makes her a terrific representative of the MSEd program. It also underscores the importance of the master’s research project to the higher education administration and policy curriculum.
“Performing research projects – whether large or small scale – has been a large part of my current position,” Emms says. “The MSEd program not only gave me the opportunity to research an area and population with which I was unfamiliar, but showed me how to do it, allowing me to grow more into who I am today.”
>View profiles of current Advancement Seeker Students