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October 28, 2009

ULM students make mark - A guest editorial by Brenda Allen, Director of Career Connections and Experiential Education, published October 28, 2009 The (Monroe, La.) News-Star

One year ago this month, I had the opportunity to accept the position of director of the University of Louisiana at Monroe's Office of Career Connections & Experiential Education.

Our office works with students to help them bridge the gap from student to employee — to market their skills in the workplace and find employment. Building career plans, exploring networking and job search opportunities, teaching resume best practices and perfecting interviewing skills are all a part of the services we provide.

It had been more than 20 years since I had spent any considerable time on campus, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. As it turns out, I have found one of the best kept secrets in Louisiana ... and quite possibly the country. Even though this has arguably been one of the most challenging times to find employment in many years, ULM students are making their mark on the world.

A few examples include:

• Master of business administration graduate student, Brent Tippen, West Monroe, was hired as result of a nationwide search for a public relations job with Chevron in San Francisco.
  
  
• After interning with Thomas & Farr and while on a field trip to Travelers' offices in Dallas, risk management and insurance graduate, Katie Wood, Monroe, made such an impression on Travelers personnel that they made her a quick and competitive job offer in order to keep her from being scooped up by another firm.
  
  
• Alex Deshowitz, New Orleans, a 21-year-old finance junior, impressed Southwest Airlines so much that it added a summer internship position specifically for his skill-set.
  
  
• Accounting major and former Student Government Association President Micah Pulliam, West Monroe, considered various job offers before electing to stay local and accept an accounting position with Ouachita Independent Bank.
  
  
• Jason Bonner, Bastrop, was one of the first graduates of the new health studies program and the first student to complete an internship in the program. Jason accepted the position of Business Analyst at Louisiana Pain Care.
  
  
• Larry Nguyen, New Orleans, a construction management major, spent his summer working with Kiewit Texas Construction L.P. on the multimillion dollar widening of the Huey P. Long bridge in New Orleans.
  
  
• Miss ULM 2009, Hope Anderson, Monroe, completed a six-week internship in Newport Beach, California for a public relations firm that handles the Jonas Brothers and other celebrities.
  
  
• Christina Porter, New Orleans, was selected as one of 13 interns on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman in New York City.

Local companies like CenturyLink, St. Francis, and Glenwood have been long been great partners with ULM. They provide internship and practicum opportunities for our students and hire our graduates. We are very fortunate to have these and other companies supporting our university.

Great things are going on at ULM. We have a beautiful and well-groomed campus. If you live locally and haven't had a chance to see our campus in a while, bring a sack lunch one day, sit on a bench near the bayou or the fountain in the quad, and get a first-hand look at your local ULM students. You'll be proud you did.

If you are a ULM student or alumni finding yourself in need of career guidance and/or resources, call 318-342-5338 today to make an appointment.

If you are a local employer, visit our Web site at: www.ulm.edu/careerconnections to schedule an on-campus interview.

PLEASE NOTE: Some links and e-mail addresses in these archived news stories may no longer work, and some content may include events which are no longer relevent, or reference individuals and/or organizations no longer associated with ULM.