Career Advisors

Graduate Assistants

Employer Relations

Operations and Support

Student Staff and Interns

CareerLab

Our experienced career advisors are committed to partnering with you to achieve career success. From identifying your passions to developing a compelling job search strategy, we offer comprehensive guidance and support to help you reach your career goals.

Schedule a career advising appointment

Rachel Becklin (she/her)

Senior Associate Director & Internship Specialist

Career Advisor for the Human and Public Service Career Community.

First Job: Drive thru attendant and dishwasher at G&L Chili Dogs

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Katie Cwiakala (she/her)

Assistant Director and Career Advisor for the Business and Management Career Community.

Katie works with students, faculty, and employers in the Seidman College of Business, as well as HTM and Sport Management. Katie leads the Career Center's peer-to-peer Career Connector program.

First Job: Food service at a zoo

Office Address: 101B DEV
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Stephanie Jensen (she/her)

Assistant Director and Career Advisor for the STEM and Healthcare Career Communities.

Stephanie works with students, faculty, and employers in the natural and hard sciences and health-related programs. 

First Job: Food service at Burger King

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Lisa Knapp (she/her)

Associate Director and Career Advisor for the Education and Communication and the Arts Career Communities.

Lisa works with students, faculty, and employers in the communications, humanities, and education programs. Lisa leads the Career Center's efforts serving first and second year students as they begin exploring the world of work. 

First Job: Working on the farm—picking celery, cherries, and plums

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Dayna Phillips (she/her)

Assistant Director and Career Advisor for the Human and Public Service Career Community.

Dayna works with student in the College of Education and Community Innovation and also specializes in working with exploratory students.

First Job: Server assistant at Rio Grande Steakhouse

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Lori Staggs (she/her)

Associate Director and Career Advisor for the Business and Management Career Community.

Lori works with students, faculty, and employers in the Seidman College of Business, as well as HTM and Sport Management.

First Job: Bank teller

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Meghan Veltri (she/her)

Assistant Director and Career Advisor for the Healthcare Career Community.

Meghan works with students, faculty, and staff in health and science programs. She also helps students parallel plan as they seek entrance into competitive secondary admittance programs. 

First Job: Courtesy clerk at Farmer Jack grocery store

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Molly Landa

Graduate Assistant

Molly is a graduate student in the College Student Affairs Leadership Program at GVSU. She assists with the Career Center's peer-to-peer Career Connector program.

First Job: Summer day camp counselor on a farm

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

David Steadman (he/him)

Graduate Assistant

David is a graduate student in the College Student Affairs Leadership program at GVSU. He assists with career events and outreach and advises students in our engineering & computing, mathematics, statistics, and physics professions. David will work with students in the STEM Career Community.

First Job: Newspaper delivery

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Natalee Williams (she/her)

Graduate Assistant

Natalee is a graduate student in the Social Work and Public Administration programs at GVSU. She works with students in the Communications and Arts Career Community.

First Job: Stuffing ads at a local newspaper

Office Address: 200 Student Services
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Employer Relations serves as a bridge between students and employers. Our primary focus is building and maintaining strong partnerships with businesses and organizations to create valuable opportunities for GVSU students.

Cindy Brown (she/her)

Employer Development Manager

Cindy works with our employer partners to connect to GVSU, recruiting students and alumni for full-time jobs and internships.

First Job: Gym attendant

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Kristie Scanlon (she/her)

Employer Relations Coordinator

Kristie specializes in helping employers create and enhance internship programs for GVSU students.

First job: Server at Pizza Hut

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Sonya Barrett (she/her)

Office Coordinator (Allendale)

Sonya manages the front desk of our Allendale office, as well as works with the training and development of our Student Assistants.

First Job: Candy seller at a Five and Dime

Office Address: 200 STU
Phone: (616) 331-3311
Email: [email protected]

Troy Farley (he/him)

Director of the Career Center

First Job: Stacking lumber at a lumber yard

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Joy Hecht (she/her)

Office Coordinator (Pew)

Joy manages the front desk of our DeVos office as well as works with the training and development of our Student Assistants.

First Job: Retail work at a Hallmark Store

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Dani Lauer (she/her)

Assistant Director and Coordinator of Adult and Alumni Career Resources

Dani works collaboratively with the Alumni Relations Office and Office of Adult and Continuing Studies to curate, build and maintain career resources and initiatives for adult learners and GVSU alumni.

First Job: Teaching assistant for elementary students

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Grace Joaquin (she/her)

Assistant Director for Technology and Data Analytics

Grace evaluates the technology needs for the Career Center. She also provides transparency and informs the work the Career Center does through data analytics.

First Job: Bookstore employee

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

Megan Riksen (she/her)

Assistant Director for Marketing and Communications

Megan oversees the Career Center’s marketing and communication strategy.

First job: Retail clerk at a clothing shop

Office Address: 101B DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-6708
Email: [email protected]

You'll find Career Center Student Assistants covering our Allendale and DeVos offices' front desk; scheduling appointments, checking in students, and helping the office run smoothly.

Abby
Major: Exercise Science

Becca
Major: Studio Art - Graphic Design and Ceramics

Chloe
Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering

Kirsten
Major: Computer Science

Lily
Major: Radiation Therapy

Ryan
Major: Finance

Sophie
Major: Business Administration

Sydney
Major: Finance

Zach
Major: Finance

Career Center Career Connectors can be found out and about around campus; marketing our events, and sharing career advice to resident halls and student groups! You'll also find our Career Connectors running our peer-advising space, CareerLab.

Abby
Major: Psychology
Career Community: Human & Public Service

Callie
Major: Marketing, Management
Career Community: Business & Management

Emma
Major: English, Education
Career Community: Education

Emily
Major: Hospitality & Tourism Management
Career Community: Business & Management

Madison
Major: Marketing, Management
Career Community: Business & Management

Malia
Major: Pre-Nursing
Career Community: Healthcare

Richard
Major: Human Resources
Career Community: Business & Management

Sharhath
Major: Data Science & Analytics
Career Community: STEM

Sheridan
Major: Human Resources
Career Community: Business & Management

Career Center Interns work in the areas of social media, marketing, communications, events, and data analysis.

Lauren Babb
Data and Analytics Intern
Major: Economics

Katie Chitwood
Writing and Communications Intern
Major: Writing

Shelby Huerta
Adult and Alumni Marketing and Social Media Intern
Major: Advertising and Public Relations

Sheridan Maske
Employer Relations & Event Management Intern
Major: Human Resources Management

Le Nguyen
Marketing and Social Media Intern
Major: Marketing

Gracie Roginski
Event and Marketing Intern
Major: Advertising and Public Relations

Landyn Teachout
Graduate Intern
Master of Education