Speaker: Patrick Massaro, Asst. Director for Career Development & Experiential Learning, Rowan University
What do you find most rewarding about the work you do?
Patrick Massaro: For me, the most rewarding part of my job is helping students put the pieces together and be in a better position than I was when I was going through college. For my undergraduate degree, I struggled a lot in terms of finding my way, finding my purpose, but also just figuring out what I was good at. I started off as a nursing major, did that for three or four years. And eventually that didn't work out. I then transitioned to HR, got an HR
Patrick Massaro: got an hr job and a few months before graduation that didn't work out either. But through those experiences and through those struggles, it really highlighted for me, the purpose driven value of my work. And that's to help students be in a better position than I was throughout my undergraduate career. Career Services wasn't really an option or around when I was going through school. And I just love helping students be in a better position than I was.
Professionally speaking, what do you consider to be your most significant achievement so far? Where do you believe you’ve made a difference?
Patrick Massaro: For me personally, my most significant achievement so far in my career, hasn't really been a project, an event, an award, but I think it's empowering students to be better versions of themselves. Like I mentioned before, you know, I generally struggled a lot throughout my undergraduate career and trying to figure out, you know, what my next step is what I'm good at. So for me, helping students find those internships, find those jobs get accepted the graduate school, but most importantly, just putting the pieces together is just something that I highly value. You know, I often tell my friends, I don't really have bad days at work. You know, I have long days and I have frustrating days, but having a career that holistically lines up my values, who I am, and ultimately helping students be better versions of themselves is the greatest accomplishment I've had so far.
