Speaker: Rachel Larson, Assistant Dean of Academic & Career Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business
What is your motivation for and why are you applying to serve on the NACE Board of Directors?
Rachel Larson: Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the N A Board of Directors, specifically for the vice chair role. I have had the opportunity of benefiting from N A for over 18 years. The past four years, I've been especially proud to be a member of N the organization has really transformed in this time where we truly live and practice our values. Volunteering with N A, whether on a committee affinity group or on the board has been a highlight of my professional career. NACE already does a wonderful job of recognizing and supporting innovative practices and helping to disseminate that knowledge to the membership. My motivation for applying to the NAS board of directors is to support NA'S value of improving community and sense of belonging. There is an unfortunate perception among N A members, whether right or wrong that NA focuses on large centralized career centers and large corporations. There are so many amazing leaders in NA who represent this group. So in my time on the NA board of directors, I have tried to be a voice for decentralized college partners and smaller offices as well as small employers and start ups whom I've had the wonderful opportunity of working with. So basically, anyone who may feel a little bit lost in the n organization, but who could benefit from the knowledge N provides. It is important to me to continue to make need more accessible and inclusive to all including smaller careers offices, colleges and employers, as well as our members and potential future members from marginalized populations. I also want to help position N A and the career services and urr professions. Strategically, the 2025 and 2026 N A boards have a unique opportunity to build the next strategic plan. Strategic planning is fascinating to me and something that I really enjoy doing as vice chair, I can contribute the knowledge and skills I utilized while founding a small career center that grew significantly in a short period of time. As the founding director of that career office, I worked collaboratively with my team to create the mission, vision goals and key performance indicators from scratch and then implement and assess our strategic plan. This experience will be beneficial as the N A board and staff assess the success of our current strategic plan and identify how to move NACE forward strategically for 2026 and beyond. So thank you again for considering me for the vice chair role on the N A board of directors. I'm excited to continue to contribute to the profession that has helped me in so many ways and really shaped my professional career?
