“When somebody knows you and they can put a face to an application, it makes it a lot easier to hire somebody and for them to feel confident into getting you into a teaching position,” said Dr. Brian Stout, an associate professor at Northwest Vista College and a GSBS alum.

Dr. Stout spoke with fellow Career Advisory Council members Dr. Tim Raabe, Dr. James Roberts, Dr. Jessica Ibarra and Dr. Lila LaGrange at March’s event on careers at teaching institutions.

Dr. Stout explained that it was important for him to be part of the Career Advisory Council to give students an opportunity he didn’t have.

“I know when I came out of undergrad, I didn’t know what to do and when I came out of grad school, I still didn’t know what to do. I just got lucky that I found something that I love,” Dr. Stout said. “Knowing about
different career opportunities would have been really helpful. I think it’s important for me to help the students especially from my alma mater to get these opportunities.”

David Aguilar, a graduate student in the Integrated
Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) program, said that the workshop was a great way to gain information about different fields.

“When someone finds out that you are in grad school, they assume that you are going to be a professor,” Aguilar said. “So it’s important to see people from all kinds of industries and even people in different academic settings to give us a feel of what’s out there.

Bridget Ford, a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Imaging Institute, said that the workshop was a great way to talk to people in the field.

“I’m at the stage where I’m starting to look for positions so a lot of the questions I had were about how to put together the application packet and what you look for in a person’s application other than teaching experience,” Ford said.

She explained that Dr. LaGrange was able to give her tips on the application process and how to navigate the field.

“She’s still somewhat new to her position so she was able to give me great advice on what the first year teaching would look like.”

Ford believed that the format of the workshop was really helpful because it allowed her to interact closely with the council members.

“We all sat at tables and the moderators would travel to the next table after ten minutes and we would ask them as many questions as we could in that time,” Ford said. “It was a fun way to engage in a workshop as opposed to listening to someone up there giving a seminar.”

Dr. LaGrange, an associate professor at University of
Incarnate Word and a GSBS alum, said that she is impressed by the work of the Office of Career Development.

“From all of those that I’ve seen across the country, this is unique,” Dr. LaGrange said. “Having the local influence is important because there’s an opportunity to have one-on-one’s and network within the community.”

Ford explained that networking has been key to her success thus far.

“I like talking to people but I’ve never realized that that’s enough to network,” Ford said. “A lot of the times these positions are not announced so it’s something you have to seek out by yourself.”

Another important step essential to a successful career is career planning. Dr. Teresa Evans, a certified career development facilitator and GSBS alum is available to schedule one-on-one career planning meetings. Find out more about career planning meetings here.