Meet the Team – Tampa

My Career Journey

I graduated with my undergraduate degree early and had no real idea of what I wanted to do with my psychology degree and did not know there were people at my university who could help. After some reflection, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in counseling and loved mental health counseling. At the time, finding a job at that time was a real challenge so I took a position in a career center at a community college and found my calling. This allowed me to help people in a real way, relieve their anxiety, and find their own paths to success. Since then, I have taken advantage of every opportunity to gain training and degrees to help me advance and I have loved the journey.

My Educational Journey

B.S. Psychology
Minor in Sociology
University of Central Missouri

M.Ed. Counseling
University of Missouri – St. Louis

Ph.D. Adult Education
Auburn University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Maximizer, Achiever, Relator, Learner, Responsibility

Top Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Social, Artistic, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ESFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
St. Louis, Missouri

My Favorite Things
My favorite vacations have been to Hawaii and Ireland.

My Favorite Quote
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States

My Career Journey

I have been interested in careers related to education and counseling ever since I was a kid. Through processes of trial and error, reflecting on what experiences brought different levels of engagement, and continuously drawing clarity on what impact I wanted to make on those I worked with on a day-to-day basis, I decided to pursue a degree in Mental Health Counseling. While enrolled in the program, I discovered the various career paths related to counseling and pursued an internship in career counseling. I realized this career created an opportunity to help others intentionally explore and navigate their own career development process. Becoming a career counselor also allows me to help others to pursue career paths that bring them fulfillment, enable them to experience work-life balance, and have their own meaningful impact on the world.

My Educational Journey

BS Psychology
Minor in Spanish
University of South Florida

MEd / EdS Mental Health Counseling
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Individualization, Ideation, Connectedness, Learner, Developer

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Social, Investigative, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
INFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Tampa, Florida

My Favorite Things
My favorite thing to do for fun is to be physically active, playing soccer, tennis, or training in Tae Kwon Do.

My Favorite Quote
“Let yourself be silently drawn to the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”
Rumi
13th-Century Persian Poet, Mystic, and Scholar

My Career Journey

Not every career journey is a straight path! While I was a student at USF, I worked several different part-time jobs on- and off-campus. Some of my best experiences in college came while working as a Student Office Assistant and later a Peer Orientation Mentor at the Judy Genshaft Honors College, as well as when I served as President of a student organization. After working my way up in retail management for several years after graduation, I found my way back to USF and the career services field. I love that the Center supports students and fellow alumni to find their own unique versions of career success. Go Bulls!

My Educational Journey

BA Criminology
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Relator, Consistency, Harmony, Developer, Empathy

Top Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Conventional, Investigative, Social

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ISFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Safety Harbor, Florida

My Favorite Things
My favorite place to visit on the USF Tampa Campus is the pond and park area just north of Juniper-Poplar Hall. It is a great place to take a nice walk or sit in the covered pavilion for a break.

My Favorite Quote
“Whatever we accomplish is due to the combined effort. . . In my organization, there is respect for every individual, and we all have a keen respect for the public.”
Walt Disney
Animator, Founder, and President of The Walt Disney Company

My Career Journey

My career started in corporate America working as a Small Business Relationship Manager with goals of growing in the industry.  Having never considered higher education in my career path, a move across the country changed the trajectory of my career.  I have had the opportunity to work across various areas of the academy including multicultural affairs, admissions, the Vice President’s office, and now career services in positions ranging from program manager, associate director, chief of staff, and assistant vice president.  Twenty-five years later, I’m still in higher education and absolutely love it!

My Educational Journey

BS Political Science
Florida A&M University

MPA Public Administration
Florida State University

PhD Curriculum and Instruction
Higher Education Administration
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Social, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ESTJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Milton, Florida

My Favorite Quote
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
Steve Jobs
Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple, Inc. and Chairman of Pixar Animation Studios

My Career Journey

If I can sum up my career journey so far in one phrase, it will be “I did not find the field of career development, career development found me.” My initial career goal was not to work in the Center for Career & Professional Development, or even in student affairs. However, after a very influential and pivotal graduate assistantship and internship experience during my master’s program, I was convinced that this was the field for me. And a short stint in the private sector prior to my graduate program, helped me to realize that I wanted to pursue a career that was more aligned with my career and personal values. Thankfully, I landed at the Center and I have not looked back.

My Educational Journey

BS Marketing
University of South Florida

MEd Curriculum & Instruction
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Harmony, Discipline, Consistency, Futuristic, Focus

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Social, Enterprising, Artistic

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
INFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
St. James, Trinidad, & Tobago

My Favorite Things
My favorite sport is soccer and Trini food is my favorite food type.

My Favorite Quote
“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared”
Whitney M. Young Jr.
American Civil Rights Leader and Executive Director of the National Urban League

My Career Journey

I’ve always had a love for music and in high school decided that I was going to pursue a music education degree. To graduate on time, I changed my degree to a BA in music, but I knew I didn’t want to be a performer. Around this time, I was introduced to the idea of working at colleges and eventually decided to pursue a master’s degree where I got to experience internships in both the Conservatory of Music and Career Services. While I enjoy the different aspects of higher education, I really love getting to coach students through their career journeys.

My Educational Journey

BA Music
The University of Tampa

MAEd Leadership in Higher Education
Baldwin Wallace University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Communication, Woo, Includer, Activator, Adaptability

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Artistic, Social, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ENFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Detroit, Michigan

My Favorite Things
My favorite food is sushi.

My Favorite Quote
“Your job is not just to do what your parents say, what your teachers say, what society says, but to figure out what your heart calling is and be led by that.”
Oprah Winfrey
Television Presenter, CEO, and Chairwoman of Harpo Productions

My Career Journey

After completing a master’s degree in organizational psychology, my career began in the corporate sector, working in human resources departments for Fortune 500 companies across New York City. For the last two decades, I have built a niche skillset in the area of university recruiting, designing and executing strategies for hiring college students into internships and full-time positions. I discovered my passion while bringing talented young individuals into organizations to fulfill companies’ talent needs and even more so, building relationships with universities to hire their students and help them navigate the challenging world of finding their first jobs out of school.

In joining the Center for Career & Professional Development at USF, I get to work with students earlier in their career exploration journey, and I manage partnerships with employers to help them showcase their job opportunities to students and facilitate the process of hiring USF students into the workforce.

This brings my experience full circle to sitting on the other end of that exchange and now, my purpose has more significance and a broader impact, which provides me tremendous job satisfaction. Throughout my undergrad years as a psychology major, I dreamt of pursuing a profession that helped people in some way. I consider myself so fortunate to be doing just that, in one of the most meaningful ways possible!

My Educational Journey

BA Psychology
University at Albany
State University of New York

MA Organizational Psychology
Teachers College
Columbia University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Significance, Futuristic, Individualization, Focus, Maximizer

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
INFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Woodmere (Long Island), New York

My Favorite Things
My parents were born and raised in Europe, so I grew up being exposed to multiple cultures and languages and I had the opportunity to visit their respective home countries as a young child. As such, I love to travel and meet people from all walks of life. I look forward to taking my 7-year-old son Roman to other parts of the world and sharing similar experiences with him in the future.

My Favorite Quote
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Henry Ford
Business Leader and Founder of the Ford Motor Company

My Career Journey

My career journey is just beginning as a recent graduate from St. Leo University here in Florida. Working in the field of career services at the Center is providing me with a unique opportunity to combine two of my passions: education and technology while growing my expertise and skills in the field.

My Educational Journey

BS Computer Science: Information Assurance
St. Leo University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Analytical, Deliberative, Competition, Command, Futuristic

Top Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Conventional, Enterprising, Realistic

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ISTJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Nassau, Bahamas

My Favorite Things
My favorite food is anything that has conch in it. Whether it be a conch snack, conch fritters, or conch salad.

My Favorite Quote
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”
Bob Marley
Pioneering Jamaican Singer, Musician, and Songwriter

My Career Journey

My career journey has been one that demonstrates the importance of what I do now! I had no clue what I wanted to do when I got my bachelor’s degree. This later led me to go for a master’s degree in school counseling … because why not? When I was finishing up my internship in the last semester of my graduate program I realized, “I really don’t want to do this for a career.” What do I do now? During my undergrad days I worked as an RA and during graduate school I worked in the residence life office itself. With this experience, combined with my internship experience, I made the decision to continue to work in higher education, specifically in residence life as a hall director.  It was while I was in this role that I volunteered at the career services office to try and maintain the counseling skills I gained through my graduate program. Once I learned all that career services offers to students, and how to deliver them, I was hooked!

My Educational Journey

BS Sociology
Concentration in Criminology
SUNY Cortland
State University of New York

MSEd School Counseling
Alfred University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Empathy, Strategic, Connectedness, Individualization, Maximizer

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Realistic, Social, Artistic

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ESFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Monroe, New York

My Favorite Things
My favorite food thing to do is curl up under a blanket and read a good book. If I’m eating a slice of pepperoni pizza while doing that, even better!

My Favorite Quote
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney
Animator, Founder, and President of The Walt Disney Company

My Career Journey

I was told this a few years ago and when this person said this to me it stuck with me.  There are two times of your life that is the most significant: (1) The day you are born and (2) The day you realize what you were brought on this earth to do.  I can understand why being born is so important but I did not understand what he meant in regards to realizing what you are brought on this earth to do until I finally found it which is my passion to serve and support students.

I graduated from Saint Leo University with a degree in sport management with the hopes of working in the sports industry.  After working in the sports industry for two years, I realized that I needed a change and that potentially working in the sports field might not be for me anymore.  So, I decided to move to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to pursue my master’s degree, and within that time, I became a Graduate Assistant in the Division of Student Affairs coordinating and executing some of the biggest events on campus. During my time at Nova, I realized how much I loved and enjoyed working with students and I decided that this is what I wanted to do, and I never looked back.  After I graduated from Nova, I pursued a career in Higher Education working in areas such as Admissions, Advising, Student Success, and Student Activities with organizations such UMA, Saint Leo University, and ThriveDX.  Now that I am beginning the next chapter of my life as the Student Employment/JLD Coordinator at USF, I plan to bring my diverse experience to support the Center for Career & Professional Development and to continue my passion to serve and support our students.

My Educational Journey

BA Sport Management
Minor in Management Information Systems
St. Leo University

MS Leadership
Nova Southeastern University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Arranger, Restorative, Individualization, Achiever, Belief

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Artistic, Social, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ESFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands

My Favorite Things
I never a thought that I would ever say this but I can say that I am an author as I have contributed written chapters to three books: (1) From Letters to Leaders: Creating Impact on your College Campus and Beyond, (2) From Letters to Leaders: Redefining New Member Education and Leveraging Belonging to Eliminate Hazing, and (3) From Letters to Leaders: Leveraging your Fraternity and Sorority Experience to Land your Dream Job.

My Favorite Quote
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Jim Valvano
Former College Basketball Player, Coach, and Broadcaster

My Career Journey

My career journey has always been in higher education, and I have worked in many different areas with almost every type of student population from undergrad, to grad school, to student-athletes, before finally landing in event planning for the Center for Career & Professional Development. Being able to mesh my love of event planning with serving students has been one of my most gratifying career moves. It brings me immense joy to hear about student success stories after an event.

My Educational Journey

BS Business Administration
Northeastern University

MS Sport Administration
Georgia State University

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Learner, Relator, Consistency, Communication, Analytical

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Conventional, Realistic, Social

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
INTJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
New Britain, Connecticut

My Favorite Things
I was a Division-1 athlete, playing basketball for 4 years in college. It was an amazing and rewarding experience that gave me lifelong friendships.

My Favorite Quote
“Success is never final, failure is never fatal, and it’s courage that counts.”
John Wooden
Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

My Career Journey

My career journey was always about serving students.  After graduating with my BS degree in Education, my first serving opportunity was with my own children. Teaching life skills, motor skills, and eventually using educational tools to prepare them for the classroom. Later, as a teacher, l taught many technology and business classes.  My favorite class I taught was Computers for College Readiness.  This was a class where they learned how to create resumes, do mock interviews, interview processes and understanding personality types as they relate to careers. Now, as the Administrative Specialist in the Center for Career & Professional Development, I am able to have a small part in serving and directing USF students to use all the resources available to find their career path.

My Educational Journey

BS Secondary Education
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Harmony, Responsibility, Adaptability, Consistency, Relator

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Conventional, Enterprising, Artistic

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ISFJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Lakeland & Plant City, Florida

My Favorite Things
My family is a family of traditions. My favorite thing to do is to begin our holiday season with a camping weekend starting the Friday before Thanksgiving week.  It’s a fun family time of campfires, hiking, bike riding, and other fun outdoor activities. Family time is the best time.

My Favorite Quote
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10. — The Bible

My Career Journey

After 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and 10 years as a music entrepreneur, I chose to help people as the next step in my journey. As a Career Coach at USF, I use my diverse experience in business management, team leadership, and relationship building to empower and guide students toward academic and personal success.

My Educational Journey

BA International Studies
University of South Florida

Executive MBA
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Discipline, Relator, Learner, Analytical, Arranger

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Enterprising, Realistic, Investigative

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ISTJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Erie, Pennsylvania & Utuado, Puerto Rico

My Favorite Things
I enjoy traveling and experiencing different cultures internationally and within the United States. Some of my most memorable and unique travel experiences were during my time in the U.S. Air Force when I had the opportunity to travel throughout the Pacific Rim.

My Favorite Quote
“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Statesman, Politician, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945 & 1951-1955)

My Career Journey

My career journey began while attending the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, where I found my first passion in marketing. Upon graduation in 2018, I moved to Tampa, Florida, and was offered a marketing internship position at a global consulting firm. During my internship, I discovered secondary passions in graphic design, illustration, and branding. I joined the communications and branding team as a full-time employee and began my creative journey. I also made time to hone in on my creative and design skills at home via online trainings. The knowledge and skills I learned from my first marketing job as well as the continued online education were paramount in preparing me for my role as the Communications & Marketing Officer at the University of South Florida’s Center for Career & Professional Development. I am passionate about college education and student success, so I love utilizing my talents to help promote all the beneficial services this department has to offer students.

My Educational Journey

Bachelor of Business Administration, Majoring in Management
Coggin College of Business
University of North Florida

My Personality

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ENTP

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Atlanta suburbs, Georgia

My Favorite Things
Equines & EDM! I have been an equestrian since I was eight years old. I used to actively compete in English riding competitions with my Thoroughbred horse, Razzi, but now I mostly just ride for fun. I also developed a passion for electronic dance music (EDM) and regularly attend local events as well as large EDM festivals around the United States and Europe.

My Favorite Quote
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Walt Disney

My Career Journey

While I was getting my undergraduate degree as a student-athlete at USF, I found a passion for helping students strive for excellence. Once I graduated, with my bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising, I wanted to further my education and decided to apply to the college student affairs program to get my master’s degree. During my application process, there was an opening at the Center for Career & Professional Development at the Tampa Campus and I have been a graduate assistant here since 2022!

My Educational Journey

BA Public Relations & Advertising
University of South Florida

MEd College Student Affairs
In Progress
University of South Florida

My Personality

Top 5 Strengths
Maximizer, Adaptability, Strategic, Responsibility, Individualization

Top 3 Holland Interest Codes (RIASEC)
Artistic, Social, Enterprising

Myers-Briggs Type (MBTI)
ENTJ

Outside of the Office

My Hometown
Gainesville, Florida

My Favorite Things
I like to travel and I visit my family in Turkey every summer!

My Favorite Quote
“Everything happens for a reason.”