Director
westleek@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
I serve as the Director of the University Career Center! My favorite parts of the role are (1) working with the fantastic UCC staff, (2) the meaningful complexity of the career services area of higher education and its many stakeholders (including students, faculty, staff employers, parents, alumni, and more!), and (3) empowering students to realize the value of what they bring as candidates for internships, jobs, and graduate programs.
My Career Journey
My career in higher education was born out of my experience in my high school career center, seeing the college admissions reps presenting about their universities. When I started at JMU as a freshmen, I went to the Admissions Office and asked to work there. They didn’t have a vacancy so I volunteered my first year, and then they paid me the last 3 years. I graduated from JMU in 1994—don’t’ count the turns of ten between then and now. After graduate school in College Student Personnel, I eventually settled on work in career services, now at JMU and previously at Bluffton College (OH), Lycoming College (PA), Davidson College (NC), and Christopher Newport University (VA). I like being able to work with students all fours years (or more) of their time here and not just on the front end of admissions. I also love how integral to success the career services unit can be to students and the University, if you let us (have you scheduled your individual appointment at https://jmu.joinhandshake.com/ yet?
More About Me
Three words that describe me:
- Inquisitive
- Enthusiastic
- Intentional
Some fun facts about me:
- I take my fitness goals pretty seriously and love to talk about and engage in running, pilates and strength training.
- Tea brewed from loose leaf tea is my favorite beverage and I drink a lot of it (maybe 3 pots a day)
- I like classical music and play piano. My piano teacher gifted me with a Steinway Grand!
