"Our new staff are great advisors, and I'm thrilled that students have access to their expertise," said Executive Director Donna Esposito. “Additionally, our new data analyst will provide important insights to help inform our student-focused initiatives going forward."
Dovie King, Pre Law-Advisor
Snapshot: Grew up in San Diego, bachelor’s from Brown, JD degree from Northeastern Law, practiced law for over 20 years, advised students at Harvard Law School and Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Spanish speaker, daughter of immigrants, first generation student.
Q: What LSAT and/or law school admissions advice do you give to students?
Dovie: Develop a timeline to guide you through the law school admissions process and to stick to it!
Kathy Spillane, Assistant Director/Career Advisor for Finance, Consulting, Entrepreneurship & Business
Snapshot: Grew up in the suburbs of Boston, degree in Finance from Villanova, experience launching and running businesses and hiring for Fortune 100 companies and startups, first-generation student.
Q: What advice do you give students interested in pursuing careers in business and finance sectors?
Kathy: There is more to finance than investment banking. There are many ways to have successful career paths in finance - and they are not linear.
Katie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Arts, Communications, and Media
Snapshot: Grew up in Albany, NY, bachelor’s in English from SUNY Buffalo, master’s in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College at Columbia, experience building community partnerships, actively creating events and opportunities for SMFA students and those interested in communications and media.
Q: What is one “big question” you ask students to reflect on?
Katie: I ask, "why?" I encourage students to give me more information about career-related decisions they’ve made. Depending on where they are in the process, this could be why they’ve chosen a certain major, applied to a specific internship, or even why they chose to come to Tufts. Their answers help me better understand their values and priorities—and sometimes, if they haven’t had the space to think about it before, their answers can even surprise them.
Kelly Roberts, Assistant Director, Government, International Affairs & Policy
Snapshot: Grew up in Maine, master’s in Adult Education and Human Resource Development from Fordham, worked with the United Nations and associated NGOs for the past 15 years, first-generation student.
Q: What is a trend you are seeing in Government & International Affairs careers?
Kelly: Like most industries, employees are looking for more flexibility in their work arrangements and more and more government jobs will continue to be hybrid positions.
Chris Ricciardi, Data Analyst
Snapshot: Grew up in northern Massachusetts, bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Saint Michael’s College, first to hold this new role focused on collecting, analyzing, and reporting Career Center data.
Q: What kind of data will you be collecting, and how will the data you collect impact students?
Chris: We are primarily interested in student outcomes after graduation and how students engage with the Career Center through services, events, and resources. With this data, we are hoping to identify new ways of supporting students wherever they are in their career journeys.
More insights from the advisors:
Q: How can parents/families support their student’s career pursuits?
Dovie: Family emotional support is beneficial as it promotes psychological well-being and facilitates greater student engagement. Listening is a great show of support.
Kathy: Experiential learning is important for every career, including for those seeking Analyst opportunties within Financial Services. Encourage your student to seek support from the Career Center, and we'll help them with everything from document preparation to networking and search strategies.
Katie: Making career decisions in college can be stressful. Remind your student that finding a meaningful career is not a treasure hunt for one perfect job; it’s a process of reflecting and gaining new experiences. Given the number of times most people change jobs and even industries throughout their lives, we’re hoping to teach our students strategies and processes that they will continue to use well past their time at Tufts.
Kelly: Connect your student to family, friends, colleagues, or neighbors who are in fields that they're interested in. Informational interviewing with people can be extremely helpful at this stage.
Q: Name one Career Center resource you recommend to students.
Kathy: Our flash mentoring database, The Herd. Networking is an invaluable skill throughout your career. Learn to network in the safe space of the Tufts Alumni population. Alumni are very willing to talk with students about their experiences.
Katie: One-on-one advising! Students can book one-on-one career advising appointments with experienced advisors who have different areas of expertise. Advisors tailor their advice and strategies depending on the student’s interests and needs.
