By Michelle Barger
Staff Writer
Associate Director of Career Services Chelsea Zimmerman will be leaving Bryan College in March, and Beverley Meadows will be taking the helm of Career Services.
Zimmerman’s departure has been influenced by a couple things. Her husband, Andrew Zimmerman, is now in the Air Force and will graduate officer training school in March. He will then be stationed in Florida for Navigation training.
“A big reason why I’m leaving is because I want to be with my husband,” Zimmerman said
The second reason that influenced Zimmerman’s decision is her pregnancy. Zimmerman, whose baby is due in April, said that even if she and her husband were to stay in the area after their son was born, she had not decided if she would have come back to work for Bryan.
“I haven’t really tried to figure that out since we’re moving. That kind of made the decision for me,” she said.
Zimmerman said that she does not plan to find a new job while her husband is completing his training, though she may work with a church or a non-profit.
“I do like to stay busy, but I’ve also never been a mom before,” she said. “I’m kind of playing it by ear. I have a feeling it’s going to keep me pretty busy.”
“I’ve enjoyed working with the students while being here. To me, I feel like it’s been a blessing and a privilege to watch several students firsthand be excited about an opportunity and work with them on the job application process,” Zimmerman said, “it’s really rewarding to get those phone calls or when they drop by and update me on life. I really can’t imagine a better spot for me in the past three years than where I’ve been.”
Zimmerman’s hope for Career Services is to see the collaboration between them and other departments on campus continue to be strengthened.
Meadows, who had been working as an academic advisor for Bryan’s Adult and Graduate studies for the last two-and-a-half years, is set to take over as Zimmerman’s replacement.
Along with her experience at Bryan, Meadows has several years of experience with human resources. She has worked for the Electric Power Board, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Broker J. Smith Lanier, among others.
Meadows said that her previous experiences will be helpful in guiding students through job applications, as well as handling events such as the Etiquette Dinner and career fairs.
As for changes, Meadows said that she wants to make the transition as seamless as possible. She said she wants to continue with the current Career Services events and enhance as needed.
She said she plans to continue developing a working relationship between each department and Career Services to make sure the needs of students are being met.
Meadows said that she is looking forward to “enhancing the events, communicating with students and bringing in some networking from previous employers.”
