On March 23, Jessa Trimble began her transition into the new role of the director of professional development and the Health and Life Sciences (HLS) Advising Center for the Academic and Career Development (ACD) office.
Since beginning her transition into the new position, she has been developing plans for the position and professional development opportunities for staff.
“Training and professional development opportunities are pieces of my professional life that I value greatly and I think provide growth and job satisfaction for many professionals,” Trimble said. “So, to have the ability to influence and shape what those opportunities might look like was very intriguing.”
To help shape future professional development opportunities, she plans to refine training experiences, support her colleague’s needs, and help colleagues share their expertise with one another.
“Something I really hope to do is to use the Academic Advisor and Career Services Professional Development Programs to inform and structure ACD and campuswide training and professional development opportunities,” Trimble said.
By utilizing these programs, Trimble plans to provide opportunities for advancement to keep highly qualified and talented professionals to best serve University College students. To do so, she plans to develop relationships with school-based partners in the health and life sciences and with advising and career services professionals to accomplish her long-term goals for her position.
“The work I hope to do in the proactive recruitment of diverse and well-qualified ACD staff candidates when we are able to fill positions and in refining training experiences for those staff will contribute to our already impressive work in supporting and retaining University College students at IUPUI,” Trimble said.
Along with her plans for her current position, Trimble’s previous position as a student success advisor has helped shape her work as a director. Her previous work not only prepared her to lead other advisors in training and professional development, but also gave her helpful information from students and colleagues needed for developing future opportunities.
Furthermore, Jennifer Schott, director of career planning for the Academic and Career Development office, highlighted that in Trimble’s previous position, she always assisted colleagues, worked to provide training and supervision support to interns, and engaged in solution-focused discussions.
“Her experience in recruiting, hiring, training and development, supervision, and campus collaborations will greatly benefit our staff and students,” Schott said. “For the first time in ACD, we will have someone dedicated to developing, implementing, and continuously improving training and professional development for our staff.”
Trimble’s experience in recruiting was also highlighted by Matthew Rust, senior executive director of Campus Career and Advising Services, in his e-mail announcing her appointment.
“Jessa brings a wealth of experience and ideas in recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, development, and campus collaborations from her various roles held at Ball State, Ivy Tech, IU Bloomington, and IUPUI,” he said.
Although Trimble is still adapting to the role, Rust said he looked forward to the future with her in the position.
“I’m confident that Jessa will help lead HLS, ACD, and our campus culture in advising and career services to new heights,” Rust said in an e-mail.