Posted 6:37 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, 2013
Career Services Director Karla Stanek started at UW-L in 1976. Her last day will be Aug. 9.
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Career Services Director Karla Stanek started at UW-L in 1976. Her last day will be Aug. 9. Tim Tritch, Career Services, will become interim director until the position is filled. A search will begin after UW-L's new Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, Fred Pierce, starts on Aug. 19.[/caption]
After her retirement in August, Karla Stanek will be cruising the hills of Napa Valley, Calif., with her former college roommates. The three women are always amazed at what Stanek remembers about her years at UW-La Crosse.
Stanek, ’75 and ’80, says the UW-L memories aren’t hard to recall because she still lives them every day. UW-L is where she’s studied and worked since age 18 as an undergraduate and graduate student, employee in Career Services and eventually director of UW-L Career Services and the Academic Advising Center.
“For me, this has been a great, rewarding career and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” says Stanek. “We see the end of students’ educational journey and we see the success. That’s a real perk.”
Within Career Services, Stanek was instrumental in growing the internship program from placing 80 students a year to 800 today. She watched UW-L graduates become more successful in the job market as the selection of UW-L’s freshmen class became more competitive and the caliber of students went up. She saw an increase in the ease of finding careers for students as technology improved and the job search transitioned to almost completely online.
“I think what we’ve built in Career Services and Academic Advising at UW-L is strong,” says Stanek. “We’ve worked hard at adapting our program with the needs of the times and continuing to develop impressive, young professionals.”
One of Stanek’s favorite parts of the job has been forming strong connections with students on campus and people in the community. In fact, over her career, these two groups began to overlap as Stanek placed graduates locally and they built successful careers and eventually became area employers.
Stanek helped former student Cory Berget prepare for his first accounting interview at UW-L back in 1996. Today, he hires UW-L accounting graduates as a director for McGladrey, a firm that provides audit and accounting services to businesses.
But Berget says Stanek is not only a career matchmaker. She has helped him and his match — wife Tonya — find work in La Crosse and stay to raise a family.
“We thought we might not be able to stay in La Crosse because the city is not big enough for us both as CPAs to find work,” explains Berget. “She did a good job of looking out for us and finding a way to make it happen.”
Those kind of resourceful connections between students and careers have helped the accounting program and others become what they are today, he notes.
“You can have the best program in the world, but if you can’t help the students get jobs, it doesn’t matter,” says Berget.
Trish Harman, ’95, a former student worker in the Career Services office, says she’s remained connected with Stanek since graduation. She’s always looked to her as a mentor — first as a student and now as a working professional doing solution marketing for SAP while balancing motherhood.
“Karla was able to have a good career and a great family life,” says Harman. “That’s something I admire because now I’m a mother. As I’ve continued to grow in my career, she is always someone I can count on.”
[caption id="attachment_25144" align="alignright" width="550"]
Karla Stanek, left, pictured in the Maple Leaf Parade as Mrs. Oktoberfest.[/caption]
Stanek has mastered balance between work, family and community involvement. Her giving nature and involvement in community organizations such as Rotary, the UW-L Foundation and the UW-L Alumni Association, led to her selection as 2010 Mrs. Oktoberfest.
Tim Tritch, interim director of Career Services, says Stanek’s 37 years of campus and community connections and her ability to remember so many former students and stay connected have made her an incredible resource to Career Services.
Kathy Wehrs, ’82, who had Stanek as a career counselor back in the 1980s, now works at Trane and partners with Stanek to recruit UW-L students. When they began working together, Wehrs was surprised that Stanek remembered her so many years later. That shows her how devoted she was to her students, she says.
“She was always approachable — someone who genuinely cared,” says Wehrs.
A void will be felt when Stanek is gone, says Tritch.
“And it’s not just a void that Career Services or the Academic Advising Center will feel,” Tritch adds. “She is well connected in a very positive way to campus and the community — it will be a void that people all over campus will feel.”
Stanek plans to stay connected to UW-L through the Foundation as a champion of the new scholarship campaign, “Share the La Crosse Experience,” which aims to maintain accessibility to the excellent education for all students.
“She always, always, always advocates students first. That attitude — more than anything else,” says Tritch. “When she made a decision about the office, she always considered how it was going to impact students and help students.”
Career Services Director Karla Stanek started at UW-L in 1976. Her last day will be Aug. 9. Tim Tritch, Career Services, will become interim director until the position is filled. A search will begin after UW-L's new Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, Fred Pierce, starts on Aug. 19.[/caption]
After her retirement in August, Karla Stanek will be cruising the hills of Napa Valley, Calif., with her former college roommates. The three women are always amazed at what Stanek remembers about her years at UW-La Crosse.
Stanek, ’75 and ’80, says the UW-L memories aren’t hard to recall because she still lives them every day. UW-L is where she’s studied and worked since age 18 as an undergraduate and graduate student, employee in Career Services and eventually director of UW-L Career Services and the Academic Advising Center.
“For me, this has been a great, rewarding career and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” says Stanek. “We see the end of students’ educational journey and we see the success. That’s a real perk.”
Within Career Services, Stanek was instrumental in growing the internship program from placing 80 students a year to 800 today. She watched UW-L graduates become more successful in the job market as the selection of UW-L’s freshmen class became more competitive and the caliber of students went up. She saw an increase in the ease of finding careers for students as technology improved and the job search transitioned to almost completely online.
“I think what we’ve built in Career Services and Academic Advising at UW-L is strong,” says Stanek. “We’ve worked hard at adapting our program with the needs of the times and continuing to develop impressive, young professionals.”
One of Stanek’s favorite parts of the job has been forming strong connections with students on campus and people in the community. In fact, over her career, these two groups began to overlap as Stanek placed graduates locally and they built successful careers and eventually became area employers.
Stanek helped former student Cory Berget prepare for his first accounting interview at UW-L back in 1996. Today, he hires UW-L accounting graduates as a director for McGladrey, a firm that provides audit and accounting services to businesses.
But Berget says Stanek is not only a career matchmaker. She has helped him and his match — wife Tonya — find work in La Crosse and stay to raise a family.
“We thought we might not be able to stay in La Crosse because the city is not big enough for us both as CPAs to find work,” explains Berget. “She did a good job of looking out for us and finding a way to make it happen.”
Those kind of resourceful connections between students and careers have helped the accounting program and others become what they are today, he notes.
“You can have the best program in the world, but if you can’t help the students get jobs, it doesn’t matter,” says Berget.
Trish Harman, ’95, a former student worker in the Career Services office, says she’s remained connected with Stanek since graduation. She’s always looked to her as a mentor — first as a student and now as a working professional doing solution marketing for SAP while balancing motherhood.
“Karla was able to have a good career and a great family life,” says Harman. “That’s something I admire because now I’m a mother. As I’ve continued to grow in my career, she is always someone I can count on.”
[caption id="attachment_25144" align="alignright" width="550"] Karla Stanek, left, pictured in the Maple Leaf Parade as Mrs. Oktoberfest.[/caption]
Stanek has mastered balance between work, family and community involvement. Her giving nature and involvement in community organizations such as Rotary, the UW-L Foundation and the UW-L Alumni Association, led to her selection as 2010 Mrs. Oktoberfest.
Tim Tritch, interim director of Career Services, says Stanek’s 37 years of campus and community connections and her ability to remember so many former students and stay connected have made her an incredible resource to Career Services.
Kathy Wehrs, ’82, who had Stanek as a career counselor back in the 1980s, now works at Trane and partners with Stanek to recruit UW-L students. When they began working together, Wehrs was surprised that Stanek remembered her so many years later. That shows her how devoted she was to her students, she says.
“She was always approachable — someone who genuinely cared,” says Wehrs.
A void will be felt when Stanek is gone, says Tritch.
“And it’s not just a void that Career Services or the Academic Advising Center will feel,” Tritch adds. “She is well connected in a very positive way to campus and the community — it will be a void that people all over campus will feel.”
Stanek plans to stay connected to UW-L through the Foundation as a champion of the new scholarship campaign, “Share the La Crosse Experience,” which aims to maintain accessibility to the excellent education for all students.
“She always, always, always advocates students first. That attitude — more than anything else,” says Tritch. “When she made a decision about the office, she always considered how it was going to impact students and help students.”
The Karla Stanek file
- Holds two degrees from UW-L — bachelor’s in mass communications, 1975; master’s of professional development, 1980.
- Has worked in the UW-L Career Services Office since 1976. Career Program Specialist 1976-99; Director of Career Services, 1999-2006; Director of Career Services and the Academic Advising Center, since 2006.
- Campus involvement: UW-L Foundation Board, UW-L Alumni Association Board, Academic Staff Council, UW-L American Cancer Society Corporate Team Co-Captain, L-Club member, Organization for Campus Women and more
- 2011 Academic Staff Excellence Award winner
- Community involvement: 2010 Mrs. Oktoberfest, Rotary, Rotary Lights Foundation Board, Women's Fund of La Crosse Board, La Crosse Promise Future Centers, and more.