Campus Connection

December grad came for the area’s beauty, found engaging people

Katelin Harned’s first impression of UW-La Crosse came on an August day after a high school soccer game in Rochester, Minnesota. She and her mother decided to take a drive about an hour east to check out the campus. No one was around as they roamed the sidewalk by the empty stadium with a picturesque bluff backdrop. Harned was impressed with the scenic beauty. It’s what initially attracted her to UWL. Now the soon-to-be graduate says the quality of her UWL experience has had little to do with the physical appearance of this place. It has everything to do with what was missing during that August visit — its people. “I don’t think I’ve ever had someone say no to helping me at UWL,” she says. “People at this school are willing to help.” Harned asked for help when looking to apply for an internship with the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank the summer after her junior year. Someone in her Delta Sigma Pi fraternity gave her good advice that helped her land the internship, she says. She ended up working two internships and now landed a full-time job with the bank. UWL advisors and instructors were also a listening ear for general life advice — and major decision making that led to switching her major to international business and economics. Today Harned is paying it back by mentoring current UWL students interested in interning with the Federal Reserve Bank. “I’ve been helped, and I really want to do the same for other people,” she explains. Harned connected with other economics students interested in working with the Federal Reserve Bank via a career-focused student group created by Mary Hamman, assistant professor of economics. Through the group, she has already met with four economics students interested in learning more about what it’s like to work for the Fed. Hamman has been able to connect many other students and alumni via the group with the goal of preparing students for career success. That student-to-student or student-to-alumnus connection is key. “It’s so much more valuable than me trying to guess what will happen in the interview or what the first year in one of those jobs would be like … it is much better to talk to a peer who has gone through that process,” she says. While meeting with other students, Harned shared some of her own takeaways from college — like finding balance. A person can’t be 100 percent anything, she notes. In addition to being a student in business classes, she’s taken on leadership in her fraternity, studied abroad and challenged herself to develop business plans for real clients in the College of Business Administration’s Integrated Core Program. These diverse experiences have ultimately paid off. “I’ve found employers are not as interested in my specific degree, but in the skills I’ve learned, and the proof I have that I can solve problems, be flexible and adapt,” she says. “UWL offers you everything you need to be successful in job interviews and careers.” Connecting students to careers on LinkedIn Mary Hamman, UWL assistant professor of Economics, helped Katelin Harned connect with other UWL economics students interested in working with the Federal Reserve Bank through a career-focused student group she created, SEARCH (Source for Economics and Related Careers Help). Hamman started the informal group of economics majors and minors who’ve been in her classes the past two years. She is able to connect students seeking interviews with alumni who have already landed jobs within those companies. The ultimate goal is to complement the work of UWL Career Services by helping to make students more successful in their economics-related career pursuits. Students and alumni willingness to participate speaks to their pride in UWL, she adds. “They realize their degree is more valuable if people who have it also get out and succeed,” she says. Any current economics major or minor or alumnus in a related career field interested in joining the group can email Mary Hamman at mhamman@uwlax.edu. ----- UWL’s Winter Commencement set for Dec. 18  UWL’s Winter Commencement will be Sunday, Dec. 18, at the La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza. No tickets are required to attend. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. The ceremony begins for all graduates at 11 a.m. This includes students from the College of Business Administration, College of Liberal Studies, College of Science and Health and School of Education. A total of 695 students are candidates for graduation. This includes 103 graduate students and 592 undergraduates. More information on commencement is at www.uwlax.edu/commencement/