UMSL Career Services helped Andrea Rees put her English degree to use as a customer service representative in the agriculture industry. (Photo by August Jennewein)

As the spring 2014 semester drew to a close, graduating English major Andrea Rees felt lost. She made an appointment with Rachel Boehlow, assistant director of Career Services.

“Graduation seemed so far off, and suddenly it was standing in front of me, breathing down my neck,” Rees says. “But Rachel was quite calming. She steered me in a direction that I hadn’t thought of.”

Boehlow encouraged Rees to go beyond combing the typical job-posting sites and think about her career search in a different way.

“She taught me how to connect to what I might be capable of doing,” Rees says. “I completely reformatted my résumé and my way of thinking about potential employment. I also took those skills into the interview and thought about my answers before blurting them out.”

The strategy succeeded. In a few weeks Rees secured a customer service job in the agriculture industry with fantastic benefits. It puts her English degree to use, challenging her to use language in ways that communicate clearly to those she serves.

This story was originally published in the fall 2014 issue of UMSL Magazine. To read more Career Services success stories click here.