Staff Members
Patricia HurleyJob Title: Director of Career Services
Email: hurley-p@mssu.edu
Pat has been at MSSU for the past six years. She earned her master's degree in Counseling from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and her bachelor's degree in Social Science Education from the University of Nebraska. She has also worked in Career Services at the University of Iowa and the University of South Dakota for a combination of 17 years of working in this field. Pat has two daughters who keep her very busy.
Lora BurchJob Title: Career Services Coordinator
Email: burch-l@mssu.edu
Lora started working for MSSU in Career Services in November, 2007. She has over 14 years of experience working in job search assistance. She received her master's degree in liberal studies from the University of Oklahoma, and her bachelor's degree in public administration from San Diego State University. Lora is originally from Iowa, but has lived up and down the East and West coasts as well as having lived in Japan for about nine months. She enjoys walking/hiking, gardening, traveling, reading, and spending time with her friends and two grown sons and grandson who was born in October 2001.
Barbara PoppeJob Title: Secretary
Email: poppe-b@mssu.edu
Barb started working in Career Services at MSSU in August of 1993. Prior to her joining MSSU, she worked at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York and at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She also worked as a secretary in two public school systems and at a law firm.
Tara ClarkJob Title: Service Learning Coordinator
Email: clark-tara@mssu.edu
Tara joined Career Services in November, 2009. She received her BA both in English Literature and General Writing from MSSU. As an AmeriCorps VISTA member, she is incorporating students' education with community service through the Service Learning Program. She enjoys traveling with her family. Recently, she and her husband traveled to Paris with a student group.
Student Employees
Bethany GoadJob Title: Office Assistant, Special Projects
Bethany joined the Career Services team in June, 2008. Though now pursuing a nursing degree, Bethany previously earned degrees from the University of Michigan in English and German. During that time, she took the opportunity to develop her German knowledge by studying abroad at the Universität Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany. Following graduation in 2007, she taught English in Thailand for ten months before coming to Joplin in April. Bethany enjoys running, swimming, singing, playing the piano, writing poetry, researching issues related to diabetes, and studying the Bible.
Kristi DunkelbergerJob Title: Office Assistant, Student Relations
Kristi is a sophomore majoring in Speech Communications at MSSU and originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas. She started working for Career Services in August 2008. She has recently started a non profit organization called Invision, where she speaks to middle and junior high school girls in schools and community centers about self confidence, modesty and how to reach a goal.
Staci BallJob Title: Office Assistant, Marketing
Born in San Diego, California, Staci moved to Joplin when she was 5. She graduated from Joplin High School class of 2007. She is a senior Marketing major and potential Psychology minor at MSSU. From May 2007 to June 2009, she was the assitant to the Director of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. Last summer she completed a marketing internship at Caldwell Associates Architects Inc. in Pensacola, Florida. Following graduation, Staci plans to attend Law school to study Family Law. She enjoys reading, watching movies, scrapbooking, photography, and spending time with family and friends.
Kelley HammondJob Title: Office Assistant, Career Fairs
Kelley joined the Career Services team in October, 2009. Prior to that she volunteered as a Career Services Ambassador. She is a senior double major in International Business and French. She is originally from Monett but moved to Joplin after spending the Spring 2009 semester studying abroad in Orléans, France. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing all kinds of sports, and spending time with family and friends. After graduating in December 2010, she plans on continuing her education to earn a Masters Degree in Business from MSSU.
Bee YangJob Title: Office Assistant, Career Services Facebook
Bee started working for Career Services in October 2009, after volunteering as a Career Services Ambassador. He was born in San Diego, California and has lived in big cities for 14 years so coming to MSSU was a great change for him. He is currently a sophomore major in Nursing. He plans to graduate in May 2012 and go to graduate school, to become a family nurse practitioner. He enjoys hunting, fishing and playing sports.
Deji OgunsolaJob Title: Website Manager
Deji joined Career Services at MSSU in late December 2007, during the intersession period. He is a senior CIS major and has a keen interest in Software Development which he plans to pursue after he graduates in December 2009. He recently completed a summer internship at Qualcomm Incorporated in San Diego, CA. He enjoys playing soccer and reading financial related news amongst others.