Jennifer Skeen

I attribute my success to a willingness to embrace change, build on diverse experiences, and lead with purpose—from my early career in public relations to pioneering workforce initiatives in higher education. Most importantly, my passion for advocating for adult learners and inspiring students and families to believe in their potential continues to drive everything I do.

The greatest piece of advice that I've received is be an expert in your field. I had a mentor in college, an associate provost, and she said to me one time, even your post-it notes shouldn't have a typo. I was in journalism and PR, and she told me to be an expert in my field, to understand who the competition is. I think all of us, at the end of the day, if we're not experts in our field, then are we doing what we're called to do? Are we pursuing our passions? But be an expert in your field and learn as much as you can about that field.

When you're looking at your career pathway, don't get set on a pathway. Look at your skills and what are your strengths - don't focus on your weaknesses. Think about what you can bring to the table at that organization from a strengths perspective. I think a lot of us when we're young think, oh, I don't know what I want to be, I don't know what I want to do. I started out at the NFL Players Association working in sports marketing and crisis management, and I never thought I would end up in higher ed. When you're entering the workforce, take a step back and look at who you are, what your strengths are, and play to those strengths. Know that where you start may not be where you end up. Do an inventory of your strengths, and that's what you can bring to the table. Don't get pigeonholed into something that you don't love. If you have to take something right out of college to build your experience and portfolio, that's okay, but keep your skills, keep your focus, be true to yourself, and where you start out may not be where you end up, but that's okay.

I would say that one of the biggest challenges is helping, especially adult learners, believe in themselves. A lot of times, once they take one or two classes, their confidence builds. I had a guy in his 50s who told me he couldn't take a computer class, but then he connected with one of his associates in their 20s, and suddenly he was asking questions and learning. A lot of it is building confidence. A lot of times, I can find financial resources with grant dollars or employer dollars through tuition assistance programs, but a lot of times it's just encouraging people that they can do it. I think people think they don't have the confidence, or the time, or energy, and I'm here to tell them they do. It's reminding them that education is something no one can take away. If you get laid off, you still have that education. If you end up in a divorce situation, they can't split that up in the divorce. You have that for the rest of your life, and you can build on that.

Number one, honesty and integrity. I feel like in public relations, when I was young, working in the housing market, working with the NFL Players Association and other areas, financial services, a lot of times in public relations during a crisis, if anyone ever causes you to stop and pause and say, is this the right thing to do, that's that internal voice saying you need to be honest in your communications. Your reputation is your brand, it is who you are. So honesty is first and foremost, and integrity is obviously synonymous with that. The other thing is to really think about if there's anything that ever causes you unstableness within you, know that that's that internal conscious telling you, hey, this is not my path, this is not the statement I want to give to the press, this is not what I want to do. If anything's giving you that uneasy feeling, listen to it.