Shana Lancaster

I've been in higher education for 4 years now, but my journey to get here has been quite varied. I started out in sales with AT&T for four years after college, then became a bank manager even though I had never been in banking before. I walked into the interview and met with the regional managers and the CEO of the company, and they put me into the manager track rather quickly. I worked there through COVID, and we were at a branch that was open 6 days a week and still people-facing where most banks weren't, so it was a very trying time. After that, I took a complete left turn and worked as a science teacher at a correctional school for 2 years because I have a degree in biology. The institution was turning into a trauma-informed center for youth, which was a really cool experience, but it got to the point where the institution was becoming understaffed and it wasn't becoming safe for women. That's when I got recommended into the financial aid field at a college. I loved it and was there for a year, but I had my wonderful little girl that they told me I was never gonna have, and unfortunately the company didn't have any maternity benefits and would only let me be off for 6 weeks when I needed 8 weeks with a C-section. So I moved to a small private institution in the financial aid field and worked there for 2 years. Then a girl I worked with at the bank who works at Nightingale College said this is really a place she thought I needed to come because of what the school stands for and the culture. I interviewed, loved my supervisor right off the bat, hit the ground running, and then a supervisor position came available and I was basically told I was going to apply for it by both my directors and fellow supervisors. I became supervisor of the bursar department after just 4 months. I still absolutely love it - I love the culture, I love the things we're really trying to do, and I get to be there for other women. My whole team is women. Our school is really good about work-life balance and making sure you get to be the parent first and take care of yourself physically and mentally before you take care of the company. Our CEO is trying to forcibly change the education system and also change the work culture so it's not toxic for so many people, and he's starting with his own company.