Tarra Carson

I started my career in 1999 after graduating from Grand Valley State University. I moved to Chicago, Illinois, where I began working in education and had the opportunity to receive my first master's degree from Northeastern Illinois University in the field of special education. During my tenure living in Chicago from 2000 to 2010, I had the opportunity to work in various fields, from social services to education specialist, to being a dean of students, to a special education teacher. In 2010, I relocated back to my hometown of Muskegon, Michigan, where I had the opportunity not only to bring my skill, knowledge, and mindset from what I learned over the years in Chicago, but to innovate what was going on in the city of Muskegon. Within the last 15 years, I have worked all the way from education to social services, and currently I'm in higher education. One of the good factors in my field is that it's very versatile. I work with children all the way to adults, mentoring, college advising, career advising, but most of all, making impact in students' lives. I have seen students graduate from high school, from college, getting their bachelor's, their master's, and their doctorate degrees. I feel like my impact has carried over the 27 years, making a difference in people's lives.