Aundrea Caraway designs engaging teaching and training experiences for a variety of topics for both in person and online delivery. She believes learning should be fun, hands-on, and improve performance. She received her Masters of Science in Learning Technologies in 2017.
Aundrea would like to talk with students who are interested in leadership and the intersection of education and technology. Reach out to Aundrea on Mean Green Mentors, and read on to find out more about her journey.
Thanks so much for offering mentorship to current students. How have mentors helped you in the past, and how did you meet them?
I don’t remember where, but I once heard a quote that said you should always have a mentor and you should always be mentoring someone else, and that is something that I’ve tried to implement in my life since hearing it. I’ve found mentors in various places; at conferences and networking events, through my jobs. Typically, my relationship with my mentors have come from seeing someone doing what I want to do really well, and introducing myself and asking them questions about how they got to where they are. The first step sometimes feels a little awkward (especially since I’m an introvert), but everyone I’ve ever reached out to has always been very helpful and excited to share their knowledge. I think the biggest ways my mentors have helped me have been to offer advice, introduce me to opportunities and other people in their network, and be an advocate for me and my work. My mentors are often sharing opportunities and providing recommendations for me to people they know and that’s really helpful.
One of the biggest challenges of entering an industry is getting that first experience under your belt. Do you have any tips or strategies on how to break through that barrier?
I think completing an internship is a great way to get some experience under your belt. You also need to tap into your network, that’s why I believe mentoring is so important; and personal recommendation from someone the employer knows goes a long way in the job search process. I also think it’s important to find a way to showcase your skills, whether it’s a portfolio, LinkedIn profile, or even a personal website or blog where you write about your work, skills and career interests. Your first experience requires an employer to take a little bit of a risk on you so recommendations and showcasing your skills can provide a little more credibility than just your resume on its own.
What are your top five tools when it comes to professional development (job search/networking/organization/etc)?
- Joining a professional organization (most offer students discounts if you are still a student when you join). They often have professional development opportunities, events, and some even have their own industry specific job boards.
- LinkedIn is a great tool to learn about different opportunities, and to showcase your skills and experiences.
- Facebook groups, this one might surprise people, but I have several industry related Facebook groups I’m a part of and they are a great place to crowdsource advice and industry recommendations. People build community through these groups and often share job posts and other opportunities.
You are currently Online Student Experience Manager at UNT. When looking back, what were some significant moments or decisions that led you to where you are now?
When I was a Coordinator in the Orientation and Transition Programs Office at UNT I was working on creating programs for upperclassmen. At the time, our senior classification had about 10,000 students. I realized there was no way we could reach that many students using only in person programs with the resources and staff we had, so I started experimenting with creating online modules about student success and career readiness, and to my surprise it worked. I was inspired to go back to school and earn a Master’s in Learning Technologies at UNT, and I continued to learn and experiment with online student services and co-curricular learning in the different positions I moved into. Eventually, there was an opportunity to take on a role solely dedicated to student’s experiences online, so I decided to go for it and here I am.
What do you wish you knew while in school that you know now?
How important networking is. Especially since I’m an introvert, I definitely focused on my classroom experience when I was in undergrad. I wish I knew how important developing soft skills, co-curricular involvement, and networking would be to my career development.
What would you like current students to ask you about?
I think I’m open to students asking just about anything. Things related to learning technologies, eLearning, EdTech, game based learning, gamification and artificial intelligence are all things that I like to talk about. I’ve also had really good conversations with students about switching careers, transferable skills and non traditional pathways into careers . My bachelor’s degree is in accounting and I actually worked in that field for a few years before finding my way into higher education. I have a family, and I earned 2 of my 3 degrees while working full time with young kids, so I also like to share productivity tips and advice for balancing multiple responsibilities.
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