I chose to study Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) because I am passionate about child development and wanted to pursue a career that helped families. I discovered the HDFS major on SPU’s website my senior year of high school and immediately knew it was for me! Each course I took had such a focused look on the needs of the family. As I worked through the program, I started to see the intersections between nutrition, clothing, and housing that impact a child’s life. I believe families need to be surrounded by a strong community of support to thrive.
When it came time to find a job, I sought organizations that shared the FCS mission of improving the lives of families and individuals. I work for a non-profit foundation called Casey Family Programs as an Associate Business Analyst, managing all technology assets and security systems for employees. Our “mission is to provide and improve - and ultimately prevent the need for - foster care.”
Technology can play a huge role in the improvement of children’s lives. An example of this from my work is our social workers use laptops out in the field. It’s my team’s responsibility to ensure they are functioning properly so that they can do their job effectively. With my HDFS background, I provide my team a unique perspective when looking at the intersection of technology and the needs of the family, applying the things I learned about family of origin, the affordable housing crisis, nutritional impact, emotional intelligence, and so much more. I consider all these topics daily when developing solutions to problems.
Post-graduation, I worked in Human Resources for two years. It was a great experience to learn how companies approach hiring talent. They look at the whole person, considering not just their experience, but their character, passion and rigor. In my new role, I intend to focus the next few years on my building technical skills and experience in the profession of Project Management in technology.