Staff

Liz Horgan has served as the Director of the Career and Professional Development Center since 2011. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bryant University and her Master of Education in Student Affairs Counseling from Bridgewater State University. Liz also serves as the Director of the Professional Development Seminar Program (PDS) at Nichols, a series of four credit bearing career focused courses which all undergraduate students are required to complete before graduating.  Students take one PDS course each of their four years at Nichols. Liz truly enjoys helping students and alumni as they pursue their career goals.  She also finds teaching in the PDS program very rewarding.

Prior to joining Nichols, Liz spent over 20 years working for a Boston based residential property management firm in a variety of marketing, management, and human resource roles.  Her responsibilities there included over ten years developing and managing its national college recruitment program. The experience gained while attending career fairs, conducting information sessions, and interviewing hundreds of students lends itself well to her work developing employer partnerships and career coaching students and alumni.

Employer Focus: Accounting, Economics, English, Finance, History, Mathematics

Lori Smith is the Associate Director of the Career and Professional Development Center. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration degrees at Nichols College in 2007 and 2009.  She is a dedicated career advisor for all students, undergraduate and graduate, and alumni.  Lori assists with the coordination of career development programming on campus, serves as a resource to faculty members in regards to career development and opportunities, and makes connections with employers to provide opportunities and share their expertise with Nichols students and alumni. In addition, she teaches in the Professional Development Program and serves as the Senior PDS Coordinator.

Prior to joining Nichols College, Lori worked for the Town of Dudley for 11 years on the Board of Health and as Director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program working with schools, youth centers, hospitals, businesses, and local police departments. She managed a five town collaboration for which she developed prevention strategies, education and programming. She also provided education materials and trainings to local businesses as well as enforcement. Lori also has a background in insurance.

Employer Focus: Criminal Justice, Human Resources, International Business, Psychology

Abby Gould joined the Career and Professional Development Center staff in August of 2014 as the Employer Relations Associate. Abby has her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Nichols College. Currently, Abby oversees the Employer Relations aspect of the department and the major event planning such as the Annual Career & Internship Fair. She actively teaches in the Professional Development Seminar (PDS) program and also serves as the Coordinator for 3^rd Year PDS.

Prior to joining Nichols College, Abby studied Business Communication and Hospitality Management. Throughout her studies, she interned for the American Red Cross as an Event & Fundraising Intern and helped plan a major fundraising event for the Worcester, MA office. However, Abby truly realized her passion for event management by serving as an Event Management Intern for Willowbend which is a country club on Cape Cod. She oversaw and assisted with the execution of roughly 75 events during a 3 month period and absolutely fell in love with the overall design and execution of a broad spectrum of events. With a passion for student success, event management and employer engagement, Abby truly values the art of networking and building connections for students/alumni.

Employer Focus: Business Communication, Hospitality Management, Management, Marketing, Sport Management

Jenna Parker is the Recruitment and Marketing Coordinator of the Career and Professional Development Center. Jenna holds an Associate of Art in General Studies from Quinsigamond Community College and a Bachelor of Art in English and Writing from Worcester State University. In her role, she manages the center’s job database and social media platforms and assists students, employers, faculty and staff with career related questions. Jenna also develops and maintains career resources and leads work study Office Assistants.

Jenna has been with the department since May 2015. Previously she worked as an English and writing tutor at Quinsigamond Community College. Her experiences in higher education, working one-on-one with students, and creating written materials have helped her tremendously in this role. Jenna also worked as a Marketing Manager intern for a school publication where she managed social media platforms and overall marketing which translates to her role here.

Cassandra Rudd is currently a senior double majoring in Psychology and English. She spends most of her time doing a lot of homework but also enjoys listening to hip-hop/rap music and spending time with her family and friends. She currently works on campus at the Career and Professional Development Center as a Head Work Study and at the Academic Resource Center as a Writing Fellow. After graduating from Nichols, she is hoping to go to graduate school and pursue a career as a Forensic Psychologist and possibly work with the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the US Marshals. She says “You may be wondering why I am also an English major when I am going into the Psychology field, and the answer to that is simple: I love to read and write. I have always enjoyed both of these disciplines and they both can translate in any type of career field.” Writing blog entries connects her interests and work at the Career and Professional Development Center and skills as a writer. The mission and purpose of this blog is to give students access to important career information no matter what their year, major or level of experience.