RU-N Staff
Dr. So’s advice to students is to be open to experiences and directions that are “not a part of the plan.” “Pay attention to the unexpected,” she says, “because that just might be where the best opportunity lies.”
As Executive Director of the Rutgers-Newark Career Development Center, Dr. Bernadette So’s days are spent focusing on students and their future careers. As a child she loved science and, following her in parent’s footsteps, pursued science degrees in college and graduate school. Though she knew she would not pursue medicine like her mother and father had done, she had every intention of becoming a science faculty member. Late in her PhD studies, Bernadette realized that her real passion was working closely with students. She enthusiastically describes the desire she has always had to mentor and support students in making the right choices in their lives. Curious about what that passion might lead to, and courageous enough to take a chance, Bernadette completed her PhD in Molecular Biology and then sought out volunteer work to learn what working in the field of Career Services would be like. Early volunteer work quickly led to part-time and then full-time positions in Career Development.
Prior to working at RU-N, Dr. So was familiar with the university via family members who are RU-N alumni. She was motivated to pursue her current leadership role because of the clear intersection between careers and student identity at the university. She believes that every student has a story to tell, and that their stories make them able to uniquely and significantly contribute to today’s workforce. “We have what employers want,” she says, and she sees her job as helping students to tell their stories effectively, while getting employers and community partners to recognize the richness of experience and perspective that RU-N students have and can bring to their organizations.
Dr. So believes in the importance of recognition months like Women’s History Month because they acknowledge identities that have not been given the credit for their achievements. Ever the curious, she encourages everyone to know their own story and history, as well as that of the people all around us.
Dr. So’s advice to students is to be open to experiences and directions that are “not a part of the plan.” “Pay attention to the unexpected,” she says, “because that just might be where the best opportunity lies.”
The Division of Student Affairs salutes Bernadette So for listening closely to students’ stories and believing that every story makes a difference.