Amanda Stultz

Kansas State University•Junior•Psychology•Non-Profit Leadership•Communication Studies•

I work as a Career Specialist at the Academic and Career Information Center (ACIC) at K-State. Going to work is one of my favorite parts of the day; not only do I get to work with my best friends, I get the opportunity everyday to meet someone new. As a Career Specialist, I meet one on one with students who are working toward deciding on a major or career path. At the ACIC, we have career assessments that help students evaluate their interests, values, skills and personality in order to get ideas about majors or careers that might be a good fit. It's not our job to get students to a decision per se, but rather we help students find the resources they need to make a decision about a major or career path. I love being able to use my Developer strength in working with peers to help them learn more about themselves and their passions. I always seem to learn more about myself in the process, too!

In high school, I always, always thought I was going to be an English teacher; I love teaching and I love English (some call me the "Grammar Queen"). But after my senior year, I wondered if there was something else I was supposed to do with my life. So, after taking Psychology in high school, I knew that it would be something I could do very well. I knew that I had strengths in empathy and understanding for other people, so I thought I could at least start in Psychology and see if there was a direction I could take with it. Now I have chosen an application of Psychology in which I can use my understanding of people and my teaching skills!

I was relatively confident about my choice of Psychology by the end of my freshman year at K-State, but I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I had no idea about what options were even out there; I just knew what I didn't want to do, and that was very limiting. I came to ACIC (nearly out of desperation) and the Career Specialist I met with helped me find the perfect career options for me. I am planning to complete a graduate program for Organizational Leadership and Development, and we'll see where that takes me next!