Ever wonder who is part of the mastermind crew in the Career Education and Professional Development Office? Learn about Ashley Dwyer, or as many of you might know her “adwyer”, Assistant Director of Employer Relations and an alumna of Siena!
Ashley grew up in the Capital Region and attended Siena where she was on the cross country team and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors of Arts in English. After Siena, she attended the College at St. Rose for graduate school. In 2013, Ashley earned a Master’s degree in College Student Services Administration.
Soon after finishing her master’s degree, Ashley began volunteering for the Siena College Career Center (now known as the Career Education and Professional Development Office). Just a few days into volunteering, Ashley was hired for a temporary position as Assistant Director of Employer Relations. Knowing that this position was temporary, Ashley threw herself into her work and planned the spring career fair. Ultimately, Ashley was offered a full-time position! “It was like a four-month interview,” said Ashley. Now, she uses her experiences to encourage students to consider unpaid positions, temporary positions, or positions that might be outside their comfort zones because you never really know where things can go!
As the Assistant Director for Employer Relations, half of Ashley’s job is working with employers to recruit both on campus and virtually. On campus, she organizes career fairs, works with employers to schedule on-campus interviews and manages general events which include resume critique nights, interview prep events, and so much more.
If you’re a Siena student, your Gmail inbox is jam-packed with fliers from adwyer@siena.edu. Email fliers go out to the students to inform them of every one of the numerous employers that are specifically looking to hire Siena students. Ashley and her Marketing Career Assistants have tried to consolidate those email fliers so you get the same amount of information but not quite as many emails.
The other half of Ashley’s job, career advising, is what she says is “really her heart.” You can make an appointment with Ashley for advising in areas that include: resume/cover letter critiques, mock interviews, career exploration, internship searches and many other areas of career preparation. One of her favorite type of appointments is resume critiques because you can learn so much about a person through his or her resume. Students tend to be most attentive during these appointments and really care about the advice counselors have to give. Although she spends her days reading over countless resumes, Ashley says she rarely gets sick of them.
You can also take a class with Professor Ashley Dwyer! Exploring Careers meets once a week to prep students for their future career paths. Ashley loves her new role as a professor and says the students all really care about what they get out of the class, and that makes for an enjoyable 15 weeks.
Outside of work, Ashley loves using skiing and spinning as a way to distress! She also relies on her family and friends to help her unwind from work. Her dad and brother are both professors at Siena, which allows for lunch breaks with her family! Ashley says that her parents inspire her and her siblings to continue learning and to pride themselves on great work ethics!
If you have any career questions, stop by the Career Education and Professional Development Office in Foy Hall and make an appointment with Ashley.