Madelyn Jones joined the Career Development Center's Career Counseling team and the Office of Academic Student Initiatives and Services as a new College of Education and Health Professions career counselor in August of this year. Jones provides COEHP students with assistance through career exploration, career development, and transitioning to their professional careers.

"My hope is to create an environment where students can feel fully prepared and confident moving forward with a career decision," through counseling and providing students with the right tools and resources to achieve their goals, Jones said.

She graduated from Southern Arkansas University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in social work in 2014. In December of 2016, she earned a masters in student affairs and college counseling from SAU. Then, she started her career as an academic advisor and recruiter at SAU, before moving to Fayetteville to work as an advisor in  Health, Human Performance and Recreation in March of 2017.

Jones plans on implementing new strategies to help COEHP students. "One goal is to create a student outreach program in highly sought after health professions careers. Another objective is to offer various appointments that range from choosing a major, general career counseling, resume reviews, mock interviews and graduate school, internship or job search assistance," Jones said.

After experiencing her own struggles with career development in college when she changed her degree plan from nursing to psychology, she was able to look to her own career mentors at SAU. "I want students to know that they are not alone on their educational journey and I want to offer the same support and mentorship to our students that I received as a college student," Jones said.

Students can reach out to Jones by emailing her at smj041@uark.edu or by calling the CDC office at 479-575-2805. They can also schedule an appointment with her through Handshake.