<-December, Carleton welcomed Laura Clemens as the Career Center’s new Associate Director and Pre-Law Advisor.
Clemens holds a J.D. from the University of Saint Thomas and an M.S. in Academic Advising. She started her career as a civil litigation and family law attorney, later moving into higher education after discovering her passion for working with students. Most recently, Clemens worked as a Career Counselor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know students and am excited to transition from a larger university campus to a smaller campus setting,” said Clemens. Her role as the Career Center’s sole Pre-Law Advisor is a position that Internship Program Director Rachel Leatham assumed in the interim since the departure of the previous advisor, Erin Chamlee.
As part of her new role, Clemens will assume a range of administrative responsibilities, conducting assessment and examining data and trends to determine how best to serve students. Additionally, she will work directly with pre-law students as a counselor, and instruct a five-week course aiming to educate seniors on how to navigate their career searches after Carleton.
Clemens is impressed by the efficient structure of the Career Center, saying that, “Program managers work exclusively with certain aspects of the Career Center. Everyone in the Career Center is specialized.”
At Carleton, Clemens is looking forward to building off of previous experiences and “meeting new challenges. It’s fun to work with a new population of students—to help students discover where their strengths are and to help them develop the skills before they determine a more specialized career path,” she said. “It’s fun to have the ripple effect at the beginning, rather than feeling the effect at the other end.”
Moreover, Clemens is impressed by the level of programming and opportunities the Career Center offers to students and is looking forward to contributing to the Career Center’s pursuits in offering students even more opportunities.
“These are unique opportunities that Carleton students have,” she said.
Clemens said that she is impressed by Carleton students’ thoughtfulness, whether applied to major selection or approaches to professional development. In contrast to her previous position at a law school, she expects to enjoy her upcoming experiences in working with her caseload at Carleton particularly because it will allow her to “think more creatively, and not just about legal careers.”
When not at Carleton, Clemens enjoys spending time with her husband, two-year-old and four-month-old, and Big Mac, her dog. Together, they enjoy exploring the Twin Cities and beyond, trying new activities, and watching sports.