Kerri Chapman

Mentorship Commitment Preference: Engage in a long-term mentorship (connect with your mentee throughout the semester, outside of LinkUp events — frequency and format are flexible). Available for virtual mentoring. 

Industry: Higher Education/Information Technology

Employer: Washington and Lee University

Job Title: Deputy Chief Information Officer

Areas Michelle is interested in mentoring: 

• Work-life Balance
• Interview Preparation
• Leadership Growth
• Communication Skills
• Time Management

Bio: I have over 25 years of experience in higher education administration, starting in admissions and financial aid, and eventually landing in IT.  My original plan was to either be a teacher or an attorney!  I have leveraged my undergraduate degree in a number of ways, and am happy to share how I made a jump from liberal arts to something more technical.

If you were starting your career today, what is the one piece of advice you would give yourself? Always ask the question.  When I first started my career, I didn't feel confident enough to ask the dozens of questions swirling around in my head.  If you don't ask, you'll never know what might have been.

In what ways has your career path been unique or unconventional? Although I stayed in higher education for my entire professional career, about 20 years ago I took a hard left turn from student affairs/services to IT.  After 7-8 years in IT, I moved to advancement, which was an area I knew nothing about, and led the operations team through a systems conversion.  This enabled me to move up into management on the IT side.

Were you involved in any affinity groups during your time at Mason?

• Peer Advisor
• Orientation Leader
• President of Alpha Phi Omega
• On-Campus Job - Office of Community Service and Leadership

Kerri is open to participating in informational interviews