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Blake Winchell is a Manager in Student Services for the LSU Olinde Career Center where he is responsible for the operational initiatives of the Job Search team. His team primarily assists students in developing the skills necessary to market themselves effectively in their professional careers. In this capacity Blake works individually with students, staff, and alumni to build their resumes, interviewing skills, and professional polish in order to communicate with employers or graduate schools. In addition to his primary responsibilities, Blake advises stakeholders on business etiquette, social media, and networking.
As a two-time alum of LSU, Blake has worked for the LSU Olinde Career Center for 10 years. He currently serves as the Co-Chair for the SoACE State Association and Consortium Leadership Committee; previously holding multiple executive board positions with the Louisiana Association of Colleges and Employers and the LSU Delta Chi Fraternity Alumni Board of Trustees. Blake lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, Jennifer, and their four-year-old son, Brennan.
Connect with Blake on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/blakewinchell.
How did you get into the Career Services profession?
I fell into it, honestly. My first job out of college was in our Recruiting Services office, trying to entice high school students to apply to LSU. While I enjoyed it, the travel and high school students started to take its toll. I was not looking to leave campus and there was an open position in the Career Center that I was lucky enough to be offered. After a year or so into the job, it became apparent that I had found my niche in Higher Education. The very tangible nature of our work is exciting and we represent the culmination of a student’s experience in college.
Describe your SoACE Experience. How did you get involved and how has that experience influenced you?
I attended my first SoACE Annual Conference in 2009, but took a few years off from attending the conference. When I returned to the conference, I coincidentally ran into many of the colleagues that I met at my first conference and I instantly felt at home. I have made it a point to attend every conference since and those professional relationships have continued to grow and blossom.
My major involvement in SoACE started through my involvement in LACE on the Executive Board. Through that experience I was incorporated into the SoACE State Association and Consortium Leadership Committee, a committee designed to connect leadership at the state level to each other and to SoACE. Being involved with that committee not only introduced me to the professionals leading their state associations, but to new ideas about how to better LACE.
After my term with LACE was over, I was asked to serve as the Co-Chair of the SoACE State Association and Consortium Leadership Committee. As an extrovert, this has been very rewarding as it has expanded my personal and professional network both at home and at the conference. As someone who may struggle with organization however, this position has tested my professional competencies and commitment to something other than my daily job at LSU, which I did not expect when I accepted the role. Over the past year, I have grown as a professional and hope that I am representing SoACE in a respectable way.
What advice do you have for new professionals who aspire to get more involved in the profession?
I advise my team on campus to take easy steps to get involved in a professional association. Ensure you get involved in a way that is worthwhile to your development and an opportunity that you can handle as you grow as a professional in your office. For me, LACE was an approachable way to get involved and grow as a leader. For others, being a part of a Knowledge Group or just volunteering to introduce a presenter at a conference is most comfortable. From there, one can start to determine where they best fit in the association and what they want to get out of being involved.
I also think finding a mentor or friends in your field, or at least someone to model your career after is important. The relationships I developed in LACE and SoACE became the people who encouraged and supported me throughout my leadership roles. They also were quick to recommend new opportunities to grow.
What is your favorite book and why?
I have an obsession with old cookbooks, especially ones from small south Louisiana communities. I probably have 60 cookbooks that I use fairly regularly to find new things to cook or just as references for developing my own “recipes”. My favorite one is Talk About Good which is a great cookbook by itself but my copy is from 1967 and was my grandmothers, with a good number of handwritten notes or additional recipes. Louisiana food culture means a good deal to me and this provides a direct connection to my heritage.
What is your favorite quote?
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?'”
― David Foster Wallace, This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life\
What are some of your hobbies when not working?
Outside of work, my biggest hobby is probably homebrewing beer. I am the President of a local homebrew club, through which we participate in and host multiple festivals for charity in and around Baton Rouge. I also like to cook and play/watch soccer (Big Tottenham Hotspurs and Atlanta United supporter); luckily my son is old enough to participate in both of those hobbies.
