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Peter Thorsett is currently the Communications and Marketing Officer for Career Services at the University of South Florida. His team is responsible for promoting the department’s events, fairs, services, and other resources to students, employers, alumni, and other key stakeholders. He can be reached via email at pethorsett@usf.edu, found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pthorsett, and followed on Twitter: @pthorsett.
How did you get into the Career Services profession?
I am a little bit restless, which probably comes from moving around a bit as a kid. After growing up in places like Texas, New Jersey, and California, I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee for my undergrad at UT. I had a rough first year, let’s just say that coming out of the closet in Tennessee in the early ‘90s wasn’t my best idea, and moved back to California to get my bearings. While there, I had an opportunity to work at a biotech start-up in facilities management, and it was the perfect job to show me you don’t have to do the same thing day after day!
After that company got bought out, and I had gotten a little more comfortable in being me, I returned to Tennessee and finished my degree. I also worked in housing, which I really enjoyed because it allowed me to help my peers and tapped into a helping side I didn’t really know I possessed. As graduation approached, I hadn’t gotten accepted to grad school, and I didn’t really have a back-up plan, so I moved to Atlanta … just in time for the Centennial Olympic Games!
I worked for companies like Turner Broadcasting and Johnson Controls, where I discovered I was pretty good at using technology … and to think, this was the start of the dot com era with all of its possibilities! I went back to school at Georgia State University (GSU) to get an MBA in Electronic Commerce (which blended I.T. and marketing coursework) and as the dot com bubble started to burst, I was fortunate to land a webmaster job at the College of Law at GSU. That position led me to work on a doctorate in Instructional Technology, which encouraged me to explore the use of technology in education in ways I am still thinking about!
I also met my partner of 20 years while at GSU, and as he has moved around the country, I’ve been the “trailing spouse,” using and building my skills in housing, auxiliary services, libraries, and student affairs departments.
In each of those jobs, my work would put me into contact with the career services teams on those campuses. As I learned more and more about what they did, I found myself wanting to be a part of that work. When we moved to Florida, I was in the right place at the right time to join the Career Services team at USF as their CMO! I’ve had the opportunity to build a team of amazing people (Shout out to: Katlyn, Jake, Elizabeth, Ananya, Carson, and Cybil) and we work hard to build student awareness of all the great services and programs we offer. We also experiment with social media, video, print, in-person, and email channels to help our students get the right message at the right time. And we’ve been a part of the marketing and technology support for projects like our Career Readiness Badging and My Plan + My Pathways programs. As I look back on my first three years here (and ahead to what’s next), I am so glad to have been welcomed into this amazing profession!
Describe your SoACE experience. How did you get involved and what do you do for SoACE?
I got involved with SoACE my first year at USF. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a co-presenter with my colleague Jean Keelan, our Director of Career Planning, at the 2016 conference on our My Plan + My Pathways initiative. I attended as much as I could, including the KG Roundtables, where I met Sally Perez-Ramos and Gabe Jimenez who encouraged me to get involved with the Technology KG. After that, I had the opportunity to step in as Assistant Chair last year, when Gabe moved on to a new professional opportunity. I’ve continue to share my experiences through webinars, presentations, and by serving as the Chair for our KG this year.
What advice do you have for members who want to get more involved but aren’t sure where to begin?
Start with a Knowledge Group that matches up with a topic that you are interested in. It doesn’t have to be related to your current position, just something that you might like to learn more about. The KGs are a great place to meet like-minded people, to learn from others doing really cool things, and to share ideas that you can take back to your own office. Being in the Technology KG has been such a great experience because I’ve been able to connect with amazing people from around the region!
What is a unique fact about you?
I am a huge Disney geek, both about the company and Walt Disney himself, and have a large collection of Disney-related materials. And it’s not just books, pins, and merch from the parks, but things like old company handbooks and correspondence. One of my personal favorites is a letter that was signed by Walt himself!
What is your favorite quote?
One of my favorite quotes is, of course, from Walt Disney: “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” For me, it’s a reminder to keep people – and that includes our colleagues, our students, our employers, and all of our other stakeholders – at the core of everything we do.
Loved this spotlight of Peter! As his “orientation buddy” (we started at USF at the same time), I consider it fate, good luck, and a blessing from above that we’ve had so many opportunities to work together in support of student success! He prefers to be the behind-the-scenes guy helping the rest of us to shine, but I’m so glad that he was in the SoACE Spotlight! Very much earned and deserved! Bravo Peter!