Spotlight

Ashley Rizzotto is a career advisor with the Office of Career Development at Nova Southeastern University since June 2017. Ashley works with undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni to help them confidently pursue their career endeavors. Ashley is a proud native of Brooklyn, NY. She attended Stony Brook University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with two minors: Health and Wellness, and Women and Gender Studies. She continued her education by earning a Masters of Education degree in Student Affairs Administration and Higher Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to joining the Office of Career Development, Ashley has held roles in Career Services, Orientation Services, and Health and Wellness Education. These experiences, along with Ashley’s winding and bumpy career journey to find her own path inspires her daily in helping students discover the strengths that’ll set them up for success academically, socially, and professionally.

How did you get into the Career Services profession?
I attended UNC Greensboro for my Masters of Education in Student Affairs Administration and Higher Education from 2015-2017. There, I was encouraged to take on mini-internships in functional areas that I was not familiar with. In the spring of my first year, I became a Peer Career Ambassador and took on drop-in appointments spanning resumes, cover letters, Linkedin, and interview tips. I quickly began to find alignment in the ways I enjoy educating and developing others and the ways that career development can truly empower students with life-long skills. I advocated for myself and became a graduate assistant in that career center for my second year, leading to my first professional role within Career Services as a Career Advisor & Coordinator of Peer Advisor Programs at Nova Southeastern University.

Describe your SoACE Experience. How did you get involved and how has that experience influenced you?
My first experience with SoACE was attending the December 2016 conference in Fort Lauderdale as a Graduate Student. There, I learned so much about the field and connected with many brilliant colleagues. Most notably, I met Maggie Morrissey, who was a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University at the time. We stuck together throughout the conference and a couple months later when a career advisor position was opened at NSU I was able to leverage my connection with her at SoACE which led to my first professional job out of graduate school. She is now my coworker and we look back fondly on how we met!

Since August 2018 I have been the Marketing and Communications Chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of SoACE. In that time I’ve launched #inclusionthursday tweets to spark dialogue through twitter and published a blog on current standings of the wage gap and pay equity. I’m greatly appreciative of this opportunity since I get to engage with career professionals across state lines and a variety of institutions all with the same purpose of serving students and meeting their needs.

What advice do you have for new professionals who aspire to get more involved in the profession?
Talk your truth into existence and try everything.

If there’s something you want to try, ask for it. If it doesn’t make sense within your responsibilities, find ways to weave in your interests and passions. Colleagues who have been in the field have lots of experiences and advise to share, so don’t be afraid to reach out and include others in your process.

What has been your greatest accomplishment to date?
My greatest accomplishment is being accepted to give a TEDx talk at TEDxNSU in March 2019. Since I first realized I wanted to be an educator, having a TED talk was immediately put on my professional bucket list. I will be speaking on “Researching & Soul-searching: Mastering the Art of the Interview,” my own strategic approach to help people find alignment between their internal needs and the external career opportunities around them. It is my hope with this talk to help others intentionally pursue careers that fulfill them from a motivational level and help them prepare to advocate for those identified needs. See Ashley’s TEDx Talk embedded below.

What are some of your hobbies when not working?
I am a woman of many hobbies! Some of my current favorites are: crocheting blankets and stuffed animals, listening to podcasts (preferably nerdy or feminist topics), playing board games or attending trivia with friends, and recently learning how to play the ukulele. It’s been the greatest pleasure to not have homework since grad school ended. J

What keeps you motivated?
My top strength in StrengthsFinder is Maximizer and that is something I’ve always taken to heart. I gain so much joy from training and educating others, whether it’s students or colleagues, because I believe that I can help provide the tools for others to become the best version of themselves. I am always looking several steps ahead at what I could be doing right now to accomplish even more in the future, and that is the spirit I get to try to instill in my coworkers and students every day.

There was a starfish story I was introduced to as a mental health peer educator in my sophomore year of undergrad. There’s a young child on a beach covered in thousands of starfish and they begin to toss them one by one back into the ocean. An adult approaches and says “what do you think you are doing? You can’t possibly save all of them.” The child picks one up and says “Well it matters to this one.”

This story is something that has grounded and guided me within my higher ed career and continues to inspire the work I get the privilege to do.

Elizabeth Boggs serves as Director of Career and Professional Development at Stetson University where she provides leadership for three professional staff members, sets strategy for campus-wide internship practices and policies, facilitates a Peace Corps Prep Program, advises students on major and career exploration, and partners with Academic Advising to support undecided students in the Discovery Program. Previously, she worked at Rollins College, both as an Associate and Assistant Director, where she developed her passion for students’ participation in internships. She received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of Central Florida, her Master of Science in Child and Family Development from the University of Georgia, and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Furman University. Related to SoACE, she currently serves on the Board as Director of Member Services, and she has held past leadership roles as the Chair of the Scholarship Committee and Founding Chair of the Experiential Education Knowledge Group (KG). In 2013, she received the President’s Award for her work on behalf of this KG. She has also served as a member of the Professional Development and Program Review Committees. Outside of SoACE, she is currently serving as a member of the NACE Honors and Awards Committee and has held past leadership roles within FloridaACE and NASPA. You can connect with Elizabeth at eboggs@stetson.edu or linkedin.com/in/elizabethboggs1.

How did you get into the Career Services profession?

Well, it’s been a little bit of a winding road. I suppose career services is my fourth career after Child Life Specialist, Assistant Innkeeper, and Photo Archivist. In 2003, I realized I wanted to work in higher education, but I didn’t know in what capacity. That fall I started a new GA position at UCF, where my time was split between Career Services and a First-Year Experience Program, and I have been in Career Services, typically working with students early in their college careers ever since. I realized I loved being on a college campus working with students to help them choose their majors, explore careers, and search for internship positions. I struggled to find my own career fit and being able to help students discover their own career paths is extremely rewarding.

Describe your SoACE experience. How did you get involved and how has that experience influenced you?

My first SoACE conference was in 2008 at Walt Disney World. I presented at the conference with one of my colleagues, and as she and I, and our current supervisor, Ray Rogers, all had December birthdays, we treated ourselves to dinner at Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian Hotel! I skipped 2009, but returned to the SoACE conference in 2010 in Dallas, and haven’t missed a conference since. I got involved with SoACE through one of my mentors, Tim Harding, who asked me to serve as the Chair of the Scholarship Committee. The next year, Tim shared an idea with me about wanting to create Knowledge Groups within SoACE and then asked me to Chair the Experiential Education KG. KGs didn’t exist yet, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but I trusted Tim and his vision for SoACE, so I agreed, and as it turned out, that was one the best professional decisions I ever made. I was able to connect with internship colleagues across the region to share challenges and brainstorm solutions that enabled me to become more effective in my role at Rollins College. As I have continued to be involved in SoACE through additional committee roles, and now as a member of the Board, I am thankful for the ability to give back to my profession and for the lasting friendships I have developed.

What advice do you have for new professionals who aspire to leadership roles?

Take a risk, ask for help—don’t opt yourself out of an opportunity to grow and develop both as a person and as a professional because you aren’t sure if you can be a leader. Seek out and listen to the advice of current leaders, and if someone else believes in you, and asks you to take on a leadership role, learn to believe in yourself.

What is your favorite quote?

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African Proverb.

This quote represents my philosophy related to career services in higher education. If we are truly going to impact students, we have to collaborate with other parts of higher education, both within student affairs and academic affairs. Of course, this approach takes more time, but the results in terms of the success of our students is absolutely worth it.

What is your favorite book?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I love this book for its title alone, but the story of how a small group of people sustain each other during the German-occupation of the one of the Channel Islands during WWII through books and friendship, brought to life through letter writing is a delight to read again and again.

What are some of your hobbies when not working?

Reading historical fiction, traveling, tennis, college football (Go Dawgs!), hiking, kayaking, visiting and photographing lighthouses, and genealogy research—I love to travel and take photographs of lighthouses (usually they are in beautiful locations!). My most recent lighthouse trip was to Maine and my favorite international trip so far was to Peru, where I was able to visit Machu Picchu.