While being published is personally satisfying, I am prouder of the significant improvement I know the books will make in the lives of college students and their parents as they “team navigate” the four year college experience together.

My inspiration for the books was the variety of experiences I obtained as a college administrator in New York, Colorado and Minnesota at both public and private universities together with my experience as a corporate recruiter, account manager for a Fortune 100 company, a manager of a start-up staffing firm for recent college graduates and, most recently as a director of a small business and founding partner of my own company. I had the unique opportunity to view both sides of the equation – that of the recent college graduate and that of the prospective employer. It became readily apparent to me that there was a disconnect between not only the experience the graduate had and the need of the employer but also in the degree of self-introspection the graduate had engaged in when choosing a career path. In other words, I came to find that many grads had spent insufficient time considering what would “trip their career trigger.”

As a Director of Career Initiatives for a private company helping college students working towards careers in the “helping professions” obtain hands-on paid work experience, I have an intimate knowledge of the issues college students face preparing for and landing satisfying and engaging jobs. In other words, I help college students make “decisions with direction” – those decisions they need to make now that are designed to enable them to leave their college experience knowing what they are passionate about and having the requisite skills and experience to obtain a meaningful position upon graduation.

I am equally passionate about helping parents become great “coaches. The “parent coach” supports the college student in a healthy non-intrusive manner designed to promote self-sufficiency and independence. Simply put, while well intending, many parents are simply not “wired” to coach and support rather than direct and “hover.” As a “career coach” I worked with students and their parents to create a proper and mutually beneficial relationship.

College to Career, Inc. has permitted me to satisfy not only my love of writing but public speaking as well. Together with my co-authors and business partners Judith Anderson and Peter Vogt, College to Career has been a featured speaker at national seminars as well as at colleges and universities in the state of Minnesota. Peter, Judy and I have over 40 years of combined experience working with college students in a variety of settings. We each bring strengths to the company that I firmly believe will enable it to be vibrant and beneficial for years to come.

I strongly believe in balancing my business and home lives. Accordingly, my first order of priority has and always will be my daughter who is nine and a half and my husband of nearly 20 years. I most often do NOT work more than 40 hours per week (even with what has turned out to be two full-time jobs!), which permits me to keep a fresh perspective and positive outlook on life.

Read more about Terese in her Biography on CollegeRecruiter.com