Contact: Lisa Sollie
MERIDIAN, Miss.--Meridian native Heather Richardson Woodall is the new senior coordinator in Mississippi State University-Meridian's Career Center.
A 2008 West Lauderdale High School graduate, she is working from a downtown office in the Newberry Building, but also keeps office hours at the College Park campus off Highway 19 North.
Woodall, who assumed her new duties Oct. 1, is helping prepare students for the job-search process, including resume development, mock interviews and cover letters, among other areas. She also is working with regional employers to identify their needs for interns, cooperative education participants and part-time student workers, as well as opportunities for MSU graduates and alumni.
"We are very pleased to have Heather joining the Career Center to work with our students in Meridian," said Julia Hodges. "We think the presence of the Career Center at MSU-Meridian is an important addition."
Hodges, MSU associate vice president for academic affairs and co-interim dean at MSU-Meridian, gave a special thanks to Career Center director Scott Maynard "for working to make this happen," adding, "We encourage our MSU-Meridian students and graduates, as well as any MSU graduates in the Meridian area, to take advantage of the opportunity to work with Heather."
Maynard said that, while students in Meridian always have been able to use services of the center on the Starkville campus, "We're delighted that Heather will be there on the ground in Meridian providing the same quality services to which students and alumni of Mississippi State are accustomed."
Woodall holds a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and a master's in food science, nutrition and health promotion, both from MSU. She previously worked on the Starkville campus at the Longest Student Health Center, as well as at Meridian's Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center and, most recently, as a teacher at Russell Christian Academy.
She said assisting employers and organizations in meeting their staffing needs is a primary goal since "the diversity of the MSU-Meridian student population provides a solid pool of qualified applicants for many of the employers in our area."
Also, she added, "The new kinesiology program soon will add to that pool."
For more about MSU-Meridian, visit www.meridian.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu.