Opening Doors with The Office of Career Development
Grace Conde and Hannah Su Hepler pose with Carson Cougar in the Athletic and Fitness Center. (Courtesy of Hannah Su Hepler)
“I am the first person to go to college in my family, and I didn’t really have anyone in my life to ask about how that’s supposed to go,” said Jet Plutko ’25, who majors in studio arts.
It’s an experience shared by many other college students.
That’s where Chatham’s Office of Career Development can help by bridging these gaps and making all students feel comfortable and confident in their career journey.
“Now, in my final semester, Career Development has really helped me with my internship applications and just finding the right fit for my future career and what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Plutko said. Over the years, she’s attended multiple Job and Internship Mixers hosted by Career Development, which she feels helped her get her foot in the door.
After a plethora of applications and interviews, Plutko talked with student assistant Gwenn Painter to discuss the best internship for her. “I realized that I could intern on campus,” Plutko said. “I knew I wanted to be in a gallery of some sort, and it being Chatham’s gallery is personal to me.”
Here, Plutko helps in curating and managing the Susan Bergman Gurrentz ’56 Art Gallery—integrating her minors of museum studies and art history. “Currently I'm assisting in moving all of the African art that we have into a space where it’s safe and able to be stored properly, and that’s a pretty big task right now,” she said.
“Career development helped guide me to that position.”
Career Development Director, Hannah Su Hepler, and assistant directors Grace Conde and Josh Zeigler, pose with Moo the Cuddle Cow. (Courtesy of Hannah Su Hepler)
The Office of Career Development
The Office of Career Development—comprised of professional staff and student workers—provides a variety of in-person services to students, from resume reviews to mock interview sessions.
Since joining the office back in 2021, Hannah Su Hepler was able to quickly rise through the ranks, becoming director of the Career Development Office. Using her background in college student counseling and mental health, Hepler is able to guide students through some of the most difficult aspects of college.
Her favorite part? Being able to see a student’s confidence grow in real time, and guiding them to feel empowered to step into the workforce.
“I also really love being able to have impactful one-on-one career consultations with students where again that confidence really grows in those settings,” Hepler said.
What sets the Office of Career Development apart is their outreach to students. Visibility, Hepler said, is what makes a successful office. “If a student doesn’t know who your team is—if a student doesn’t really know what makes up your office—it’s going to be a little bit harder to get them to come into your space.”
“On the same page as that, I feel like it’s also important to not always ask students to come to your space, but ask students if you can come into their spaces,” Hepler said, “whether that’s in the lounge, if that’s collaborating on events—being able to feel that you don’t always need to sit in your office and wait for folks to come to you. You can go to other folks.”
Most of all, Hepler wants to remind students that they don’t need to leave their personalities at the door to be considered professional, or that working can’t be fun. She aims to do this by incorporating the Life Design Framework, which aims to look at careers as a holistic part of a person’s life.
“Your career can be fun. It doesn’t always have to feel very serious,” she said. “Obviously, there are careers, like doing surgery, where that would be a serious time to lock in. But in the day-to-day, I’d like to reflect to students that like you can have a good time at your job.”
Student talks with employers at Career Development’s Fall 2025 Job & Internship Mixer. (Courtesy of Roger Gelik)
Meet the Team
Working alongside Hepler and the professional staff is the student team. Hannah Fischer ’25, MSCP ’27, currently works as the graduate associate for the internship program, but she started working in the office during her undergraduate time at Chatham in 2022.
Like Hepler, Fischer said watching students growing their professional confidence to be one of the most rewarding aspects of her role.
“One of the main ways I like to do this is through taking mock interview appointments. I have been able to work with a few students, and I love watching them get more comfortable with answering questions as the mock interview goes on,” Fischer said. “Our office recently hosted our third Impromptu Interview event, and I got to practice some interview skills with students at that event, and it was wonderful to see how they took some of the tips and tricks I was suggesting to heart.”
Student employees Gwenn Painter ‘25 and Hannah Fischer ‘27 outside of their Impromptu Interview event for psychology students; Olivia Harris ‘26 smiles alongside the Dress for Success team at her annual Suited for Success event. (Courtesy of Career Development’s Instagram)
“Honestly, I was only at Chatham for about a month before I started working at the Career Development Office,” said Olivia Harris ’26, who fills the role of student assistant for student outreach. “I’m thankful that I was able to find a campus [office] to call home so early in my time here, and starting to work here early made me aware of the resources available to me through the Academic Success Center.”
Harris is behind one of Career Development’s most successful events—Suited for Success, which provides Chatham students with an array of professional business attire for free.
“Each year, we’ve been able to deliver 40 students with free professional dress clothes, which I really believe makes an impact on students’ career confidence,” she said. “My goal with this event is to make interviewing and receiving internships more accessible to students by lowering costs of professional dress clothing.”
What Harris finds most special about the office is the team itself. “Everyone that I’ve worked with, between my coworkers and supervisors, have been extremely invested in my success and growth in this role as well as my college career and career goals.”
Working at the Career Development Office also allowed Harris to grow in her own professional endeavors. “I’ve utilized Career Development Services for my most crucial internship applications, which has really helped me feel more confident in my applications and interviews,” she said. “The tips that I’ve received from Hannah and Josh have helped me receive roles like my internship for Senator Fetterman, my internship for the International Trade Administration, and my newest role as a Resident Assistant on campus.”
Former Career Development employee, Mercy Nyoni ‘25, poses for a photo at her graduation ceremony. (Courtesy of Career Development’s Instagram)
How the Office Can Help You
Recent graduate Mercy Nyoni worked as the Office’s graduate assistant from September 2023 to April 2025 as she earned her Masters in Business Administration at Chatham. Now, she works as the assistant accounts payable manager at Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Nyoni’s time working in the Office of Career Development helped her refine her own interpersonal and professional skills. “These abilities have not only supported a smooth transition into the workforce but also continue to shape how I collaborate, manage tasks, and solve problems in my current position.”
This, combined with her previous understanding of finances and business, has allowed her to blossom in her new role. “I find it rewarding to utilize the organizational and analytical skills I developed at the Career Development Office.”
Above all, the office wants you to know you are welcome, and that you don’t need to leave any part of you at the door. Take advantage of their open-door policy, and stop in to discuss any nausea-inducing career concerns.
“At Chatham, you can bring your authenticity here,” Hepler said, “and you don’t feel like you have to leave some parts of your identity at the door.”
Lyn Bigley ’26 is a senior majoring in psychology and creative writing. She currently works as a writing mentor and a digital content creator for Chatham University. In her downtime, she enjoys looking at pictures of animals, playing video games, impulse buying, and watching reality TV.