
Erin Erwin
Director, Career Education
Whether you're in the first year of your program or the last, the Walter Center is here to help you explore your options, make meaningful connections, and leverage your invaluable skills as you prepare to launch the next phase of your career.
We know how challenging it can be to balance the demands of graduate school and career planning. We work to make career prep manageable for graduate students by:
The right time to meet with us is right now. There's no need to feel 'ready' or 'prepared', because it's never too early or too late to get started! No matter where you are in the journey, we'll be with you every step of the way, from choosing a career path to marketing yourself to employers.
Your career coach is available to assist with a broad range of topics, including:
During your visit, whether in-person or virtual, your coach's goal is to get to know you and learn how they can best support you. Your coach will ask you questions to gain a deeper understanding of your interests and aspirations. Then, you'll create a plan and discuss the next steps. Depending on your needs and goals, you can continue meeting with your coach as you work through these steps together.
Both! Whether you'd like to visit the Walter Center for your appointment or work with your coach via Zoom (or a combination of both), you can select the option that best suits you.
To schedule a one-on-one coaching appointment, you'll need to have a Handshake account. Don’t have a Handshake profile yet? Be sure to create one as soon as you can—it's the quickest way to connect with the Walter Center team.
Once you log into Handshake, you’ll be able to see the availability of our career coaches (including our dedicated career coach for graduate students) and can choose a time that fits your schedule best.
Erin Erwin
Director, Career Education
Katie Strauch
Associate Director, Graduate Career Services
Coaching Focus: Graduate Students + Undergraduates applying to graduate school
Andy Sterneman
Associate Director, Career Studio
Sarah Schmitt
Associate Director, Career and Academic Integration
Marcia Debnam
Senior Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Life Sciences, Healthcare, & Sustainability; First Generation
Angela Lexmond
Senior Lecturer
Emily Cress
Career Educator + Coach
Coaching Focus: Media, Arts, & Entrepreneurship
Rachel Nefertari Boveja Ph.D.
Career Educator + Coach
Coaching Focus: Government, International, & Public Policy; Neurodiversity
Rebecca Butorac
Career Educator + Coach
Coaching Focus: Life Sciences, Healthcare, Sustainability and First Generation
Luke Chanley
Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Media, Arts, & Entrepreneurship; Business, Retail, & Technology
Allison Adkins
Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Education, Non-Profit & Social Good, Government, International & Public Policy, Neurodiverse Students, LGBTQIA+ Students
Jed Junken
Career Educator
Trenten Rowlett
Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Animal Science; Business, Retail, & Technology; Media, Arts, & Entrepreneurship
Michael Kendall
Career Educator
Madhuvanti Karyekar
Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Government, International, and Public Policy; Education, Non-Profit and Social Good; International students
Abbie Doan
Career Coach
Coaching Focus: Life Sciences, Healthcare and Sustainability, Business, Retail & Technology
Nia Smith
Career Educator
While meeting with a career coach is the best place to start, below are a few additional resources to help you along the way:
Graduate students are welcome and encouraged to attend any of our events and programs.
Imagine Ph.D. is free online career exploration and planning tool for Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
This is the oldest, largest community dedicated to non-academic and non-faculty careers for Ph.D.s in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a research communication competition founded by the University of Queensland in 2008. The competition challenges master’s and doctoral students to present a compelling oration on their thesis or dissertation research and its significance to a general audience in just three minutes. IU Bloomington, which hosts its annual 3MT competition each spring, joins over 900 universities worldwide that host local 3MT events.
So, what are you going to do after Grad School? What a loaded question, right? This career exploration group will help graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences systematically think through an answer. This virtual 4-part event is conducted through Zoom and Canvas. This series is offered on a semesterly basis. Email us for more information.