When a student comes into Director of Career Services Sharon Bannon鈥檚 office, she never knows what kind of adventure they鈥檒l bring. Do they want to be a dolphin trainer? An international businesswoman? The director of an environmental non-profit?
No two students are alike. Some have no idea what they want to do or what their options are when they walk in 鈥� others have the next 12 years planned out. The obstacles and opportunities for each of them differ wildly, sending Bannon down the rabbit hole with every inquiry. But she wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way.
鈥淲hat you are essentially doing is trying to get a look at the career from the inside out and help the student reverse engineer it. There鈥檚 the job I want, so what is the path to it?鈥� Bannon said. 鈥淐areer services is like playing dress up. Every time you explore a different career it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e pulling on a new outfit. And who doesn鈥檛 love to play dress up?鈥�
Bannon鈥檚 own career has taken her across the U.S. and abroad, with time in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Germany. Her desire to travel and see the world pushed her toward foreign languages in her youth, and an undergraduate degree in German landed her in higher education, helping place exchange students from Germany at colleges across the country. The work was rewarding, but fast-paced, and city life didn鈥檛 speak to her outdoorsy soul.
So she packed her bags and moved to Maine, where Bannon subsequently worked at the University of Southern Maine for 21 years, and then 8 陆 years at Southern Maine Community College. She鈥檚 spent almost 30 years adventuring into real-world applications of her students鈥� dreams, connecting them with employers and graduate schools and helping with resumes, cover letters, interviews, and more. It was Unity鈥檚 environmental focus that initially drew her here, and the opportunity to dive into some truly fascinating careers.
鈥淚鈥檓 always the kind of person who says, 鈥榃hy not?鈥� I鈥檓 always looking for an opportunity. And there comes a point in your career where you know it鈥檚 going to take a while to find the perfect job, so you always have your radar going. Enter Unity,鈥� Bannon said. 鈥淭his job looked really interesting. Unity looked interesting. This college has been doing some amazing things.鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to be a part of that.听 I鈥檝e met a lot of wonderful people already and I hope that students will take advantage of my services. I鈥檓 really looking forward to helping this exciting place.鈥�
