As executive director of career management and recruitment, Christine LaCola takes on the responsibility of ensuring the Smith School is working together to create a cohesive cycle for all graduate students that attend the program. In order to accomplish this task, part of her responsibility is breaking down the walls that have existed between departments, to make sure that everyone is working towards the same goals. It is a never ending process that is in constant transformation as the management education marketplace adjusts and evolves. However, LaCola believes continuous improvement is both necessary and possible. The final result is programming that offers its students an interconnected experience from recruitment, admissions and career services to post graduation with the Office of External Relations.

LaCola started working at the Smith School four years ago as assistant director of the MBA Consulting Program and Business Development. Before joining Smith she worked for over five years at IBM in its federal division, working post sales support. During this time she also earned her MBA through the Smith part-time program at Shady Grove. After graduating from the program, LaCola went to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting as the National Sales Operations lead. In this position she focused on pre-sale activity and was responsible for a range of responsibilities including the business development cycle and account management strategy. After working in this position for three years, PwC Consulting was bought out by IBM where LaCola continued to work for six months before joining the Smith School.

LaCola is passionate about the suite of services offered at Smith, management education and leadership development. She also enjoys the fluidity and agility of the organization. As the market changes, Smith remains relevant by restructuring boundaries and taking calculated risks.

Although LaCola enjoys her job here at Smith, the single thing she enjoys most is spending time with her family. She relishes opportunities that allow her to participate in activities with her two boys, such as coaching her son’s soccer team. LaCola also enjoys spring and expresses it is her favorite time of year not only for the beautiful colors, but also for the source of renewal and energy. It is a time to take out the old and bring in the new, as well as reassess everything. She points out that everything in life is a cycle, much like the program at Smith, and spring is the perfect time to be reminded of this.

LaCola has the following advice to offer to Smith students, “There are very few times in your life when you have the opportunity to be truly selfish and this is one of them. Take it all in. Furthering your education is something you do for yourself and the knowledge you gain is something that can never be taken away, so enjoy every moment of it. Then give some back.”

Story by Lettie Goodridge, MBA Candidate 2008, Smith Media Group