SOBA Career Advancement Program Vision and Mission: 

Vision: SOBA students and alumni know how to effectively search out and compete for excellent job opportunities throughout their careers & have access to a productive network of alumni & employer contacts.

Mission: Develop and enhance relationships with alumni and employers to secure additional high quality internship & job opportunities for SOBA students & alumni. 

Goal: Ensure SOBA students learn effective lifelong job searching & career management skills.  Connect SOBA students & alumni with local, regional, national & international organizations who have hiring needs through UM’s Internship Office & Office of Career Services who provide job posting, resume referrals, on-campus interviews, part-time job fairs, & career fair opportunities for students, alumni & employers. 

Many SOBA friends and alumni know Janel and will remember her many talents and abilities from her four-plus years as the SOBA’s Development Director (1995–1999).  “She was outstanding as Development Director, and I know that she’ll be outstanding as our new Director of Career Advancement,” stated Dean Larry Gianchetta.  “Janel has a real gift for starting new programs and initiatives, and the SOBA and its students will be the beneficiaries of her skills as we launch our efforts to connect students with quality employment.”

Janel has a blend of private-sector and public-sector experience.  From 1988 – 1994, she worked in Andersen Consulting & Arthur Andersen’s Minneapolis office.  She left AA to become Director of the Institute of Technology at the University of Minnesota’s Career Services Center.  In 1995, she began her duties as SOBA’s Development Director, until she became the Executive Director of The Nature Center at Fort Missoula/Montana Natural History Center in 1999.  In 2002, she joined the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, serving as its Development Director for the past three years.

A Butte native, Janel earned her undergraduate degree in psychology (with a minor in Spanish) from Mankato State University (graduating cum laude).  She then earned an MS degree in Human Development from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  She has extensive publications that span the past twenty years.

We extend a special “thank you” to the current and emeriti members of the BAC who partnered with Dean Gianchetta to provide seed funding for this position.  The need to work more actively to connect students with potential employers was raised at the BAC level and we’re extremely pleased that we are able to address this need with the help of friends and alumni!