Career Services Spotlight Transcripts

RECORDING OF: Communicating Professional and Academic Skills to Land a Higher Ed Teaching Position

TRANSCRIBED: January 28, 2019

FOR: Walden University

REPORTED/TRANSCRIBED BY: Martin Culberson

>>Dina Bergren: This career spotlight features Valerie Oji, a Walden University student who landed a
new position in higher education.  Welcome Valerie!  And congratulations on recently
starting a full-time associate professor position!  Could you briefly share with us your
Walden program and background and prior experience?

>>Valerie Oji:
Good morning!  I'm currently pursuing my PhD in Health Services at Walden University.
I also hold a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and I am a board-certified Psychiatric
Pharmacist whose getting practice in the field for over 20 years.  I also have prior
experience in higher ed throughout my career in different capacities.  A lot has been
adjunct and at one point I did have - a decade ago - I was also working in a tenure-track
capacity, but I had to leave that position for family reasons and move out of state - and
then recently now I have come back into full-time academia in the associate professor
position as you mentioned.
 
>>Dina Bergren:
And Valerie, how did the knowledge and support you gained at Walden helped you land
your current position?

>>Valerie Oji:
I think I'm confirmed with the Career Services and just looking at some of the support
that they had and just really discussing what my career goals were; being introspective
and self-reflective really helped and also I would say Walden's commitment to - I guess I
would say their commitment to - social change, because that also helps you really think
about what kind of institutions to apply for to look for a good fit, like my current institution
Harding University; they are very committed to social change.  They are - they refer
themselves as developing global citizens - good global citizens - so there's a good
alignment and Walden helps me even think about that in terms of making a career
choice; and positioning yourself for one.

>>Dina Bergren:
So Valerie, how did the knowledge and support you gained at Walden helped you land
your current position?

>>Valerie Oji:
I think a lot of the coursework that I have taken, also the active participation in the
residences and the kind of knowledge that was available in the resources that I had
access to.  Definitely, I can't overemphasize the the Career Services support and also
even just the work that I have done towards my dissertation - some of the preliminary
work I have been working on towards my dissertation was a source of great interest to
those that I interviewed with.  That some of my coursework - particularly because I have
an interest in health services and public policy - a lot of that was of interest as well.  So I
think it was the level of scholarship, the broader array of coursework I had taken,
whether it was advanced program implementation, ethics, law, policy; a lot of these -
population health - just a lot of the coursework; a lot of rich scholarship that was very
helpful ensuring the diversity of the knowledge I was bringing to the table.

>>Dina Bergren:
That's excellent!  And how has your Walden experience enriched your role as an
associate professor?

>>Valerie Oji:
Well I get to right now I'm coordinating - doing some work towards the next academic
year - I am going to be coordinating a course in health disparities, I'm also going to be
lecturing in the spring in an ethics and public health course and also biopsychosocial
course as well; and I'm pulling - drawing a lot from my experiences and my coursework
again my foundation from Walden in developing and coordinating those courses and
also; they’re also working on a global health - actually clerkship - and it's going to be
interdisciplinary for those who want to be involved in medical missions in global health
experiences. Harding University has a very strong track record for medical missions -
they're very involved internationally - so my Walden experience just made that a very
good fit to develop something in the area of mental health and neurology as far as a
global health clerkship experiences - developing that.

>>Dina Bergren:
And what advice would you have for other Weldon students who are seeking faculty
positions in higher ed?

>>Valerie Oji:
Well, you definitely have to take advantage of the resources that are available at the
University.  Sometimes we get kind of swamped with the rat-race and we don't make the
time as we should we're focused a lot on our classwork but you've really got to tap into
these resources it's really important to network and take advantage of the resources
available to you at the residences; build a strong CV, be able to articulate what your
skills are; really take a look at what you bring to the table and where you want to go; be
able to begin to reflect on what kind of institutions would be a good fit, that would match
with your foundation that you are bringing as far as someone who's being developed for
a high level of scholarship and for social change; I think those are all important things
that you really need to think about and even how you structure your CV; I think some of
the invaluable tips that I got as far as the length of the CV not letting it become - you
know overly large and a lot of redundant information that could wear out the interviewer;
being strategic and targeting, I think all that is very very important.  So you definitely
need to get consultation and to tap into the resources that are right there for you to help
you to achieve the best.

>>Dina Bergren:
What activities have you personally engaged in through your career in higher education
that have helped you move forward?

>>Valerie Oji:
Oh certainly, yes.  I’ve spoken in a number of different conferences, which, of course,
when you speak with those at the Career Services, they'll definitely tell you about
highlighting that information and, if possible, in ways that could be measurable; like, for
instance, I've presented over 30 publications; I have spoken at over 50 conferences; so
just things like that where you can really articulate what you've been able to accomplish
in the field and what you’ve contributed in the field.  I've been engaged in research and
publications - definitely - and also in terms of community service and activities that are
targeted towards social change.  Community organizations, nonprofits; all that is
important.

>>Dina Bergren:
Valerie thank you so much for joining us here today and sharing your career story and
we wish you the very best in your new position!

>>Valerie Oji:
Thank you so much!  It's been a terrific experience and I'm really grateful for your
consideration.

[This text is being provided in a rough-draft format to facilitate communication accessibility
and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings]