Penn State Great Valley’s professional development programs have made a world of difference to Helen Walker by helping provide a perfectly timed career boost.

Walker began her Penn State journey with an undergraduate degree at Penn State Brandywine, where she was a Lion Ambassador, and graduated from the College of Health and Human Development in 2002.

She then worked in Penn State’s human resources department for a few semesters after graduating before moving into industry.

In 2021, she was impacted by mass layoffs at her company and struggled to find a new full-time position in a difficult job market. Walker had been receiving marketing emails from Penn State Great Valley after previously considering enrolling in a master’s degree program.

In the wake of the layoff, something in an email from Great Valley caught her eye: the project management certificate.

Walker completed the program in August 2022 and, a few weeks later, received a digital Credly badge, which can be displayed anywhere to recognize attaining a new level of knowledge.

Adding the Credly badge to her LinkedIn profile proved to be the spark Walker needed.

Within 24 hours of posting the badge, a recruiter reached out and suggested she apply to a project manager role at Syneos Health, a biopharmaceutical solutions organization.

Less than a day after applying, Syneos reached out to Walker to set up an interview and, after three additional interviews, offered her the role at a salary much higher than she expected.

Now more than six months into the job, Walker is finding the lessons she learned from Great Valley’s program, combined with her years of experience, are providing invaluable insight.

“Coming back to the Great Valley campus has always been a great experience,” Walker said.

“It offers so much to the community and we’re so lucky to have Penn State Great Valley in this region here. The connections I’ve made through Penn State Great Valley at the workshops and in the certificate program have been wonderful.”

Read more about Helen Walker’s journey to a new job on Penn State Great Valley’s website.

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