Shelly Vitanza:
Welcome to the LU Moment. Thank you for listening. I’m Shelly Vitanza, the director of public affairs at Lamar University. Each week, we showcase the great events, activities, programs, projects, and people at Lamar University. Speaking of a great project, the junior league of Beaumont, an organization that always has great projects going on and is really responsible for so many amazing things in the Southeast Texas area, our art museum of Southeast Texas, the John Jay French Museum and many, many other projects that I can go on and on and list, they have established the Julie Richardson Proctor scholarship at Lamar University. It was endowed in August 2019 with a gift of $71,767.96. The scholarship was established to honor Julie Richardson Proctor’s legacy by rewarding a student who epitomizes the spirit of volunteerism and giving back to the community. The scholarship is open to full-time students of all majors, undergraduate and graduate levels who maintain a 3.0 GPA. Very exciting scholarship, very beneficial to our students and a wonderful memorial to Julie Richardson Proctor who was a phenomenal lawyer and a community advocate here in Southeast Texas. Julie passed away from ovarian cancer. We talk a lot about experiential learning at Lamar University and producing graduates who are ready on day one of employment and so, I found this course that took place in the fall of this year at LU, really remarkable, because it gives students immediate marketable skills. It’s a social media campaigns course, 49 LU students earned not only their credits for this class, but they earned the HubSpot social media certificate, which is a professional social media strategy certificate. Now HubSpot is a leading company in inbound online social media marketing and software development. The free certification program is super popular among social media content managers and recognized in the industry. So, the course here at LU combines content with the requirements for the certificate. So, students simultaneously gain, like I said, the credits but then they earn their certificate. That’s significant because the average pay of a social media manager is between $35,000-$72,000, so with a certificate from HubSpot, LU students are poised for those entry-level positions in the field of social media, so, you know just very practical skills you can gain here at LU while getting your degree. I talked to one of the students who took the course, Matt Gonzales and he said that he had already started working with some small businesses and helping them with social media so he’s able to supplement his cost of college by applying his HubSpot certificate and working immediately in social media, so really cool stuff going on here at Lamar University. Okay, so if you listened to last week’s LU Moment, thank you, and you will recall we launched this new series: “What have you done with your LU degree?” Because where I sit in the public affairs office of Lamar University, I have the privilege of hearing a lot of great success stories about LU graduates. It’s really a fun part of my job. So last week, we heard from Hannah Rumsey, a brand-new graduate, headed off to full-time employment with Exxon Mobil. The second guest in my series is someone I see all over the social media airway. She’s active in the community, a friend to many, many people. She seems to always be trending and she’s succeeded in every job she’s had, especially the one she has now. It is Sharita Gardner, she is a business
development representative at Mobil Oil Credit Union among other things we are going to get into. Sharita, welcome, so glad you could join.
Sharita Gardner:
Thank you so much for having me today, Shelly. I appreciate it.
Shelly Vitanza:
Alright, we’re going to tell your story. So, we’re going to start with where you’re from and what’s your background and how you came to be a Lamar University student to begin with.
Sharita Gardner:
So, I am from Houston, Texas, actually a smaller, suburbial area outside of Houston, the Missouri City, Stafford area. I graduated from high school and I attended Lamar University, so that’s what brought me to Beaumont and Southeast Texas. I wanted to go away for college, but I wanted to go somewhere where I could still go home and wash my clothes at my parents house and utilize their resources.
Shelly Vitanza:
That was pretty smart! I have a son like that. He’s attending Lamar and he shows up with his laundry and wants a home-cooked meal. I understand. What did you major in when you got to Lamar? Talk to us about your experience here and what you were involved in.
Sharita Gardner:
So, I was a corporate communications major. I initially attended Lamar thinking I wanted to be a news anchor, so my major was broadcast journalism. I got interested in broadcast journalism in high school. I was on yearbook and I did the newspaper and we also had a weekly show that aired regarding our high school activities and events, and so from that point on, I pretty much knew that I wanted to get paid to talk to people and that I just really loved interacting with people and learning their stories.
Shelly Vitanza:
Okay, so I think you, like many students who enter college, they start out going in one direction and then they go in a different direction. They change majors and think that happens pretty frequently, but at least you stayed in the same college and kind of in the same mode of studies in the communications department. Was it a hard transition to move from the broadcast over to the corporate communications?
Sharita Gardner:
It was not. I didn't’t make that decision until I think my junior or senior year, so I was too close to graduation to completely go another route and so, I think my advisor, Dr. Myhousky, advised
me, “well, if you want to do something in the communications realm, you are able to. You’ve taken most of your classes, your able to stay within this degree path, if you stay in the communications department.” So, for me, corporate communications leaned more towards kind of an HR aspect of communications. What makes a business run effectively? What makes an organization run effectively with communication? That was right up my alley and so I did not have to do much to be able to switch my major and I still ended up really enjoying what I got my degree in.
Shelly Vitanza:
That’s great. So, when did you graduate?
Sharita Gardner:
So, I graduated from Lamar in 2012. I was waiting tables the entire time I was in college and I was still waiting tables after I graduated and I decided, you know, I’m not from here, I don’t know a lot of people. I’m just going to go to all the staffing agencies and try to get acclimated to the area, and through that, I was introduced to the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce which opened up a whole other realm for me.
Shelly Vitanza:
You just kind of made your way. You just decided not to go back to Houston or Missouri City and kind of found your way here in Beaumont. So, talk to us about that transition because I’ve heard that people say, Sharita, and I’m a native of Beaumont, that Beaumont’s kind of hard to infiltrate. Beaumont’s kind of hard if you’re not from here to be included and you’ve obviously overcome that. Let’s talk about how you did that.
Sharita Gardner:
So, I would agree with those individuals who say it’s hard to get acclimated to Beaumont. I did not have family and friends here. Most of the people who I graduated Lamar with, they were from Houston, Dallas, and other areas and they graduated, and they went home. Well, I knew that I did not want to move back in with my parents and so I already had an apartment here and so I was just going to keep my apartment here, work a little bit and see if I could find a job. That was just my objective. I wanted to get involved and I wanted to find a job. I applied for jobs in Houston, other areas, but I think the fact that I was here physically, I had a better chance of getting interviewed, so I went to all the staffing agencies, I had a job interview at the Beaumont chamber. I got the job. I still waited tables for a couple years while I was working there and when I got involved with the chamber, that just opened up all of the service organizations for me to get involved with and a lot of other things. Actually, through work and through serving, I’ve been able to make life-long friends and kind of build a family and a network for myself here in Southeast Texas through those opportunities.
Shelly Vitanza:
So, talk to us about that first job at the chamber of commerce. What did you do, and did you feel prepared for it?
Sharita Gardner:
I did feel prepared. It was an executive assistant position to the CEO and to the organization as a whole. I had no idea what a chamber of commerce was or what they did. I just went out on a limb and figured, it was just an assistant position and so it would just be a bunch of clerical work, I can do that. I’m also really good at faking it until I make it, so I thought, I’m a quick learner, whatever I don’t know, I’ll be able to catch on. So, one of the things that really encouraged me about taking that job is, I sat down in the interview process which was like the third interview with the CEO. He said, “I know you have a college degree. I do not think this is where you want to end up. I’m going to tell you this job is going to be a stepping stone for you and I see you doing great things.” And immediately I knew that I wanted to work for someone who was not going to hold me stagnant, who saw that I had more potential and that was just was going to encourage and believe in me. And so I immediately took the job.
Shelly Vitanza:
Well, and I think that that’s a good lesson too, Sharita. Even though the job may have been, as your employer recognized to be a little bit beneath you, you were willing to take that position and get in somewhere to see as a steeping stone to the next position. Plus you have all those great contacts at the Chamber of Commerce too. So, let’s talk about your position now. We’re going to run out of time and there’s so much to talk about, we may have to bring you back. So, what are you doing now and how did you get that position?
Sharita Gardner:
So, I’m doing financial education and marketing for Mobil Oil Credit Union. The way that I develop business is just being out in the eight counties we serve, providing financial education free to any organization, school or business that is needing it. So, I actually got this job by working through the chamber. It was something an employee that was already here, a manager that was already here, they created this position. It was a newly created position and she said that she had worked with me before and she knew that I would be great at it. I just was very scared to make this change. I had been at the chamber almost five years, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me, so It was definitely one of the first lessons I kind of received in my career path of just realizing, sometimes you’ve just got to step out on faith and even when you don’t think it works or it will work, it may be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
Shelly Vitanza:
That’s awesome. I looked on your Facebook page. You’ve been woman of the month, you’ve been very active in the southeast Texas Young Professionals, I know you’re involved in the Junior League, so let’s talk about some of that. Why so involved? What does that do for you personally and how do you feel like that benefits the community as well?
Sharita Gardner:
So, I feel like for those individuals that say it’s hard to get acclimated to the area or there’s not much to do, I’m looking to make a change where I’d want to see changes. I’m definitely the person, where if you want to see change, I definitely try to step in there and be the reason for the change. Like I said, being involved in so much has allowed me to make life-long friends and relationships and it was just through service and for me, serving is not just what I do, it’s a part of what I am. I love it that people see me and they’re like, “you’re everywhere!” I love that because I’m bringing awareness to organizations, I’m bringing awareness to causes and I’m showing young professionals in the area that, if you are looking for something to do, opportunities are there. Not so much that I want to be recognized for the things I’ve done or what I’m involved in, but I want to bring awareness to organizations and young professionals to know that there’s an opportunity for them to get involved in some way.
Shelly Vitanza:
You’re also involved in Lamar University. You give back to your alma matter. So, let’s talk about what you do for LU. So, I am on the Lamar University alumni board and I would just like to say that they have a great team running that department. I absolutely love that they are asking students who have graduated to come back and give their input on how you feel students can have a better experience on campus, how you feel that you are able to assist. It’s actually been great for me. I’ve met new people, that are here local as well as those that have moved off that are still involved. I have made some mentorship-type relationships with some of the seasoned professionals in the group. It’s provided new opportunities for me to see what Lamar has constantly improved on and the amenities that students have now that weren’t here when I was there. I feel like being involved on campus definitely is an asset for me. It’s given me opportunities as opposed to them thinking I’m an asset to them.
Shelly Vitanza:
Perfect. Sharita Gardner, you make us, LU, proud, corporate communications graduate of 2012. We really appreciate you and your time and everything you do in the community through your volunteer work and in your position as a business development representative at Mobil Oil Credit Union. Thanks for being with us. I appreciate it.
Sharita Gardner:
Thank you so much Shelly, that means a lot coming from someone like you.
Shelly Vitanza:
Oh my gosh! That’s so nice! I really enjoyed doing the LU Moment and I hope you enjoyed our series that will continue to listen. I’m Shelly Vitanza, the director of public affairs at Lamar University, the pride of Southeast Texas.
