As a college student, Beth Merritt Miller flirted with the idea of majoring in pre-physical therapy before deciding upon economics.

She eventually graduated with her bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State with no idea of how she wanted to apply it later in life.

However, there was something in college that decided her career path for her.

“I was a (resident adviser) in college and I loved it,” Merritt Miller said. “I was talking to my hall director one time and I said, ‘You know if I could be in college for the rest of my life I would love it.'”

Realizing that she could make a career out of it, Merritt Miller went on to be a hall director at both Chico State and Fresno State University. While working on her doctorate at the University of Iowa she was in charge of a building, which held nearly 1,100 students.

“By that point I knew I was going to stay in higher education,” she said.

After graduating, Merritt Miller worked as an Assistant Director of Engineering Career Services at the University of Iowa, and later was an Honors Councilor and the Coordinator of Prestige Scholarships and Fellowships at UC Davis. She came to Sacramento State seven years ago, however her switch to the director of the Career Center and Academic Advising is a relatively new development.

“This has been a good fit for me because I get to do career plus I get to do academic advising…in two areas that I really like and enjoy,” she said.

Merritt Miller said the diversity of her studies and positions is what makes her an ideal candidate for her positions.

“I think it’s the breadth of my experience in Student Affairs,” Merritt Miller said. “I think I have a good big-picture perspective of how things work.”

Merritt Miller’s colleagues said that her perspective is invaluable to the Career Center.

“I think she is a visionary, that she sees what the needs are of the Career Center and then she implements changes and new ideas,” Recruitment Manager Eva Gabbe said.

This eagerness to embrace variation is something other people notice.

“She is not afraid of change, and is willing to try new things if it will improve service to students,” Associate Director of Academic Advising Kathryn Palmieri said.

Another part of what makes Merritt Miller succeed at her jobs is her way of approaching students. She said she not only helps advise them and give them career options, but also aims to fulfill their basic desires.

“Students need personal contact to stay engaged,” she said.

This need is, in part, one of the reasons why all incoming freshmen are subject to mandatory advising. This requirement includes orientation, 30-minute appointments in the Fall and Spring and long-range planning, which Merritt Miller said is the career component.

“Students overwhelmingly found it extremely useful,” she said.

Those who work with her said Merritt Miller’s interaction skills aren’t limited to students.

“She listens a lot,” Internship Manager Candace McGee said. “She’s very down-to-earth, she’s very straight-forward, there’s no guessing about her. She’s clear.”

In addition to providing direction and purpose to those under her, she also treats them as equals.

“She’s not a micro-manager,” Gabbe said. “She respects her team and gives us the freedom to make things happen.”

While Merritt Miller does not have much contact with students, she is always meeting with people to build partnerships in the community that will benefit the university and its students. The biggest event she works on is the Career Fair, which will take place on Sept. 26 in the University Union. It will feature more than 100 companies, all of which are looking to hire students in their respective fields.

The Career Fair is the biggest event the Career Center organizes, but it is certainly not the only one.

In the fall semester, a variety of events take place to help students prepare themselves to find jobs after college. Among these are mock interviews, which provide practice for students who want to improve upon their interviewing skills. Another prospect is Resumania, where students can bring their resumes and get advice from professionals about what criteria they look for on an applicant’s resume and what they can improve upon.

Additional and more specialized opportunities for job-seekers include the Internship, Coop and Job Fair on Oct. 24 for those interested in internship possibilities, and the Government Employment Career Fair on Oct. 31 for students looking to work for any city, county, state or federal agency.

Merritt Miller, who is married and has a young son, said her eventual objective is to be the dean of students at a university.

For now however, she is content to focus on short-term goals, including co-locating the Career Center and Academic Advising offices, so that they can provide “one stop service” to students.

“I love my job and I do work with great people,” she said.

Natalye Childress Smith can be reached at [email protected].