Sometimes life just works out — whether or not you know what you want to do with yours or not.

May graduate Alison Clark is a good example of this. When the communication major graduated five months ago with a concentration in mass media, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.

That changed after a trip to Ireland led by business professor Tom Rutkowski. During the trip, Clark said she talked about her uncertain future and that all she really was sure about is that she wanted a job where she could travel.

When she returned from the trip, she said she received an e-mail for the job as a temporary admissions representative at Castleton State College.

She later learned it was Rutkowski who pitched her for the job. 

Asked why he touted her, Rutkowski said she was an easy choice.

“Emily Wiezalis of Admissions had contacted a few of us professors in May and asked us to “nominate” someone who would be good for the job opening,” he said. “I was very happy when I heard that Alison got the job, and I really think she will be a great ambassador for Castleton.”

So far, Clark has traveled to Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington D.C. to meet with perspective students and guidance counselors. During three weeks in August, she visited four to six high schools a day, she said. She said she also sets up tables at college fairs were she gets to meet hundreds of prospective college students.

 During her travel, she said she has seen and learned a lot.

“It’s been a really great way to see parts of the country I’ve never been to and wouldn’t have had an opportunity to see otherwise. Like I now know that if I ever move to the Washington DC area I will not commute into the city!! Traffic is crazy on the beltways. I will live in the city and take the subway.”

Her supervisor in admission, Assistant Dean of Enrollment Emily Wiezalis, praised Clark’s work and said she wishes she could hire her full-time, “but we don’t have any position open.”

“We’ve had a ton of positive feedback about her,” Wiezalis said. “She’s a real go getter.”

Weizalis said Clark plans to go to graduate school, but had a gap of time to figure out exactly what she wants to pursue – and that gap provided admissions with her services.

Clark, she said, has been on the road since August and will return to the area by Thanksgiving, having pitched Castleton State to thousands of prospective students.  

For Clark, the opportunity has been perfect.

“Honestly, I have no idea where I would be! After graduation I worked on my parents’ dairy farm for a few months while I searched for a job. When this came along I stopped looking,” she said, adding how her opportunity is just another example of Castleton taking care of its own.