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C3 Annual Awards

At the 2024 C3 conference, we were excited to announce our C3 annual award winners. These awards are a great reminder of all the amazing work being done across campus. Congrats to all the winners!

 

Best Practices/Innovation Award: Presented to Patrick Brandt- Director of Career Development and Training; Director of Science Outreach, Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program

This award seeks to highlight an innovative and/or consistently effective career services initiative that benefits students at UNC-CH.

This person has served as a catalyst for innovation and advocating for opportunities for trainees to engage in experiential learning programs to further engage in their career preparation. This person co-founded an Industry Exploration and ELITE Site Visit Program to support graduate level students in their career exploration. This person never stops innovating and is currently working to create additional and sustainable programs for biomedical PhD trainees. He is currently working on innovations through 3 different grants all in the career space. One nominator stated “I can’t think of a better person that exemplifies this award.”

 

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Award: Presented to Noemi Morillo-Vasquez- Director of Employer Engagement & Recruiting, MBA Programs at Kenan-Flagler Business School

This award recognizes an individual or office who, through their initiatives, actions or programming, have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging within the domain of career-related activities in the university community.

This person is being recognized for their unwavering dedication and innovative contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the UNC community. This person has been at UNC for more than 10 years. They were described by one nominator as a beacon of commitment and passion in promoting Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives within their program along with their involvement at national and global levels. This person’s approach to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging is deeply personal yet universally inclusive. They bring their own identities to the table with a mindfulness that allows for the acknowledgment and lifting of other identities. This person’s leadership style is both empowering and supportive, ensuring that every member feels valued and heard. This quality is not only reflected in their projects but also in everyday interactions with their team. This person has been described as making others feel seen and integral to their team’s collective goals. This person has made outstanding contributions to our university community, as well as her service to national and global organizations such as OP Consortium and MBACSEA.

 

Rising Star Award: Presented to Steph Olson- Career Services Coordinator, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Awarded to a career services professional early in their career who demonstrates strong leadership potential and innovative contributions to the career services profession and UNC-CH. Award nominees have less than 5 years of work experience in the career services profession.

Nominators said of this person, while they are relatively new to UNC-CH, they have made an immediate impact in Career Services through support delivered to our students and engagement across the school as well as the university. Not only have they served in various roles around campus, they have spearheaded the creation of a School Career Services networking group, where they organize quarterly meetings to discuss topics in career services. In addition to this person’s work within the UNC Community, they have gotten involved in professional associations outside of UNC not only as a participant but as a committee member helping to enhance our profession across the state. They are eager to volunteer, network, and engage with others in the field.

 

Outstanding Career Practitioner of the Year Award: Presented to Allison Binkley- Director of Career, Alumni and Employer Engagement, MPA Program, School of Government

This award recognizes a UNC-CH career development professional for outstanding performance in day-to-day service to students, campus/employer partners and the university. The awardee demonstrates adherence to the university’s mission while also embracing an unwavering commitment to excellence in serving students and to the career counseling profession.

This person has worked for UNC Chapel Hill for nearly 9 years, all of which have been in service of the one program. Though their work with the program has changed over time, the commitment to student success has remained steadfast, evolving with the changing landscape of the program. This person was involved with critical staff changes to cultivate a unified career services team, a move that reflects her unwavering dedication to excellence. During this time, they have been promoted to Director level and continue to create synergy with the newly re-strategized roles on their team.  The change allows this person to work collaboratively, creating a strategic shift towards enhancing responsiveness to student, alumni, and employer needs. Additionally, this person supports the career services profession at UNC and the state of North Carolina at large through various leadership roles. Such roles include, but are not limited to, C3 Leadership Committee membership, UNC Director’s team, and North Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers (NCACE) Conference Planning Co-Chair and President Elect for the 24-25 academic year. 

 

Past Award Recipients 

2023:

  • Outstanding Career Practitioner of the Year: Tamara Taylor- Interim Associate Director for Career Education/Senior Assistant Director for Career Coaching & Student Belonging, University Career Services
  • Rising Star Award: Kelsey Williams- Assistant Director of Internships & Experiential Learning, University Career Services
  • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Award: Catherine Okafor- Assistant Director, Career Development & Employer Relations, Kenan-Flagler Business School
  • Best Practices / Innovation Award: Joe Hayes- Assistant Director, Career Development & Employer Relations, Undergraduate Business, Kenan-Flagler Business School

2022:

  • Outstanding Career Practitioner of the Year: Steve Hicks, Associate Director, Undergraduate Business Career Services, Kenan-Flagler Business School
  • Best Practices Award / Innovation Award: Lori Haight, Director of Career Services, School of Information & Library Science

2020 (not offered in 2021 due to COVID):

  • Outstanding Career Practitioner of the Year: Sandra Chandler
  • Best Practices Award / Innovation Award: Amy Blackburn
  • Distinguished Diversity Initiative: Brandy Arellano

2019:

  • Outstanding Career Practitioner of the Year: Sarah Crockett
  • Best Practices Award / Innovation Award: Sheena Jacobs
  • Distinguished Diversity Initiative: Tamara Taylor & Jayne Davis

 

Past Award Recipients’ Testimonials

“The C3 award recognized a pivotal partnership between Carolina Covenant Scholars Program and University Career Services to align college majors with career aspirations for the University’s lowest income students.  Since this award, our partnership has grown. Together, our offices obtained grant funding to provide Covenant Scholars with high impact professional development over the summer months, helping them advance their professional goals and lowering financial barriers to opportunity.” Jayne Davis

“As the 2020 recipient of the Outstanding Career Practitioner of The Year Award, I strongly encourage members of the career services community to consider nominating their peers for one of the C3 awards.  This opportunity to nominate your peers provides a way for those around you who work tirelessly every day in support of our students all year long to be recognized for the great work they do that may not be seen by others around campus.  There are three (3) categories you can select from: Outstanding Career Practitioner of The Year; Best Practices Award / Innovation Award; Distinguished Diversity Initiative.  Surely there is someone within your team who is deserving of recognition!” Sandra Chandler