At MSU, we believe that every Spartan can be a Global Spartan. Where has your Global Spartan journey taken you? 

Navigating career goals and aspirations can be a confusing and stressful task, but career consultants like Allison Fox can help make the process much easier. As a career consultant and advisor, she has made it her mission to help students navigate the ins and outs of their undergraduate journey and career aspirations, guiding them toward promising opportunities. In her role as assistant director and advisor with MSU’s Career Services Network, Fox works closely with the Office for International Students and Scholars and with students in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities where she advises, creates opportunities and events, partners with employers and keeps alumni engaged with MSU post-graduation. 

Fox’s international experiences in higher education have taken her across the globe, and have helped shape her into the mentor she is today. Having worked with university students in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Germany, she understands just how important having a global perspective is to education. Working with students abroad as well as international students at MSU has given her unique experience in mentoring students from around the world. 

—An interview with Allison Fox—

What does being a Global Spartan mean to you?

I believe engaging in, investing in, exploring, and celebrating diversity and differences make us better. It teaches us to think differently, and opens us to new ideas and ways of being. I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by that in my work and continually grow because of it.

In what ways have your global experiences made an impact on your career?

I’m always reminded that the way I do things, the way we do things at MSU and the way we do things in Michigan is just that—it’s how we are doing things here—and it isn’t as if our way is necessarily better than any other way. There are so many ways of living, of being and of thinking about things that are vastly different from how I/we live.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

The students and alumni! My job makes me feel really good about the future. I get to work with students who are committed to caring about themselves, their families and communities, and a wide range of social issues. I get to stay in touch with many of these students when they graduate, and hear about their personal and professional journeys, and as someone who is deeply interested in career development, that really is one of the most exciting things for me!

How have your international experiences influenced your day-to-day life?

It’s made me both braver and more aware. It’s made me more likely to seek out situations and experiences that make me uncomfortable and that push me. It’s made me better appreciate what it’s like to feel like an outsider, and to be aware of the challenges that come with that in my work with students.

What should people know about the global aspects of career advising?

The global side of career advising can be complicated—whether it’s a domestic student interested in working in another country, or an international student seeking an internship in the U.S. or another country outside of their home country—all of that simply takes more planning, effort, hustle and precision. Career development takes a lot of work without those extra considerations! 

For more information about career advising or The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, visit careernetwork.msu.edu or rcah.msu.edu. 

Where will your Global Spartan journey take you?