Career Center Staff

Career Center staff members coach and equip students and recent graduates for lives of achievement and service. We value connectedness, individualized support, reflection, relationships, and a welcoming environment.

We assist in the process by helping students and recent graduates connect their strengths, interests, and career-readiness skills with knowledge about careers as they prepare for purposeful work. Our Career Center is a member of the Liberal Arts Career Network. Sewanee is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and abides by the principles for professional practice.

Kim Heitzenrater, Director

Kim has served as the director since 2004. In addition to coaching individual students, she engages and collaborates with student leaders, faculty, advisors, staff, coaches, administrative leaders, parents, governing board members, and donors to create a campus-wide culture of career-readiness.

Kim graduated from Sewanee with a degree in Art History and received her master’s in organizational leadership and communication from Belmont University. She currently serves on the board of the Liberal Arts Career Network, a national consortium of 40+ career centers at top liberal arts institutions, and she participated in the 2019 Mastermind cohort through the Career Leadership Collective.

She and her husband, Jeff (associate director of admission), have two sons: Andrew, C’20 (Psychology major and Sewanee men’s basketball team) and Larson, C’24 at Wofford College.

Shanna Abramson, Office Coordinator

Shanna is the Office Coordinator. She worked at Sewanee Career Services office 10 years ago, left to be a stay at home mom, and started back with the Career Center in August 2019. She holds a B.S. degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Kate Reed, Associate Director, Student Engagement

Kate coaches individual students and coordinates programming and support primarily for juniors, seniors, and recent Sewanee graduates focused on their first job searches and graduate school applications. Kate’s other projects as Associate Director include the First Destination Survey and serving as a point of contact for technology vendors in our office.

She is currently serving on the Supervisor Training Advisory Group and was elected to serve as Staff Trustee beginning in July 2020. Kate is an elected Community Council representative and is involved in a number Sewanee community initiatives. When not working, Kate is renovating a historic home in the downtown village and enjoys spending time with her dogs!

Rachel Fredericks, Assistant Director, Early Student Engagement

Rachel joined the Career Center in November 2019 to administer programming and provide career coaching. Her additional projects include developing a career readiness program for early student engagement, and a competency project in collaboration with Sewanee faculty. She serves as a staff support for various programs like 213-A Scholars, RISE Scholars, Roberson Project, and YES Prep.

She holds a degree in Finance with a minor in African American studies from The Pennsylvania State University, and a graduate degree in International Development from the University of Pittsburgh.

Melissa Webb, Associate Director, Internships & Employer Engagement

Melissa joined the Career Center in 2000 as the University’s first Internship Coordinator. She regularly meets with students and works to coordinate internships with alumni, parents, and friends, managing a program that has gone from a handful of opportunities for students each summer to over 150. Under her tenure the internship program has grown from three endowed internship funds to more than forty-four, regularly awarding over $600,000 in summer internship stipends.

She is married to the University’s Athletic Director, Mark Webb, and has two adult children, Sam and Anne Russell. Melissa currently is an advisor to Kappa Delta sorority and was a previous chair of the Sewanee Community Chest, in addition to serving in other volunteer roles in the community through the years.

Sallie Williams, Employer Engagement & Internships Coordinator

Sallie joined the Career Center to support the growing internship program. She joins Melissa Webb to build employer relations, often with alumni, and continue developing top notch internship opportunities and first destination jobs. She studied micro-finance in Bangladesh as a Tonya intern in 2006 and witnessed Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Her passion for sharing stories and infusing creativity to connect people continue to inspire her work with students and alumni.

connect with us!

43 Texas Avenue, Sewanee TN 37383

careers@sewanee.edu (931) 598-1121

Student Support

We are here for you!

The Career Center staff thrives on connection with and support of our students. We help students and recent graduates connect their strengths, interests, and career-readiness skills with knowledge about careers as they prepare for purposeful work.

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Career Competencies

Eight Career Competencies

Experiences both within and outside the classroom contribute to preparing students for life after Sewanee. Through the development of career competencies and readiness, Sewanee students are ready to enter the workforce or graduate/professional school successfully. The National Association of Colleges and Employers has identified eight career competencies.