Alex Gandy named career services director at Missouri Southern

(From Southern News Service)

Alex Gandy has been named the new Director of Career Services at Missouri Southern State University.

Gandy – who has been with Missouri Southern for more than four years – comes to the position from the Advising Counseling and Testing office, where he served as an academic advisor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Missouri State University, where he is currently working on his master’s in organizational communication.

He replaces Nicole Brown, who recently left Missouri Southern to serve as Assistant Dean of Student services for KCU’s new Joplin medical school campus.

The Career Services office helps students in areas such as personal career development, leadership development and job placement. Programs offered include Hire a Lion, resume assistance, the annual Career Fair and Super Leaders – which teams with the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network to introduce participants to the local business community.

“We want to balance that connection between the community and the campus,” said Gandy. “It’s important to put our students in the limelight for area businesses, but also to get our students into the community to learn about the wonderful industries that are available.”

He said that maintaining the programs already established will be a priority, as well as more effectively communicating with the region about the graduates coming out of Missouri Southern. Creating more opportunities for students to develop their leadership potential is also something he hopes to accomplish.

“I want to help students understand who they are, as far as leadership goes,” he said. “Students need to understand that when they walk out of Missouri Southern, they are not only subject specialists in their degree program of study, but also subject specialists of themselves. They know the leadership style they can bring to a company.”