As the school year hits its stride, now is the perfect time for students to explore campus resources (like the Career Center's Interest Group Resource Pages), and to get involved in student organizations, clubs, and programs to enrich their college experience. We spoke with UVM alum Liv Evans '26 about how taking advantage of campus resources and getting involved beyond the classroom helped her build a professional network, discover new career interests, and shape her career journey.
How did experiential learning help you branch out your comfort zone to explore opportunities?
In the spring of 2024, I was hoping to find an internship for the summer, but instead I ended up with a full-time job that transitioned to part-time during my fall semester. And honestly? It was a fantastic experience! Even though it didn’t have the title of “internship,” I learned so many new skills, and because they knew I was in college, they also allowed me to shadow different roles within the organization to make the experience more educational. Then, in spring 2025, I became a Life Sciences Intern for a consulting company, which gave me valuable experience on the business side and ultimately helped me realize that I wanted to be more boots-on-the-ground and directly involved in the community.
How did your affiliation with student clubs or extracurricular activities at UVM help you build connections?
Being involved in student organizations at UVM gave me a large network of people from different backgrounds and interests. I quickly learned that in social work, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” which encouraged me to be more intentional about building relationships. One club in particular, Catamount Innovation Fund, relied heavily on communication and outreach to bring resources and information to student entrepreneurs, as well as host pitch competitions where they could share their businesses. Through these experiences, I developed skills in communication, outreach, and relationship-building that have been highly transferable and continue to be skills I use in my career as a care manager today.
How did you explore career possibilities with your major and your interest?
I explored career possibilities by taking advantage of the resources and connections available to me through UVM. I reached out directly to professionals whose careers interested me and asked if I could shadow them or conduct informational interviews. These conversations helped me better understand what different careers actually looked like day-to-day and allowed me to learn from people already working in the fields I was considering. I even received advice and “hot takes” from professionals that helped me understand both the realities and rewards of different career paths and, ultimately, helped me form an idea of what I was looking for in my own career.
With a major in Business Admin, what experiences encouraged/motivated you to pursue Public Health? How did that decision influence the work you did as an undergrad and inform your career goals?
During my sophomore year, I met with a career coach, Amber Anderson, to discuss options for a minor, and she introduced me to Health and Society. The classes opened my eyes to a different side of healthcare and social work and showed me how business and public health can intersect. I had always been involved in community service growing up and knew that I wanted a career where I could help people, but my education and experiences in the field helped me narrow down what that could look like. Ultimately, this led me to my first social work position starting in the summer of 2024 and shaped my interest in building a career in public health and community-based care.
Liv Evans ’26 graduated from the University of Vermont in May 2026 with a degree in Business Administration. She currently works as a Care Manager at the Howard Center.