Career Development
Shawn Warner-Garcia, previously the Graduate Student Resource Center’s Professional Development Peer Advisor, has been named Professional Development Program Coordinator for the UCSB Graduate Division.
Shawn Warner-Garcia, previously the GradPost's and Graduate Student Resource Center's Professional Development Peer Advisor, has been named Professional Development Program Coordinator for the UCSB Graduate Division.
Warner-Garcia, a linguist by trade who has worked for many years in job training and program management, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Linguistics Department. Her research focuses on the discourses of sexual ethics among Baptists in America.
Warner-Garcia joined the Graduate Student Resource Center as Professional Development Peer Advisor in the summer of 2014. In that role, reporting to Graduate Division Director of Graduate Student Professional Development Robert Hamm, she provided support for large events such as the New Graduate Student Orientation, fall fellowship receptions, the Grad Slam, and the Beyond Academia conference. She has also offered workshops of her own (writing CVs and cover letters, the Versatile Ph.D., and maintaining one's digital reputation) and conducted one-on-one advising. She has worked with Academic Services Director Rickie Smith on the quarterly dissertation and thesis filing workshops and helped Director of Admissions and Outreach Walter Boggan with his summer research scholars.
"Shawn does a lot for the Graduate Division and our students," said Hamm. "I have no doubt that she will be instrumental in growing the services and trainings we offer through the Graduate Student Resource Center."
As the Professional Development Program Coordinator, Warner-Garcia will continue to provide workshops and advising to help graduate students identify and achieve their professional goals. She will also continue to report to Dr. Hamm.
"I hope to continue and expand professional development programming for graduate students," she said. "There are three areas that I am particularly committed to: (1) ensuring that graduate students feel supported and prepared to pursue a variety of career options after graduate school; (2) improving the visibility and accessibility of the Graduate Division's professional development resources to graduate students; and (3) expanding resources available for targeted populations of graduate students, including new students, student parents, and underrepresented students."
Warner-Garcia says she has learned a lot in her previous role, and looks forward to future opportunities that her new role affords. "Working at the Graduate Division, first as a student employee and now as a staff person, has already opened up a lot of doors for me," she said. "I've learned so much about the administrative side of the university, and I've been able to develop skills in event management, advising, marketing, and many other areas that will serve me well within or outside of academia. Plus, getting to work with graduate students is immensely rewarding because I get to know some truly brilliant individuals and hopefully play a small part in helping them find success and fulfillment both in grad school and afterward."
Warner-Garcia, her husband Jonathan, and 2-year-old son Austin have lived in Storke Family Student Housing for the last two and a half years. "It has been an amazingly supportive community for us!" she said. "We have made great friends and have been integrated into the campus and surrounding community in really enriching ways."
She holds a bachelor's degree in Language and Linguistics from Baylor University and a master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Warner-Garcia has worked as a job training specialist at Goodwill and as the program coordinator for the SKILLS academic outreach program at UCSB. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, reading, traveling, and watching football.
"One of my favorite things about working in the university administration is the camaraderie and collaboration," Warner-Garcia says. "There is a growing groundswell of support for graduate students across the UCSB campus, and lots of people are brainstorming to find new and better ways to help graduate students. I'm really looking forward to being a part of that movement."
You may contact Warner-Garcia via email at shawn.warner-garcia@graddiv.ucsb.edu or phone, 805-893-4649. For more information on graduate student professional development, view the Graduate Division's Career and Professional Development page.