After Years of Working in Higher Education Kathy Bailey Really Wanted to be Part of a Community that Could Help her Grow her Career.
Kathy Bailey spent years working in higher education but really wanted to be part of a community that could help her grow her career. Starting out as a visiting instructor, Kathy knew that she needed some long-term stability at a college where she could feel at home.
“Carrington College helped me grow my career immensely,” said Kathy. “I’ve had so many great mentors during my time here, and those mentors always took the time to explain more than just the processes and procedures of my job. They explained the big picture,” added Kathy. “Leadership skills are essential to building a successful campus culture. Every year I work here, I feel as though I grow as a person and as a leader, and I feel like I understand higher education in a new way.”
Kathy joined the Carrington College Tucson family in 2014 and served as the Student Success Manager. She worked hard and after just a few years of success started working her way up the administration. She oversaw the Academic Department as the Assistant Dean and later became the Campus Director after just a few years later. So, what contributed to her success?
“I believe my background as an instructor, student manager, and then Campus Dean, helped give me the proper academic experiences and foundation for the Campus Director position,” said Kathy. “After about six months, I realized how closely connected all of the departments are and I was able to juxtapose all of the information from one department to the next,” added Kathy. “Academics provided a blueprint for how to approach the other departments.”
Kathy loves the people she works with at Carrington College. She works hard to create a culture that feels like home and loves to help others grow in their profession. Just like her mentors at the College, she loves to provide coaching to anyone looking to become better in their field.
“One of the greatest things about working at Carrington College is that if you have the educational background and the right attitude, you can work towards any position you are interested in pursuing,” said Kathy. “This is very similar to how we train our students! With enough dedication and passion, you can find your path.”
Her advice for anyone looking to build or advance their career at Carrington College is to find a mentor that believes in you and work closely on learning how they reached that position. Create a plan for movement and work towards growing all of the required soft and hard skills needed to advance. Be open to feedback and become a sponge for all the information regarding the Carrington way of life.