Considering a transfer after spending her first year of college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Nicole Lunberg’s first visit to Gustavus Adolphus College left her feeling at home.
While the Saint Francis, Minn. native was wandering around the Jackson Campus Center, someone asked her a simple question: “How are you?” The seemingly inconsequential greeting sparked a sense of belonging and made her feel valued. Three years later, after being grounded in the College’s supportive community, recent grad is continuing to grow her skills as a project manager at consulting company Boom Lab.
During her first semester at Gustavus, that “at home” feeling she had when visiting continued for Lunberg in the classroom. After taking a Public Discourse class in the Department of Communication Studies, Lunberg felt inspired to continue in the field with the support of professor Martin Lang.
Lunberg threw herself into campus life, keeping busy through her involvement in the Mentorship Program, Gustavus Women in Leadership, three different internships, and working in the Center for Career Development. “When I worked in Career Development, I loved seeing how my passion and knowledge could help people feel less scared for the future,” she said.
With on-campus internships with Gustavus marketing and communication office, human resources department, and admission office, and an internship in human resources at Ecumen, an assisted living facility, Lunberg truly embraced her “try anything” mentality.
“Don’t do all of these great things because you’re expected to, do them because you want to and because it feels right in your heart,” she said. Testing out different fields helped her to gain relevant experience while sorting out what she liked about each position, leading her towards a future career in project management.
“Nicole was ebullient as a student; she had lots of positive energy all the time. At the start, I think that she underestimated herself and has come to have a much deeper appreciation for herself,” Lang explained.
After graduation, Lunberg landed a position with Boom Lab, a consulting company dedicated to hiring talented recent college graduates. She works alongside several other Gustavus alumni, which brings a sense of home into the workplace. Project management brings her joy due to its variety and the exposure to a range of companies. She is currently placed at a pharmaceutical company while it works to integrate its processes with a new health insurance provider. Creating status reports, measuring risks, and communicating with stakeholders to aid in the process fill out her main duties, and she will move to a different project with a new company in about a year.
Although the communication studies major did not teach Lunberg how to do a status report or how to manage corporate risk, it gave her the tools to communicate and solve problems. “The pool of preparation that communication studies provides is wide,” Lang said. “The goal of the department is for students to leave with a nice hub of tools and a steady base in order to solve problems.”
Looking ahead, Lunberg is excited to continue her career at a company that places value on her character and her ability to adapt. She is excited for the opportunities ahead, and finds inspiration in always moving forward.
“Don’t compare yourself to other people, compare yourself to who you were yesterday,” she said. “Keep evolving, keep learning, and never stop being curious.”
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