Yvette Jefferson
Academic Advisor
Hometown: Norfolk, Va.
Educational Background
- Bachelor of Science - Business Administration, Norfolk State University
- Master of Business Administration – Coastal Carolina University
Professional experience: I was hired in 2018 as an employment recruiter in career services, where my primary responsibilities consisted of building relationships with organizations to provide jobs and internships for students. I also planned and coordinated the fall and spring career and teacher recruitment fairs and assisted with implementing the first engineering day at CCU in 2019. During my tenure in career services, there were employer visits and career treks to Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., Columbia, S.C., and New York City. These were planned and developed in conjunction with the colleges, resulting in jobs and internships for students. One of the things I’m most proud of is the enhanced level of opportunities our students were able to experience. We’ve had Fortune 500 companies like Vanguard and NPR hold sessions to recruit our students. We also developed sponsorships with major corporations as a result of the relationships built through employer recruitment.
In 2020, I became part of the academic success center, assisting undeclared majors with career exploration and strategic advising. I helped develop and launch the University 110 peer-leadership program, a mentor/mentee program that provides mentors in the FYE UNIV 110 classes; I also assisted with marketing, recruiting, and hiring peer leaders. Along with those duties, I was the lead coordinator for the Academic Majors Fair in university advising. In my new role, I will be primarily advising economic and finance majors, but welcome any major who needs assistance.
Prior to working in higher ed, I have been a realtor, mortgage lender, and public relations and marketing director, to name a few.
Hobbies/interests: Traveling, entertaining, interior decorating, and attending cultural events. I love caring for my houseplants and talking to them daily and spending quality time with my family and friends. I consider myself a very social person and enjoy networking and meeting people.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? My husband and I have traveled to some amazing places in North and South America, Europe, and China, but it is my dream to one day explore the continent of Africa. I’ve heard so many great things about the experience.
Best concert you’ve ever attended, favorite movie, and/or sports team? This is a hard question, but I think the best concert I ever attended was Prince!!! He was a musical genius, and there was something about him that made you feel like he was singing especially for you.
What brought you to CCU? My family moved to the area in pursuit of a business opportunity. One of the first places I visited on campus was the Wall College of Business. I was so impressed, that I decided to pursue a position, but the timing wasn’t right. Later, I became involved with the Women in Philanthropy and Leadership (WIPL) and also volunteered with the Each One Teach One program, working with underserved youth. It wasn’t long before I found my niche, helping students find their way and mentoring are my passion, and the rest is history!