Katrina Evans graduated from the $$HARRISONBURG CAMPUS in the fall of 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration-management, continuing a legacy started by her mother who graduated from National nearly forty years earlier. Now, as a successful graduate herself, Katrina works as a recruiter in the human resources department of Riddleberger Brothers, Inc., a mechanical contracting company which serves clients in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
“What I love most about my job is meeting new people,” says Katrina with a smile, “And I love it that I have the ability to help people in this poor economy as far as helping them to get jobs [at Riddleberger Brothers].” Working at a company that employs over 400 employees and covers three states, Katrina gets a lot of opportunity to meet new people, place them in jobs that match with the company’s needs, and conduct their first training with the company. “I love working here,” she says enthusiastically.
Katrina credits her current job to the education she received at National: “I went out there and I let people know, ‘I’m a bachelor graduate. I went to National – it’s a business school,’ I really think that helped.” As a worker and a mother of a teenager who was also attending school at the same time, Katrina says the flexibility in the schedule at National was key to accomplishing her educational goals. “And I had great instructors,” she states. “They stuck to the subject; they taught me exactly what I needed to know to expand in the work field that I was going in.”
Her daughter learned an important lesson, watching her mom balance work, family, and school, says Katrina: “It doesn’t matter how old you are – education is important.” In fact, Katrina is planning on continuing her education up to the master’s level and advancing in the human resources field. She encourages other students who are in school, “No matter what obstacles that [you] face – stay in school and get everything that [you] can out of it – it really is a positive outcome.”
