Allison Pace gained something from each of her experiences at the University of Washington Bothell, even when applying for the Husky 100. It forced her to reflect on how she has changed.
Pace said applicants to the Husky 100 should not expect to complete the application — resume, references, essay, e-portfolio or video — at the last minute. She thought about hers for weeks and prepared by talking with mentors and family members.
“I learned so much about myself. I knew I’d changed in different ways, but putting it in words was so hard,” Pace said. “Finally, an epiphany. I had the words and was able to write my application.”
“Being chosen was more about bringing everything together, connecting my academics to my future career,” she said.
Pace chose UW Bothell two years ago, transferring from Olympic College where she took most of her classes at the Poulsbo campus near her home. The small campus community and the apartment-style housing at UW Bothell “just seemed like a perfect fit for me.”
She applied for an on-campus job in UW Bothell Career Services and started work the summer before her first class. She became lead assistant career adviser, a role in which she was trusted to train new student employees. Pace also co-founded the student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) — the world’s largest HR professional society — and served as the 2017-18 president.
She is now planning for a career in human resources. “I’m really interested in training, hiring and staffing,” she said. “Anything to do with hiring people and onboarding them.”
At some point Pace may go back to college for a master’s in industrial and organizational psychology. But first, she said, she wants to work in the Poulsbo area because of her family and love of the area, perhaps at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton.
“I want to bring my education and experiences back home,” Pace said.
A June graduate in Community Psychology with a minor in Diversity Studies, Pace realized her Husky experience was much more than being a student in a classroom.
“I wanted to live on campus, work on campus, go to school on campus,” Pace said. “If I was going to be here for two years, I wanted to maximize my time.”
