Full-Time Staff
Student Staff
Chloe LaForest
Student Receptionist and Social Media Content Creator
Lindsey DeWeerd
Student Receptionist and Social Media Content Creator
Jacquelyn Smith
Student Photographer
Oliver Wells
Student Receptionist and Social Media Content Creator
More information about Career Services' staff
Katie Korpi - Director
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work, with minors in Human Behavior and Political Science, and a Master's degree in Higher Education in Student Affairs, both from Northern Michigan University. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I started work at a non-profit, child welfare agency in southeast Michigan in administrative roles, including Human Resources. I returned to NMU to work in Housing and Residence Life in 2008, working as a Resident Director in West and Spooner Hall, and then as Apartment Coordinator. I moved into an academic advising role in the Academic and Career Advisement Center, but stayed only briefly, as a position in Career Services became available - which is an area of considerable interest for me! I am drawn to opportunities to work with and support people, especially students!
I am responsible for providing leadership to the department in all areas and functions, to include student and alumni supports and programming in the areas of career and professional development, faculty and staff collaborations, employer relations and engagement, and overall operations. I am trained in Clifton Strengths, which is a tool based in positive psychology, designed to help individuals see their greatest strengths, and how to apply this knowledge powerfully and productively in the context of their personal and professional lives.
I am a huge fan of personal development and coaching, drawn to opportunities to help lift others up. I'm in my happy place when I am camping or on my paddleboard. A favorite quote of mine is: "And suddenly you know: it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings."
Grant Langdon - Assistant Director
After graduating from NMU with a Bachelor’s in Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management in 2010, I lived and worked on-campus in the residence halls. During my time working for Housing and Residence Life, I lived and worked in Van Antwerp, Magers, Hunt, Spooner, West, Cedar, and Maple halls over the 10 years as a resident director and 4 years as a student employee.
My student job and the opportunities provided while living on-campus changed my life forever in the best way! One of my most memorable experiences from work is opening Maple Hall for its first year along with the brand new desk operation. Then helping Maple Hall win Homecoming, developing a building culture and identity of activity, involvement, and care. Learn more about the costly mistakes I made as a student at NMU here, https://nmu.edu/blog/3-ways-career-services-gives-you-extreme-advantage. Avoiding the mistakes I made could save you tens of thousands of dollars and years of your life.
Contact me for advice and coaching in identifying and acquiring a meaningful and fulfilling life. I love getting to know people, their strengths, and interests, then developing an adaptable plan to test if that plan is viable. This gives some huge advantages in getting the right job for you right after graduation. I’ll help you every step of the way from ideation, testing, resume writing, and interview practice so you can graduate with confidence. If things change after graduation, no problem. I happily work with alumni to pivot their career to something better aligned with their strengths and values, leading to a more fulfilling life. I run the Alumni Mentor Program, Professional Headshots, and most of the video production done for Career Services.
I am a problem solver that specializes in learning all sorts of things, collecting useful information from quality sources, and finding connections between seemingly unrelated things to generate new ideas and strategies for solving problems. I used to have a few areas of interest like technology, recreation, leadership, and photography but I’ve expanded and deepened my knowledge to best help all students and alumni identify the next steps to acquiring a meaningful and fulfilling life using a supportive coaching methodology.
I love learning about students especially when video games, board games, the future of technology, camping, photography, scientific research, economics, education, and CliftonStrengths come up (I guess you can call me curious😅). My primary hobby is playing games with friends. Specifically, I enjoy solving problems and increasing efficiency and effectiveness as a group while exploring new worlds and systems. This just happens to be done most easily through video and board games. National Parks are also a big part of my life. I travel with my wife in our van/RV, lovingly named Appa (from Avatar the Last Air Bender), around the country to appreciate the natural beauty of the world.
Hit me up with an email or stop by the Career Services office to talk about how we can get you every advantage in discovering and acquiring the fulfilling life you want… or just want to talk about whatever is going on in your life or a cool game, movie, book, hike, or something interesting you learned.
Favorite Book: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Favorite Movie: Star Wars: A New Hope
Top 3 Video Games Played the Most: 1) Ark: Survival Evolved (PC), 2) Space Engineers (PC), 3) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)
Favorite National Parks (so far): Zion and Yosemite
Walker Derby - Assistant Director
I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Michigan Tech and my MBA here at NMU. Prior to working in Career Services, I was a Technical and Professional Recruiter for UP Health System – Marquette, so I have a unique perspective having seen all sides of the hiring process.
I have a passion for the outdoors and love skiing, mountain biking, running, and camping. I enjoy talking about people’s experiences and hobbies and helping find ways to partner those experiences with an individual’s strengths. I spend a lot of my free time on the lake, playing board games, camping, and going to music festivals. I dabble in guitar and piano and have recently started a bonsai club here in Marquette. I also love baking bread and my favorite movie is Bladerunner.
I interact with employers to help connect them with pertinent student groups and resources. We develop plans to market jobs, careers, internships, and more to students and alumni so that we’re taking a proactive approach to making opportunities available and accessible to our campus community and alumni. I like working semester-to-semester with employers and organizations to make sure we’re keeping a top-of-mind stance when it comes to opportunities.
I work with students and alumni to help provide guidance and resources in their career successes. The term ‘success’ to me is very student driven so we can be flexible and organic as we pursue goals and results knowing that those goals can change with time and experience. I have a very holistic viewpoint when it comes to both career and life paths and enjoy the self-discovery portion of the college experience.
Kara Cox - Executive Administrative Assistant
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and have been working at NMU since 2004.
I have lived in the U.P. my entire life. My favorite color is purple and I love true crime (shows, podcasts, books, etc.). My favorite quote is “Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.”
My responsibilities include:
- Healthcare Career Fair
- Fall Semester Job Fair
- Virtual Biology Career Fair
- Off-Campus Federal Work-Study Program
- National Student Employment Week
- Employer recruitment
- Handshake
Emily Schweikart - Principal Administrative Assistant
Hi there! My name is Emily Schweikart and I am a proud graduate of NMU. I graduated NMU in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in English. I worked in the Career Services office when I was a student for about 3 years.
I was born and raised in the Lower Peninsula in Battle Creek, MI. I came to NMU in 2016 right after school and I fell in love with Marquette. When Covid-19 happened, I moved to Wisconsin for work with my now husband. I wanted nothing more to move back to Marquette and that is exactly what we did. In march of 2022 we moved back to Marquette and I got a full-time position in the same Career Services Office I worked as a student.
A little bit more about me:
- I have a corgi named Howie
- I got married this Fall
- My favorite color is orange
- My favorite TV show is Game of Thrones
- When I am not at work you can find me on the beach, camping, shopping, at a local restaurant or hanging out with my pup!
My Responsibilities in Career Services include:
- Construction Management Career Fair
- Winter Semester Job Fair
- Engineering Technology & Management Career Fair
- Handshake job postings
- On-Campus Recruiting for Employers
- Oversees social media
- Student Supervisor