SBU Career Center’s Andréa Lipack Earns SUNY Lifetime Achievement Award

Andréa Lipack, Stony Brook University's senior director of Career Center operations, has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the SUNY Career Development Organization.

Lipack is the first SBU employee to be recognized with this honor, according to Marianna Savoca, SBU's associate vice president for career readiness and experiential education. "Andréa's impact extends far beyond Stony Brook University, earning recognition from a wide variety of stakeholders and significantly enhancing Stony Brook's reputation across the country," Savoca shared. "Her dedication, professionalism, and mentorship have left an indelible mark on the campus community and our field."

The aforementioned accolade, which is the highest award bestowed upon a New York State career development professional, comes after Lipack's 25 years of dedicated service to the Career Center. Lipack joined the Center's staff in 1999 as a member of the Employer Relations team, where she connected employers with Stony Brook students and talent. In 2018, she was promoted to her current role as Senior Director of Operations, where she oversees all departmental operations, marketing, data collection and reporting, assessment, and the career development teams.

The Career Center has nearly tripled in size since Andréa joined, and she has played an integral role in the growth and development of programmatic offerings, student services, faculty support, and employer and alumni engagement. The Center is comprehensive, serving all students from all majors, class years, and career intentions. Career development begins at orientation, and the Center supports students in every aspect of their career exploration, ideation, preparation, and connections to career field experts, coaches, experiences, employers, and mentors, who can help them become career ready and confident to achieve their goals. SBU is the only SUNY campus to offer alumni career services for life.

The Career Center falls under the umbrella of SBU's Division of Student Affairs, its mission statement promising to "foster student success by cultivating and empowering connection, engagement, well-being, and active learning to prepare campus leaders and global citizens." Student Affairs encapsulates several other major SBU operations, including Student Life, Campus Residences, and more. Richard Gatteau, the Vice President for Student Affairs, sang his own praises for Lipack's hard work over two decades.

"I am thrilled to congratulate Andréa on this well-deserved recognition," said Gatteau. "Andréa has been an outstanding leader in building our Career Center into the exemplary service that it is today."

Even over the summer, students can schedule appointments with the Career Center through Handshake, or stop by for drop-in studio hours from 10 am to 2 pm (9 am to 5 pm during a normal semester). The Center is located in SBU's Melville Library at the bottom of the Zebra Path, and available at [email protected].

- Sean Gribbin