My name is Katie Nix and I currently work as a “Permitting Manager,” which is a fancy term for government relations/site acquisition specialist for a wireless infrastructure company called Mobilitie. I was a Community Advisor for Georgia College from 2010-2012. After I graduated, I worked as a paralegal for three years and found a passion in real estate which led me to my current job. My Community Advisor position helped me get to where I am in my professional life in many ways. First, it showed me I wanted to help people for a living beyond college. Working with other students and creating our own sub-community on our floor was a task. You have to learn how to take a diverse group of people and have them work together so they can live together. This in particular has helped me work with community leaders in my current job. They may not necessarily understand what my company does or wants to do, but they ultimately want what is best for their city or town. I help come up with solutions that fit their needs while still being able to make a smart business decision in the end.
Another way my Community Advisor position has helped me get to where I am today is because I took a leap of faith and ran for President of Rho Alpha. Rho Alpha at the time was a group of selected individuals from the Student Housing community who worked with the student housing department to come up with the best ways to make Georgia College Housing the best and most diverse experience of on-campus life. I was ultimately elected by my fellow Community Advisor members and had to work democratically to come up with ways to help my fellow student leaders lead and mold their individual floor communities. Having to work, listen, strategize, and be opened minded in Rho Alpha taught me how to be successful in my current job because I apply those same concepts today. It also taught me my strengths and weaknesses as a leader, how to deal with stress, and that every decision you make as a leader is not always going to be popular with your fellow community members.
My advice to any current student leader would be to keep an open mind, understand that you are not always going to be right and be okay with that, remember that what is always right isn’t always popular, and finally love what you do and do what you love. Being a student leader is hard work, but just remember that these are memories and lessons that will stick with you in your professional career.
Another way my Community Advisor position has helped me get to where I am today is because I took a leap of faith and ran for President of Rho Alpha. Rho Alpha at the time was a group of selected individuals from the Student Housing community who worked with the student housing department to come up with the best ways to make Georgia College Housing the best and most diverse experience of on-campus life. I was ultimately elected by my fellow Community Advisor members and had to work democratically to come up with ways to help my fellow student leaders lead and mold their individual floor communities. Having to work, listen, strategize, and be opened minded in Rho Alpha taught me how to be successful in my current job because I apply those same concepts today. It also taught me my strengths and weaknesses as a leader, how to deal with stress, and that every decision you make as a leader is not always going to be popular with your fellow community members.
My advice to any current student leader would be to keep an open mind, understand that you are not always going to be right and be okay with that, remember that what is always right isn’t always popular, and finally love what you do and do what you love. Being a student leader is hard work, but just remember that these are memories and lessons that will stick with you in your professional career.
