Transforming career success at K-State

Picture this: You're a student approaching graduation and attending the All-University Career Fair. Dressed in your best professional attire, you step into Bramlage Coliseum ready to meet employers, make connections and take the next step toward your career. The confidence you feel walking into that room didn't happen by accident.

For more than two decades, thousands of Kansas State University students have benefited from the work of the K-State Career Center and its executive director, Kerri Day Keller.

During her time with the Career Center, Keller has championed growth and change, always focusing on better serving the students at K-State. After 24 years with K-State, including six years as executive director, Keller retired on June 5.

"Kerri has demonstrated exceptional effectiveness as a director by guiding the Career Center through significant changes in funding, staffing and location while remaining steadfast in her student-centered vision," said Bill Watts, associate vice president for academic and career engagement.

A champion of innovation

One of the major changes Keller oversaw was the relocation and renaming of Career and Employment Services in 2016, moving from Holtz Hall to the newly renovated Berney Family Welcome Center and adopting its new identity as the K-State Career Center.

Additional space enabled the establishment of the Career Closet, which Keller oversaw after receiving the idea from a staff member. The closet, which allows students to obtain free business attire donated by the K-State community, now has a dedicated space in the Berney Family Welcome Center and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Career Center also hosts mobile closet pop-up events across campus throughout the year to increase exposure and student accessibility.

Keller also led the digitalization of the Career Center's services through several digital platforms, including Handshake, the current platform that allows students to connect with employers, alumni and other students. Through Handshake, students can also find thousands of available full- and part-time jobs and internships both on and off campus.

Essential statistics

Keller spearheaded the transformation and expansion of the All-University Career Fair in 2018 into a three-day event serving the entire student community. The All-University Career Fair and other industry-specific career fairs held by the Career Center help connect thousands of students with hundreds of employers every year and are a pivotal piece of her K-State legacy.

Perhaps the most visible impact Keller has had is the innovation in K-State's post-graduation statistics. Originally produced as printed materials delivered directly to campus partners, Keller oversaw the digitization of this important institutional project into its current online interactive table, where multiple years of data can be accessed. Her dedication to accurate and robust post-graduation statistics has enabled K-State to confidently use them for a variety of purposes across campus, including recruitment, accreditation and more.

A legacy of support

In her career, Keller has not only cultivated talented professionals to lead the Career Center but also helped them develop into the professionals they want to be.

"Kerri has been incredibly influential in my own career journey," said Wyatt Abbott '26.

This is echoed by LaToya Farris, associate athletic director at the University of Miami, who credits Keller with recognizing where Farris wanted to go professionally and helping to achieve her career goals. Farris, who started as a graduate assistant with the Career Center, had told Keller she had a passion for working with student athletes. Soon, Farris became the Career Center's "unofficial liaison for the athletic department."

"Kerri cultivated a talented, dedicated group of professionals who are deeply committed to Wildcats' career development," said Watts. "The culture of collaboration, excellence and student-centered service she empowered will continue to shape the Career Center long into the future."