When opportunity knocks, you can count on Ann Criser-Shedd to answer the door.
For three years, beginning in 2009, Criser-Shedd worked at the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, serving as an executive assistant to the President and CEO. One of the first people she met in that role was UVA’s Leonard Sandridge. During one of their frequent conversations, Sandridge shared some encouraging advice with Criser-Shedd: “Get a degree; it will change your life.”
It didn’t take her long to act on that advice, and she hasn’t stopped taking significant steps and seizing opportunities since then.
After getting her bachelor’s degree in 2014 from JMU in Public Relations/HR Management, Criser-Shedd started in Payroll at UVA as a temporary employee. She quickly became a full-time employee, progressing to a payroll specialist and then a senior specialist. During that time, Criser-Shedd saw many changes, including payroll transitioning from human resources to central finance, as well as the transitions to Workday HCM and Workday Financials. She also earned her functional payroll certifications and found time to fundraise for her local YMCA.
And then her alma mater started sending her emails about their MBA program. JMU’s MBA program is a hybrid model (online but in person every third week), allowing students to work and go to school and finish in two years. After gathering her letters of recommendation and finding out her resume and experience meant she wouldn’t need to take the GMAT, Criser-Shedd was well on her way.
During the graduate program, Criser-Shedd took four graduate-level classes every semester and then an international immersion class for ten days during her final spring semester. The international immersion class gave the students global experience via business visits to nonprofits, consulting, and management firms in Argentina and Chile. She stayed with the same cohort the entire time, and that core group of students had a diverse background and an average work experience of 8-10 years.
Since her graduation this May, Criser-Shedd is now a “Double Duke” as well as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa based on her excellent GPA. What’s next for her? Just you wait (something tells us you won’t have to wait long!).
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