Employer Engagement

Casey Jenkerson is the Director of Employer Engagement for the Center for Career Engagement. In this role, she provides the employer engagement team with strategic direction to build relationships with employers, campus partners, and alumni to expand internship and employment opportunities for WashU students. She has been with Washington University since 2017 and previously spent time in the corporate sector in human resources and recruitment. The employer engagement team cultivates new relationships, strengthens existing partnerships with employers, and collaborates with talent acquisition leaders to build specific recruitment strategies.

(she, her, hers)

As a former theatre kid and camp counselor, I love working in a field where I get to help students and alumni with vast skills and interests find their place in the world of work. I’ve spent time as a career advisor, theatre educator, and consultant. My role focuses on creating connections between employers and students, especially in nonprofit, education, sustainability, healthcare, and government-related fields.

Favorite quote, motto or piece of advice?

Life is better when you lead with your hopes, not your fears.

First post-college job?

My first job out of college was at the Center for Career Engagement (albeit in a different role)! But before that, I spent every summer working at a summer camp, and it shaped me into the person and professional that I am.

I joined WashU career engagement in 2018 to help drive positive change in career services by collaborating with the team.  Prior to that, I was in financial services building financial plans with families and small businesses, growing and protecting wealth.  I learned to listen, simplify the complex, and customize solutions.  The securities licenses were held with companies such as MetLife, ING, MassMutual, etc.  My undergraduate degree is in Spanish from UT-Austin.  I also have a graduate degree from ICADE in Madrid, Spain.  I’m a graduate of the WashU Olin Business School in the EMBA 44 class.  I live in St. Louis with my wife, daughter, and Zoom (toy poodle).  While not keeping busy with students and employers, I can be found hiking, swimming, and running in the outdoors, training for my next adventure.  Fun Fact:  I followed Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia.  I hope our paths cross on campus, in the office, or on the trails!

I’ve enjoyed 25 years of creating connections between talented students, employers and alumni.

What do you most enjoy about working at the Center for Career Engagement?

When alumni return to campus to recruit, it’s a full circle moment of paying it forward.

Favorite quote, motto or piece of advice?

I’ve worked for multiple employers since I graduated and worked for all of them TWICE in some capacity. Never burn bridges.

I started my career as an Admissions Counselor at Washington University School of Law. I then took a position at a well-known recruiting firm to further my breadth of experience in the recruiting world. Working with companies such as Heineken, Hershey, Johnson & Johnson allowed me to get a great sense of what these companies look for in a new hire. I then took that knowledge and put it to good use working for the WashU Center for Career Engagement.

What phrase or sentence explains how you define success?

Success is achieving personal goals. Some goals are considered small by some people and enormous by others. What matters is that they are personal; each individual has his/her own formula for personal success.

What is something interesting about you, your hobbies/passions or your life that might help someone connect with you? 

My husband, 2 children and I have 2 dogs, 1 outdoor cat, raise several chickens and love spending time outdoors.

I have served in both the academic and corporate worlds in senior positions; performing both business development and leadership roles.  I have served as Associate Dean & Director of the Weston Career Center (developed a business development arm and helped lead a study with McKinsey & Co.) and as Assistant Dean of the Specialized Masters Program (introduced STEM degrees to Olin and doubled the size of the program).  I currently serve as Manager, Corporate Relations and Business Development I have exposure in a wide variety of industries including technology, financial services, and healthcare. We have become a preferred talent provider to Amazon, Microsoft and Google.  In the corporate sphere, I was a Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division at A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. and played various leadership roles, including Director of Recruiting.  I also was Principal of M.I.R.P., LLC.II, a partnership of ING Insurance and Mills Properties where we bought 61 apartment buildings; converted 30 of the buildings into condominiums and sold the remaining 31 buildings.