FYPC Podcast Ep. 59: Colleen Lubin, SNHU Associate Director of Student Involvement

Colleen Lubin is a higher education professional with over 15 years of experience in orientation, student engagement, and leadership development. From working as the Associate Director of Student Involvement at Southern New Hampshire University to advocating for infertility awareness on her website notquiteknockedup.com to storytelling, Colleen wear many hats. All of which best suit her interests and passions.

Tune into my conversation with Colleen Lubin to learn how to discover what career paths best suits you on Find Your Passion Career Podcast!

Try something, then try something else

We want to have it all figured out as soon as possible. Truth is, most of us don’t even figure it all out after college, or decades later. And that’s perfectly okay.

“Try one thing and if it doesn’t fit for you, you can always stop doing it, and try something else next.”

Colleen started college undecided with an interest in radio production, but after trying out a communications class she decide it wasn’t for her. Colleen then went on to pursue a math major because she was passionate about the subject. But as soon as she joined a classroom to teach math, she realized that it wasn’t a fit. Meanwhile she had worked on campus in the Dean’s office and applied to be an orientation guide. Even though this role was outside of her comfort zone, Colleen found her groove. The process of trial and error helped Colleen discover how much she enjoyed working in student involvement.

When we make career decisions, we often tend to see them as life sentences. We think by starting a career path today, we must continue on that same path tomorrow. For Colleen, after experiencing an “identity crisis” in her late 30s and taking on a new career path soon after, she now believes otherwise. No matter your age, Colleen advises to try something, then try something else.

“Just know that you’re not making a decision that has to be a lifetime. So, you might really be passionate about a thing for five or ten years and then discover something else that you want to explore.”

If you don’t connect with the first career path your try, or even the first 10, just keep trying until you find what’s best for you.

Listen to Your Gut

Colleen can tell you how to find what career path fits you, but your gut will ultimately tell you when you’ve found what fits you best.

“I’m a huge gut person. Intuition is huge for me. I just think we each have this voice and there’s all kinds of external factors that are working to silence it or confuse it. You feel pressure from your family or whoever’s surrounding you at the time, friends from home, friends from your college, even your own other voice that’s like, ‘you should be doing this’.”

Colleen believes that your truest guide to finding your career match is already within you. You just have to silence the noise around you and listen to it.

“Deep down I think we almost always know what we should do. Like when you’re on the line to make a decision, whatever it is, deep down I think you really know and you just have to kind of silence all the other stuff.”

So, make this your new motto: when in doubt, listen to your gut.

To hear more of Colleen’s story and her advice on finding the career path that best suits you, download my podcast interview with her here on iTunes!