Student Success Stories – Xavier University

By Carolyn Thomas – Director of Career Services – Xavier University

Ivyanne K. London

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana

Major: Accounting

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Employer/Location: USDA National Finance Center (NFC), New Orleans, LA

Job Title: Systems Accountant – Financial Reporting Branch

Ivyanne K. London, a native of New Orleans, LA, is an accounting major at Xavier University of Louisiana. Upon graduation in May, she will be converted to a full time Systems Accountant

in the Financial Reporting Branch of the USDA National Finance Center (NFC) in New Orleans. In her sophomore year, Ivyanne responded to an email from the Office of Career Services about the NFC internship. Having a strong resume, she participated in on-campus interviews and was selected for the position where she has worked full- time in summers and part- time during the school year since 2013.

Keisha N. Murray

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana

Major: Finance

Hometown: Luling, Louisiana

Employer/Location: Ameriprise Financial, Minneapolis, MN

Job Title: Finance Leadership Development Program

Keisha N. Murray, a native of Luling, LA, is a finance major at Xavier University of Louisiana. Throughout her years at Xavier, Keisha worked closely with the Office of Career Services and her Division of Business professors to find a position that best suited her. Her summer experiences included an accounting internship and serving as a UNCF Walton Education Reform Fellow. At the 2015 Mardi Gras Career Expo, Keisha met a recruiter from Ameriprise Financial, and six weeks later she accepted a position in the Finance Leadership Development Program in Minneapolis, MN, where for the next two years she will learn about the company via three eight-month rotations.

Carolyn Thomas Director-XU Office of Career Services

Carolyn Thomas

Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana

At Xavier University of Louisiana, where I have served as the Director of Career Services since 1983, we strongly encourage students to utilize our office early in their collegiate career so that they can prepare themselves to be marketable upon graduation. We work with students individually to critique their resume and conduct mock interviews. The two students profiled below did exactly what we advise and it paid off for them. They took advantage of our services in their sophomore year and both students had what we consider the ideal qualifications for employment: good grades, leadership in extracurricular activities and internships which made them viable, competitive candidates.