Meet with us!

Connect with us to discuss major or career choices, resume and cover letter writing techniques, or internship and job search strategies. We also offer behavioral mock interviews and review the results of career assessments by appointment.

Engineering Career Development Center

Make an appointment with a career advisor to discuss major or career choices, resume and cover letter writing techniques, internship and job search strategies, interviewing strategies, graduate school and more. Our team is available through scheduled Zoom or phone appointments; no in-person appointments will be offered at this time. If you’re outside the US and your waking hours don’t align with our 9am-5pm appointment availability, email engineeringcareers@virginia.edu to request an appointment time.

Graduate students

We encourage you to take advantage of panels, workshops, and career events throughout the year. Register for events hosted by Engineering Career Development, Data Science, the UVA Career Center, and the PhD+ program.

After attending some of our events, when you're ready to meet with a career advisor for one-on-one support, schedule an appointment in Handshake (in the Career Center menu):

When scheduling an appointment, please indicate your reasons for meeting in the provided space. 

Undergraduate students

Schedule an appointment through Handshake. You can schedule appointments for the same day or a future date, Mondays-Fridays.

To schedule through Handshake, under the Career Center menu select:
  — Appointments 
  — Schedule a new appointment
  — Center for Engineering Career Development
  — Topic you’d like to discuss
 
Then, choose an upcoming date to see available appointments. 

UVA Career Center

ALL Engineering and Computer Science students are welcome to schedule a Zoom or phone appointment with our colleagues at the UVA Career Center through Handshake (select UVA Career Center - General Appointments at Bryant Hall under Appointments) or call 434-924-8900.

Our Team

  • Julia Lapan

    Julia Lapan

    Director

    Julia manages all facets of career development by providing strategic and tactical leadership and direction to the SEAS career development team. She also maintains and nurtures existing relationships, as well as develop new relationships, with a significant base of employers.

  • Frances McBride

    Frances McBride

    Associate Director and Career Coach

    Frances provides comprehensive career counseling and development services to undergraduate and graduate students. She also implements career education programs, consults with students on career search strategies, and conducts career assessments.

  • Heather Palmer

    Heather Palmer

    Assistant Director and Career Counselor

    Heather advises undergraduate and graduate students on career exploration, internship/job search strategies, and decision making through individual coaching and small group workshops. In addition to advising, she manages our email marketing to students, website, and social media presence. Heather also serves on the University-wide Global Careers Committee, is a first-generation UVA alumna, and took a career break to live in Australia for a year.

  • Peggy Reed

    Peggy Reed

    Employer Relations Manager

    Peggy is experienced in corporate human resource management, including employee communications on an international level. She also organizes & arranges employer events and visits, and increases employer and student interaction.

  • Reggie Leonard

    Reggie Leonard

    Associate Director for Career Connections and Community Engagement

    Reggie builds and stewards relationships with employers and creates opportunities to explore and prototype their careers. He also spends a significant amount of time cultivating connections between students, and communities of technical and scientific practice.  

  • Myra Khan Blanchard

    Myra Khan Blanchard

    Assistant Director and Career Coach

    Myra provides career counseling to students interested in data and analytics careers. In addition to working with students one-on-one, she also facilitates various career development workshops on topics ranging from networking to negotiation.

  • Dana Quist

    Dana Quist

    Assistant Director

    Dana counsels engineering students on all job and internship search related topics. She is the primary contact for BS and BA students majoring in computer science and helps organize events and programs with a technology emphasis including alumni talks and panels, technical interviewing skills, and employer events. When she’s not working with students, Dana spends time on her Etsy shop side hustle, listening to podcasts, trail running and hanging out with her husband and two teenagers.

"The career counselors have helped me to discover and take advantage of so many of the resources UVA has to offer. They've given me great advice on everything from networking with alumni, preparing for career fairs, practicing for interviews, and applying to jobs. Through their guidance my job application materials and soft skills necessary for a professional career have improved drastically."

Hanbin Cho, BS Computer Engineering, 2016