There’s a fresh face heading up Career & Transfer Services at Harcum College. Rhonda Gaines may be new to the community of Harcum students, faculty, and staff, but she is a career professional with abundant experience in the career education field with diverse interests and talents, who is also a published memoirist.

She holds a bachelor of science in education from Virginia Tech, specifically in vocational education. She went on to obtain her master of science from Amberton University (Texas) in human resource training and development.

She has 30 years of experience in career education, training, and development, spending much of her career as an entrepreneur specializing in management and business training for Fortune 500 corporations where she developed and marketed national supplier diversity training programs for Texas Instruments, Walt Disney, Pepsi, Chevron, and other industry groups.

She later transitioned to career education with DeVry Inc., starting at the campus level and then moving up to a regional role as Regional Associate Dean of Career Services, serving the largest territory in the South Central and Mountain regions of the United States and Canada.

Gaines also has experience as a Leadership Development and Management Coach, helping employees develop effective management skills within their organizations.

Thus far, she is enjoying her new position, specifically “the teaming approach exhibited between faculty, staff, and administration, all focused on helping the students succeed.” She went on to explain how Harcum makes students feel valued.

“I usually ask each student, ‘Why Harcum?’ and inevitably they talk about how Harcum makes them feel connected and supported. They absolutely love it here.”

Her goals include building partnerships throughout the college to help support graduates, students, and alumni as they transition into their chosen career field — whether through employment opportunities or helping them continue their education by transferring to a four-year college. Working side-by-side with the program directors, she will work toward Career & Transfer Services developing meaningful partnerships using new approaches to ultimately help students succeed before and after graduation.

“We aim to help students build confidence by teaching them how to think strategically in communicating their value through their two-minute commercial, interview preparation, conducting business research, and sending a meaningful thank-you note for their overall experience,” she explained. “Each component develops a layer of confidence which ultimately will help students in life as they seek opportunities for professional growth.”

In her spare time, Gaines enjoys taking nature walks and seeing the trees, flowers, and vegetation. “Each season generates a colorful explosion of beauty all around you,” she said. She also likes cooking and entertaining.

Gaines published a memoir for her children, highlighting the importance of work-life balance after 9-11, but most importantly sharing how the family overcame such challenging times. “As my husband was called to active duty after 9-11, life as we knew it changed. The experience forced me to prioritize life differently and realize what was truly important to me,” she said. “I wanted our children to know that life wasn’t a straight line but a series of twists and turns.”

One of her favorite books is Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear. She also likes suspense movies and British comedies, the Mission Impossible series, and Star Trek movies, particularly for the special effects. “They always intrigued me of what possibilities were out there to be invented to stretch the mind,” she explained.

Gaines is proud to work with such a dedicated team of professionals in Student Life, who, in her view, live out their passion every day. “Each person I meet from Facilities to the President of the College is connected for one purpose and one purpose only — the students.”

Learn more at Harcum College. Harcum College provides its students with the opportunity for outstanding academic, career, and life preparation.