In some ways, it is almost serendipity that Willis understands the importance of career planning because she did not have an intentional plan after earning her bachelor's degree. This meant that she took a position with the County of Fresno with no idea of what else she could do.

But all that changed.

"I went to a career counselor who helped me understand my unique set of skills and interests and how my personality style impacts how I work," she said. "Ironically, through that process, I determined that I wanted to pursue a career in career counseling. I also determined that I really enjoyed working with college students at the very beginning of their careers."

Willis started at Fresno State as the coordinator of Internships and Professional Experiences for the Jordan College in January of 2015.

"It actually is a return to campus for me, as I received both my bachelor's in psychology (1987) and my master's in education — counseling and student services (1993) — from Fresno State," she said.

Her career in higher education started after earning her graduate degree, when she worked part-time at Fresno City College, taking on dual responsibilities as a career counselor and academic adviser. At the same time, she took a second part-time job as the Student Assistance Program coordinator at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. Then, in 1996, she joined Fresno Pacific University as the director of Career Resources, where she remained until 2004, when she became the founding director of Career Services at the University of California, Merced.

In 2006, to better attend to the needs of her young children, she took a position close to home with New Covenant Community Church in Fresno, where she served as the director of Communications and Information Technology.

"While I was very grateful to have a job that allowed me to be more actively involved in my kids' lives, I really wanted to return to the career I loved," she said. "I feel very fortunate to have returned to higher education and love working for the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology."

Her favorite aspects of her job are helping students clarify their career direction and then connecting them to internship opportunities. She also loves working with employers to develop new internship opportunities or refine existing opportunities.

"In my role, my primary responsibility is to connect industry and our students through internships," she said. "I work with employers as a consultant – one they don't have to pay for – to assist them in establishing new internship programs or enhance existing programs. Once established, I proactively promote their internships to our students.

“I also work with students to identify internship opportunities and then assist them to prepare to apply and interview for those opportunities, and then ultimately maximize their internship experience. I collaborate with faculty who incorporate career development topics in their courses through classroom presentations and mock interview assignments."

Willis hopes the internship experiences will help students become actively engaged with their coursework as they more clearly see the connection between what they are learning in the classroom and what they experience in industry. She seeks to have students be intentional about their career development.

"I don't want students to have their careers happen to them," she said. "I want them to understand how their unique personality, skills and knowledge can be maximized for their career success. My goal is to have all Bulldogs be bold top 'Dogs!"

Willis is currently serving on the Academic Affairs Strategic Goal #1 Work Group and the Career Development Center's Career Council. This summer, Fresno State will be a new site for the USDA's Ag Discovery program and she's serving on the planning committee for that project.

She received the USDA Kika De La Garza Fellowship for 2016, and is a current member of the Fresno County Farm Bureau's Future Advocates for Agriculture Concerned about Tomorrow Development Class XIV. Additionally, she is a member of the Cooperative Education and Internship Association and the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

In her off time, Willis loves baseball. She is a diehard fan of the San Francisco Giants and of baseball in general, as evidenced by the growing collection of bobbleheads in her office. She also is very actively involved in her son's travel with his baseball team.

She has been married for 23 years to her husband, Rod, who is a school psychologist for the Fresno County Office of Education.

They have two children, Emma, 18, who is a freshman child development major at Fresno State, and Sam, 14, a freshman at Clovis North High School.