CUPPA Alumni Profile Series – Featuring Nicole Langert, MPA ’17
CUPPA alumnae Nicole Langert earned her Master's in Public Administration in May of 2017. She currently serves as the Director of Major Gifts at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and as President of the CUPPA Alumni Association Board of Directors.
The following is an edited transcript from a CUPPA interview with Nicole!
Nicole Langert, MPA '17 Heading link
Q: What brought you to CUPPA and made you want to pursue a degree in public administration?
Nicole: I started at CUPPA in the fall of 2014. I was a part time student working at University of Chicago in their Medicine and Biological Sciences Development Office and I had been working there for about three years in various roles in development and fundraising for medical and scientific research. When I was looking at people in higher positions with greater responsibility, I noticed that a lot of them had some type of Master’s degree. I felt like I really needed more education, more development of my skills to advance in the field that I was in and also in order to demonstrate my commitment to the field of nonprofit administration, which is what I focused on. I knew I wanted to go part time so I could continue working. I was looking at different institutions in Chicago and I was just really struck by UIC, the only public research university in Chicago and it’s affordability. I think UIC has catered so well to working professionals. I just felt like they [UIC] were doing so much locally to improve the city of Chicago and the university had great alumni who are doing exciting things in government, nonprofits, and business. All of my early interactions were so great with the faculty, students, and alumni. And it just felt like a really good fit for what I wanted to achieve.
Q: How has your degree supported you in your career, including in your current position at the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern?
Nicole: My career accelerated really quickly after I graduated from UIC. I think the education I was getting about nonprofit management, about the field of public administration, helped me understand how organizations are structured, my role in these organizations. That education piece was really critical. Even just the practice of being in class and in dialogue with other students helped me develop my confidence so much that I think I was better equipped to do interviews and go after opportunities that I was excited about. I could be a little introverted and more timid, so public speaking and presenting in front of the class, working collaborative with other students on group projects really strengthened some of my social skills in a way that I really needed. Some of the concrete knowledge of strategic planning and fundraising and basic elements of nonprofit management gave me exposure to all different areas of working at a nonprofit whereas the roles I’d been working in professionally were pretty specialized. It gave me more experience. That’s been really helpful in the jobs I’ve had since graduating.
Q: Are you where you thought you would be approximately six years after graduation? How was your career path deviated, if at all, from what you expected?
Nicole: I can’t believe it’s been six years! I started out in Medical Center Development fundraising. I’ve stayed in that same field since graduating from UIC. But one of the things I wanted to gain more perspective on through my MPA degree was exposure to other types of work, whether it was working in government or at a different type of nonprofit because I’ve always worked at an academic medical center. Through that process, I actually developed more confidence that I’m really well suited to the work that I’m doing and now I feel more confident staying on that path. I am on track with where I want to be. I think the greatest surprise and honor is that I’ve continued to stay so involved with UIC, and I didn’t really anticipate that. I think that’s been such a blessing to continue to be part of this community, to connect with other alumni, and to continue learning from the students in this program and the faculty who are doing such incredible research. That’s just been one of the greatest gifts. If you want to remain part of the community and contribute where you can and continue to support all the great work that’s been happening. I just feel like it’s been so welcoming. So that’s been great.
Q: What made you want to remain involved with CUPPA and with the alumni network after graduation? And how has it supported you?
Nicole: Something that’s important to me personally is to be able to help other people, and that is a big reason why I work at a nonprofit like a university. I like working with people who are making gifts, so I primarily work with grateful patients and families. I focus in cancer research, so I work with a lot of cancer patients and families who are giving back funds to Northwestern University to support the Lurie Cancer center and support cancer research, patient care, education and training for physicians and scientists. That is so rewarding. It feels good to be able to help other people and to give back.
There was an invitation for me to get involved, which I think was important, that [CUPPA] was like, “hey, we’re looking for people to be a part of our Alumni Association Board of Directors,” and so there was an opportunity for me to get involved. There are always career workshops and resume review workshops, panel discussions where you can share your experience. I feel like there’s always been that door open, that they [CUPPA] want alumni to come back and share about their experience and remain engaged.
But UIC! I think, there’s just something special about this institution. I just got to know so many different people. There are so many different paths you can take with a degree from CUPPA. I learned so much from other people in ways that I would have never been able to if I wasn’t a part of the MPA program. There are so many paths you could take, but there’s such a shared sense of values around helping other people, helping to improve our city, improve equity and opportunity because of its role in Chicago. [There is] such a love for the diverse community that Chicago is in conversation with students and trying to lend whatever advice or support or community I can offer with the little experience that I have.
Q: What has been the best part of being president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors?
Nicole: I guess maybe it’s two-fold. It has been a challenge, because I’m not super comfortable being in a leadership position all of the time. It has helped me a lot to develop my skills organizing these meetings, gathering people, and connecting students and alumni to the right people. So that’s been a great challenge and an opportunity. But it’s also strengthened and reaffirmed my love for CUPPA so much because I’m even more connected to the students, the alumni, the faculty and learning about how it’s continued to evolve so much in the six years that I’ve graduated. There are so many new programs and areas of study that have changed since the time I’ve been in the program. I think the students are just so great, too. I think that’s the most rewarding piece, hearing about what students are like, their aspirations and goals — how thoughtful and smart and community minded that everyone is.
Q: What advice would you offer to current students in CUPPA?
Nicole: Take advantage of all the resources that you see, get to know your fellow students, and learn more about them, what work are they currently doing, or what their career aspirations are. I learned so much about different paths my career could take, and what that could look like from developing relationships with my classmates, getting to know the faculty members, and really engaging with them and asking questions because they all have their own research efforts that they’re doing outside of class, in addition to what they’re teaching.
I have to plug the Alumni Association as well, and say get to know the alumni, because there are so many interesting people who would love nothing more than to connect with students and help support them in any way that they can. Get out of your comfort zone and go to social events that the Alumni Association is putting on. You never know who you will meet that’s hiring or who just might spark an idea about a type of career you hadn’t considered before.