Lydia Morton, '13

Entering freshman year without a clue as to what she would major in, Lydia Morton decided to get some advice early and visited Career Services’ advisor, Katybeth Lee. Her goal: find course options that were not only interesting, but also could be leveraged as an asset when discussing her academic background with potential employers. Eager to take advantage of the endless liberal arts opportunities at the University of Richmond, Morton took her time exploring different fields of study, until she found her calling: Mathematical Economics.

“I am grateful for the academic experiences that led me to where I am,” shared Morton. “And I would encourage students to explore the various offerings of a liberal arts school such as University of Richmond before settling too quickly on what you may think you want to study.”

In addition to helping Morton select her major, Career Services played a pivotal role in helping her identify two internships and a full-time job post-graduation. Using SpiderConnect, UR’s free opportunities database, Morton landed two summer internships in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the generous financial support provided to Morton through the Spider Internship Funds, she was able to take full advantage of these experiences.

Morton obtained her first internship at the Sojourners Office with the help of a UR alumnus. Here, Morton served as a Development Assistant and became well versed in political non-profit organizations in the Washington D.C. area.

Eager to return to D.C. the following summer, Morton used SpiderConnect to find a consulting opportunity. She applied and was offered a summer position with a health and human services consulting firm where many UR graduates work. Morton worked as a business systems analyst and spent the summer learning about business processes and models, as well as software testing and the development cycle.

Preparing for life after graduation, Morton applied for multiple opportunities via SpiderConnect and landed a full-time job as a Technical Services role at Epic Systems where she will build relationships with customers of the Epic software.

Morton credits Career Services as well as keeping an open mind for diverse opportunities for making her experiences possible.