Stephanie Brown | 1996 Human Services graduate
Our vision at Southwest Tech is to change lives by providing opportunities for success. We are so proud of our alumni who come back to Southwest Tech as employees and help further that mission. Stephanie Brown is a 1996 Human Services graduate who now works as residence life manager.
• I would not be where I am today without my experience at Southwest Tech. I never thought I could make it in college. My Aunt Sue, who worked at Southwest Tech, encouraged me to give it a chance, telling me the faculty and staff would help me with anything I needed. She was so right! The staff went out of their way to make sure I was successful and graduate, giving me the confidence to pursue a Bachelor’s degree.
Following graduation, I accepted a job for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WI DOC) working as a teacher’s assistant at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility. I was promoted to warden’s secretary and began working on my Bachelor’s degree through Upper Iowa University. (Thank goodness Warden Huibregtse tutored me through my statistics class.) I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree and received my social work license. An advisor position opened at Southwest Tech and on a whim, I applied. I was hired and worked as an advisor for a year until accepting my current role as resident life manager.
My advice to any student is to use Academic Services. They were amazing and helped me with everything. Sometimes I just needed someone to tell me I could do it so I would stop in for a pep talk from the staff there. Without Southwest Tech I don’t know where I would be! The fact that I barely graduated from high school, but am now working on my Master’s Degree, makes me so proud.
I’m also very proud of my family and love to do anything that involves spending time with them. They are my favorite people. I also like home projects (not my husband’s favorite). And anyone who knows me knows that my grandson Cooper D. will make me drop anything I am doing to spend time with him.