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Career Expedition Leads Hopper to Her First Full-Time Position

Recent Graduate Earns Job at Lockton in Denver
Career Expedition Leads Hopper to Her First Full-Time Position
After attending a career expedition in Denver, hosted by the College of Business Career Center, Hailey Hopper, ’22, graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a career secured at Lockton, a global insurance brokerage.

During her last semester at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Hailey Hopper, ’22, explored Denver as part of a career expedition hosted by the College of Business Career Center. What started as an opportunity to explore a new city and its companies turned into a full-time career at Lockton, a global insurance brokerage. 

“I was considering moving to Denver and thought the expedition would be a great way to see the city and meet potential employers. My experience exceeded my expectations. I thought I would get an idea of if Denver was the right place for me, but I got so much more out of it,” said Hopper, now an account administrator in the people solutions department at Lockton.

Hosted every semester, career expeditions enable business students to explore Lincoln, Omaha and different cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Chris Timm, director of the Business Career Center, explained how expeditions give unique insights into a wide range of career paths and industries and make for a great networking opportunity. 

A career coach meeting with a student.
The Business Career Center helps prepare students like Hopper for the job search process through resume reviews and mock interviews, as well as one-on-one personalized career coaching and a four-course professional enhancement program.

“Students get to build connections and discover career paths through interactions with employers and alumni, as well as fellow students. Through on-site tours, they get to experience different work cultures and learn about business roles in different types of employers,” Timm said. “I especially like seeing students gain confidence in navigating new surroundings and becoming stronger communicators.”

While in Denver, students visited several employers, including Lockton and Philadelphia Insurance, where they learned more about the organizations and their cultures. Prior to the trip, Hopper had no interest in pursuing a career in insurance, but after visiting, she applied and earned interviews with both organizations. 

“Based on a gut feeling I had when visiting, Lockton was the right place for me. There were four other people in my position who started on the same day, and I was the only one who did not have a personal recommendation from a current employee. There is no doubt in my mind that the career expedition played a big part in me getting my job at Lockton,” she said. 

The Business Career Center helps prepare students like Hopper to navigate the job search process. A national leader in student career development, the center offers one-on-one personalized career coaching, resume reviews, mock interviews and job search strategy for all business students. 

“The Business Career Center was extremely helpful when preparing my resume and for interviews. They also helped me navigate getting an extension on my offer with Lockton since I had an interview with another company already scheduled,” said Hopper. “Being at Lockton, I met several other Nebraska alumni, including one of the other account administrators who started on the same day as me.” 

While getting a job is not the direct purpose of the expeditions, Timm noted how Hopper leveraged the trip as a chance to do just that. 

“When Hailey applied to participate, she said she was interested in moving to Colorado after graduation and the expedition would give her a chance to see if Denver is a place she could see herself living. She made the most of her time during the visits but didn’t stop there and actively applied with organizations of interest,” Timm said. “The expedition made her more prepared for interviews and knowing the type of environment in which she wanted to work.”

The latest career expedition took business students to Chicago over spring break, March 12-15. Students interested in learning more about companies within Lincoln, such as Duncan Aviation, Crete Carrier Corporation and Sandhills Global, can apply for the Lincoln Career Expedition here, which takes place on April 14.  

Published: March 16, 2023