Erik J. Larsen, the new director of the Becker Career Center, comes to Union from Penn State University, where he was director of alumni career services, serving 400,000 alumni worldwide. He also provided career and executive coaching through the university's
networking and mentoring programs.
Prior to that, he was director of career and human resource development at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., and he held similar positions at Ball State University,
Pepperdine University, and Georgetown University. He has bachelor's, master's, and educational specialist degrees in communication and instructional technology from Utah State University.
Joining the staff of the Admissions Office were two recent graduates-Genevieve Mbamalu '02 and Darcy Tuczynski '00.
Mbamalu, a native of Nigeria, joins the staff as a counselor. A sociology major with a minor in biology, Mbamalu did her senior thesis on “The Role of Cultural Tradition and Government Apathy in Promoting HIV/AIDS in South African Women.” She did research fellowships on complementary and alternative medicine, success of the breast cancer movement, and racial and ethnic differences with informal care giving. She was a Science and Technology tutor; a program coordinator for Student Activities; conference planning chair for the College chapter of the National Association of Black Engineers; a disc jockey for WRUC; co-chair of the Sociology Club; and a computer consultant through the College's USTAR program, which provides technical support to faculty and students.
Tuczynski returns to her alma mater as an admissions counselor. As an undergraduate, she was an interdepartmental major in biology and philosophy, and also had a French minor; played violin in the College orchestra; and served as editor of Ephemeris, a philosophy journal that she founded. She was active in the College's Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, and throughout her four years at Union she worked in the Admissions Office-as an office assistant, tour guide, overnight host, and finally, senior interviewer. Since graduating, Tuczynski had worked for Deloitte Consulting in New York City, specializing in health care and life science firms.