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Jennifer McConville - roadblock buster and Associate Dean at NCTA
CURTIS, Neb. - If you think you’re going to tell Jennifer McConville that it can’t be done, you’re going to be in for a surprise. When she decides something needs to be done, she doesn’t quit until it’s accomplished.
Jennifer is the Associate Dean for Finance, Operations and Student Services at Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. In this position, she is responsible for the oversight of business operations, budgeting and human resources. All facility management on the campus reports through her office. In addition, she oversees all admissions and recruiting processes for student enrollment. She serves as the Title IX Coordinator for the campus and supervises all ADA compliance. She is also directly involved with academic advising and retention of students on the NCTA campus.
It sounds like a huge assignment, and for many it would be overwhelming. But Jennifer is not the kind of person to let big tasks intimidate her. She simply digs in, tackles one problem at a time, and comes to the resolution that she wants to see. When she was hired for the position, she was told that the main reason she was chosen was because she knows how to bust down roadblocks.
While her “take-charge” personality has been an asset in getting her to where she is today, she emphatically points out that her situation hasn’t always been rosy, and getting there was not easy.
In her early thirties, Jennifer decided that she wanted to go back to school and get a college diploma. She was a McCook High School graduate, and at the time, a stay-at-home mom of four children; three boys under the age of 8, and an infant daughter. She wanted more stability and a better living environment for her young family.
She struggled with managing her family, going to school, and doing homework. For several years while working on her degrees, she was a single mom and was also working two jobs. “I didn’t sleep much during those years,” Jennifer told the Gazette. “I always waited until the kids were asleep to do homework, so I would not miss time with them in the evening. Most mornings, I would wake up on a text book while still on the couch or at the table.”
She eventually earned her associate degree from McCook Community College, followed by a bachelor’s degree from Bellevue University. Which was then followed by a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska Kearney. Followed by ABD-Doctorate in Education from the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Earning several degrees while balancing work and family life, one would think that Jennifer was a high-ability learner. But she would dispute that assumption. “I’m not a very good student. I have to read something more than the average person does before I get it. I have had to re-take several classes. I can look at my transcripts and see the semesters that life got in the way (divorce, major surgeries) and how I didn’t always succeed. I’m sure my finance instructor at UNK would be surprised to see I’m in charge of finance at a college now.”
Jennifer credits her success to never giving up, and the many supportive people she met along the way. Some of them probably weren’t even aware of the impact they had on her life.
For instance, at one turning point in her life, Jennifer had to go to the bank for a loan just to make ends meet. “I had the best loan officer ever. He didn’t embarrass me, but he made me want to work harder so that I didn’t have to come ask him for money.” She explained that he encouraged her to set goals and continue to work through her financial challenges. In a supportive manner, he made her want to make good choices and have more financial stability for her family.
Another encounter was with a utility company serviceman who knew she couldn’t afford to have some much-needed ductwork done on her furnace. “He would come over in the evenings and he would tell me what needed to be done. And I would do it and he’d come back the next night to check and then tell me the next thing.”
She also made friends with a local cooperative manager, who knew she was struggling with finance and accounting classes. He took the time each semester to tutor her until she finally figure it out. “He would check in on me after tests, and see how my grades were, and help me figure out what we needed to work on.”
Jennifer said, “Each one of those people strengthened me and gave me more confidence.”
Jennifer offers four pieces of advice to her students, or anyone looking to further their career:
| • | Always have a goal. Keep your eye on it and work toward it. Sometimes you have to readjust your goals for the current situation. That’s ok; just keep working. |
| • | Take the high road. |
| • | Develop tough skin. People are not always going to like what you say and do. They are going to tell you about it, or more likely, tell others! But if you are doing the right thing, making the best choices you can with the resources you have (and taking the high road), you can be confident that you are making the right decisions. It’s ok if someone doesn’t agree. |
| • | DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL. I can’t count how many times I have failed. I’m ok with it. Sometimes I cry for a day or two, but always pick your self up, readjust and try again. |
Failure is something that Jennifer believes helps motivate people to continue to persevere. She told the Gazette about a couple of her “failures” that ultimately resulted in helping her achieve her career goals.
Shortly after earning her bachelor’s degree, Jennifer was eager to join the workforce and earn some much-needed money. A position was open in Cambridge in media relations that Jennifer felt she was really qualified for. She interviewed twice for the position, but didn’t get the job. “It was just absolutely heartbreaking to me. I remember laying in my bedroom just bawling and bawling because I really thought that was my job and that was going to be my ticket out.”
After a few hours of mourning, she went back out and continued to look for employment. About a month later, she was hired as the executive administrator for Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) in Cambridge. Through her work at RC&D, she met Weldon Sleight, former dean at NCTA. Sleight asked her to apply for a teaching position at NCTA because of her understanding of entrepreneurship and business development in rural areas.
“If I wouldn’t have met Weldon Sleight, I wouldn’t be at NCTA. I wouldn’t have had Dr. Rosati (Dean at NCTA from 2013-19) tell me to keep working on my PhD because he wanted me in administration . . . Each person along the way just pushed me somewhere else. But I was completely devastated when I didn’t get that media relations job.”
When Dean Rosati retired from NCTA in 2019, McConville applied for the dean position. She felt she had an “above-average” chance. But again, she didn’t get the position she had her heart set on. “I was devastated. I applied for other jobs and I made it to the final round at Northeast (Community College). I had every intention of taking a job there. And then I met this Dean.”
Dr. Larry Gossen, Ph.D. became the next dean of NCTA. Dean Gossen knew that Jennifer was thinking about leaving NCTA, and he let her know that he wanted her on the NCTA team. So Jennifer decided to stay. “He’s the most amazing man and I have learned more from him since June than I’ve learned from anyone.”
Jennifer named several people who are her support system, including her parents and sisters, her husband Kirk, and her children.
Other mentors include Dr. Jerda Garey, who Jennifer said was one of the best college professors she had ever had and one of the first women in higher education who made her want to pursue more. Jennifer took a capstone class with Dr. Tubbs of Mid Plains Community College at the end of her bachelor program. Dr. Tubbs told her, “You’re good at this, keep going,” so she did. She said that many of her colleagues push her to continue to pursue her dreams. She said that the Gen Ed instructor at NCTA keeps pushing her to complete her dissertation and continues to “hold my feet to the fire.”
In turn, Jennifer gets to be a mentor to students and colleagues as well. She said that was one of the biggest rewards she receives through her career. “How cool is it when a student calls you or emails you and says it’s been two years since I graduated, but I just got my first loan to buy my first herd of cows. Or, I just got my loan to buy land. Thanks for all you did to help me with entrepreneurship. Or, thanks for getting me out of trouble when I made stupid decisions, because now I’m successful at this.”
Jennifer has a white board in her office with quotes from various mentors who supported her throughout her career. One came from Dr. Rosati who told her that she needed to “develop tough skin”. She said that is something she believes that most women need to embrace. “We’ve been told mixed messages for so long, it’s hard for us to know what to do. If a woman wants to be successful in business, she has to act like a lady. On the other side, have tough skin.”
She said that women are often criticized for being emotional. “I think that’s what makes us so highly successful. I think the fact that I care so much is the reason I never quit.”
Jennifer also tells young women that their biggest enemies are each other. “We are knocking each other down. If we would lift each other up, it’d be a whole different situation if we could find confidence and faith in each other.”
She also advises that you don’t have to go clear to the top to be successful. “You get to pick who and what you want to be.” The key is to set your goal and that’s what you work toward.”