Christine Y. Cruzvergara

“Innovative, strategic, perceptive, future-oriented, confident, decisive, collaborative, caring, positive, thoughtful, professional…these are qualities and characteristics that Christine Cruzvergara has demonstrated in her leadership roles at George Mason University and in her professional activities at the local, national and international levels. These characteristics were very much in play when she envisioned and transformed the career center to an industry-focused (rather than “major”) model with a primary emphasis on building relations, alliances and partnerships with campus stakeholders, employer and alumni. The success of Mason Career Services industry-focused approach has attracted the interest of other career centers, and many of them have followed suite. The Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences said to me: “ Christine was a BRILLIANT hire!” What impressed the dean were Christine’s creative and innovative thinking, her convincing and compelling messages, and her customized approach for partnering with the College to increase the career readiness of liberal arts students and relationships with employers. Since coming to Mason in July 2011, Christine has demonstrated exceptional vision, leadership and savvy in working with a diverse staff and stakeholders on a seamless approach to preparing students for post-graduate success, including strategies for embedding career readiness into the learning experiences of student, maximizing campus resources, strengthening the university’s position as a major source of talent, and increasing recruitment, retention, and student success outcomes. A big picture thinker who strives to make connections and demonstrate the value, Christine has effectively aligned the work of career services to mission, goals and strategic plans of the institution. She has facilitated a significant positive change in attitude, perceptions and expectations for career services at all levels within the university through effective use of information and data and a gift for conveying a compelling message. She inspires confidence and trust in her ideas and recommendations. She “dreams big” and offers creative and practical solutions for advancing the student success agenda of career services and the institution.”

“Christine was our Client Lead on a Design Challenge engagement through the Education Design Lab. Christine is a dedicated and top notch Career Services leader. She remains focused on delivering value to her key customers, who are the university students and employers, while staying committed to other teams and stakeholder groups at the university. She is detail oriented and very organized, while able to maintain and talk to the big picture strategy. The Design Thinking approach we utilized with the team on this project was very fast paced. Christine helped us to move the ball forward quickly through our design and pilot implementation work with intense focus and passion. It is a pleasure to know and work with Christine; I hope our paths cross again in the near future!”