Randolph-Macon College student Kristin Sheetz ’16 has spent the past four years following her passion and preparing for a successful future. The chemistry major has taken advantage of the many resources available to RMC students, from career preparation to travel opportunities to leadership training. She learned early in her college career that being involved on campus reaps great rewards.

Getting The Edge
One of the keys to Sheetz’s success is the guidance she received from The Edge, RMC’s four-year career preparation program.

“The Edge really sets RMC apart from other colleges,” she says. “I started meeting with staff from The Edge when I was a freshman and continued to do so throughout the years. Staff helped me polish my résumé, gave me career advice, and encouraged me to attend networking events, where I met and talked to RMC alumni.”

At one of the events, Sheetz talked to William Sprinkle ’67, who recently retired from his position as assistant director of engineering and construction at the Department of Corrections in Richmond, Virginia. He is now a project manager with MBP, a construction management firm in Richmond. Sprinkle, who majored in chemistry at RMC, met with Sheetz several times to discuss her career options.

“I met Kristin several years ago at a Macon Connections event,” he explains. “We chatted at length, and I said to her, ‘With a degree from Randolph-Macon, you can do anything. Follow your passion, and you can always change your mind.’ I met with Kristin on numerous occasions, and I advised her to keep her résumé current and always carry business cards, because you never know who you’ll meet. It happened to me. I met an engineer at a conference, he asked for my résumé, and I now have a full-time job—again!”

Sheetz also attended the Edge Career Boot Camp, a two-day, off-campus immersion program where students identify their career passions and hone their interview and communication skills—all with the help of top-notch speakers and mentors, including alumni.

“I would highly recommend that students attend Boot Camp,” she says. “I learned so much about being proactive about finding a job after graduation. I am thankful that The Edge led me to so many wonderful opportunities.”

Campus Life
To say that Sheetz is actively involved on campus is an understatement.

An integral part of her success is connected to the Leadership Fellows program, which facilitates leadership development by blending theory with practical experiences.

“The Leadership Fellows program was a gateway into membership in many other organizations for me,” says Sheetz. “As a Fellow, I learned to be more aware of my own leadership styles as well as those of others, and that good ‘followers’ are just as important, if not more important, than leaders. The program helped me recognize and nurture my strengths and turn my weaknesses into strengths.”

Sheetz served as president of Omicron Delta Kappa; vice president of Chi Beta Phi; vice president of new member education and risk-prevention chairman of Delta Zeta Sorority; and secretary of the Pre-Health Society. In addition, she is a member of the College Republicans, Rho Lambda, Gamma Sigma Alpha, Order of Omega, Fraternal Founders’ Society, Beta Beta Beta, the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, and Phi Beta Kappa. She also served as a mentor in the Higgins Academic Center.

How did she juggle her coursework with her leadership roles?
“It took a lot of self-discipline,” she says. “However, the organizations that I was a member of taught me a lot about myself and helped me become better at time management,” she says.

From Research to Internship
During her sophomore year, Sheetz participated in the Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, where she discovered that she loves research. Participating in SURF allowed her to attend the 2015 national American Chemical Society (ACS) conference in Denver, Colorado, where she presented her research, “A novel method for the extraction of lead ions from bulk water supplies.”  It also served as a springboard to research that she conducted for her capstone project in chemistry—which in turn enabled her to attend the 2016 ACS conference.

In 2015, with the help of Chemistry Professor Serge Schreiner, her advisor, Sheetz landed a full-time summer internship with Mead Westvaco. She worked closely with senior scientists in the paperboard innovation and technology department.

“It was this internship that helped me find my career passion,” she says.  “After my summer internship at Mead Westvaco (now WestRock), I was offered another position to work part-time during the fall, which led to yet another part-time position the following spring. I was recently offered a full-time internship at WestRock for summer 2016.”

This fall, Sheetz will begin the Master of Science program at Virginia Commonwealth University for Chemical Engineering.

“I will graduate with an M.S. degree in 2018,” she says. “After graduating from that program, I hope to secure a full-time position at WestRock.” Sheetz says she is proud to be a Yellow Jacket—and is grateful for all that the RMC community has done to help her during her four years in Ashland.

“We are given so many opportunities, and alumni absolutely love to help us,” she says, “from internships to job opportunities to networking. We are such a strong community!”