July 25, 2017
Lisa Micsak - Staff member of the month, November 2016
Lisa Micsak is from a 1-traffic light town, but when it comes to her career, she’s discovered an open road without a stop sign in sight.
The Linwood native now serves as the administrative services coordinator for The Conference Center at SVSU, where she began working while still an undergraduate student in 2010.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in management in December 2013, then returned as a full-time employee in June 2014 to The Conference Center at SVSU.
While a university campus provides a busier setting than her small town beginnings did, Micsak said it was the “close-knit family atmosphere” at her office that inspired her to apply for a job there after graduation.
“The best memories I have here all involve the people,” she said. “It is inspiring how well everyone looks out for each other and takes pride in the overall community-oriented culture of the university, making it a very harmonious atmosphere.”
That level of comfort spills over into their interactions with clients. The Conference Center at SVSU works both with clientele on campus as well as outside organizations and guests interested in utilizing the campus’ facilities for various events.
One of Micsak’s favorite work experiences involved coordinating the wedding of a couple whose groom was an SVSU graduate. Micsak, though, largely worked with the bride-to-be, who lived in another state at the time.
“Our correspondence was all by email or phone leading up to the wedding,” Micsak said.
“She had to really trust my recommendations and planning abilities; that everything would look the way she wanted it to look when she got here. When we finally met on the day before the wedding, it was amazing to see the excitement and joy on her face when she saw the final result, providing her with a beautiful memory for their special day.
Micsak’s professional ambitions include furthering her career in Higher Education. She is enrolled at SVSU in classes for a master’s degree in public administration, and expects to graduate in May 2018.
“I am very passionate about furthering my career in higher education,” she said. “Long-term, I would like to work with students and look forward to being a mentor to them.
“Most of my life, friends have come to me for guidance or advice,” she said. “A lot of people need someone to listen to them and provide a caring outside perspective to help them with critical decisions they are encountering in their life.”
Micsak said her accomplishments don’t belong exclusively to her. She often is cheered on by her family, and her parents have played an important key role in her success.
“I was the first college graduate in my immediate family, so being able to attend my graduation, for them, was like attending their own graduation,” she said. “They’ve been my motivators and my role-models, without them I would not be where I am today, and for them I truly grateful.”