TOM LEE RISES TO DIRECTOR OF CAREER SERVICES AT DICKINSON LAW
August 2022 — Tom Lee began working at Penn State Dickinson Law in March of 2020. “I started my job as assistant director of career services on a Monday during the third week of March. I was in the building for two days before it was shut down due to COVID-19,” said Lee. “I was told, ‘Everyone is going home. We will see you in a couple of weeks.’ Then it was almost two years later before we came back to in-person.”
Lee could have seen starting a new job remotely amid a pandemic as a challenge. Instead, he embraced it as an opportunity. “I could not just walk down the hall and knock on someone’s door when I needed something,” said Lee. “I recognized that I had to reach out and ask a lot of questions. I was not shy in scheduling meetings on Zoom to just talk to people. I utilized a lot of text messaging and Microsoft Teams chat and took the bold step of proactively reaching out.”
By the time he returned to campus, Lee had formed strong relationships with his colleagues and gotten to know students using remote communications. He recently earned a promotion to director of career services at Dickinson Law.
Lee spent more than a decade as an attorney at a Harrisburg law firm before switching gears to join the Law School. During his years in practice, he met many lawyers who attended Dickinson Law, and he was impressed with their ethics and professionalism. “I always had a favorable impression of Dickinson Law in terms of the caliber of attorneys I came across,” said Lee. “What I saw from the outside has been reinforced now that I am on the inside. This is an environment where, when we have something to do, we have more than one person raising their hand, figuratively or literally, and saying, ‘I can help.’”
Alumni, too, are eager to step forward and assist. “The secret to our success in career services is our alumni network. Our alumni genuinely love the Law School, and our high employment numbers are because our alumni are willing to serve as sponsors. Individuals will expend their own political capital on our students to give them their first shot,” said Lee. “Our alumni are great at serving as career brand managers or publicists advocating for students they choose to sponsor. They say, ‘I am going to help you.’”
While everyone is working in person again, he said perfecting remote techniques has opened up new doors for alumni support and participation moving forward. “The best way alumni can give is to start with their time,” said Lee. “We do not have 100 percent in-person events with alumni, so there are a lot of opportunities to participate and connect with our students. Just reach out.”
When Lee is not at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. He is also an avid runner who gets up early to log his miles before coming into the office.