Retirement from IUP - Jan Shellenbarger

Jan Shellenbarger with her oldest grandson, Everett

When I started my college career at IUP in 1991 as a 36-year-old non-traditional student (or as one young woman

straight out of high school described me, “one of those ‘abnormal’ students’”), I didn’t realize it was the beginning

of a four-year degree and a 25-year career at the university, which ended on June 17, 2021 with my retirement!

For those of you who weren’t ‘abnormal’ and attended college more recently, back in 1991 we didn’t have online

course registration. Instead, we stood in a long, serpentine line in the field house while we made our way to

stations manned by representatives from different majors. We might have computers at home or on campus

where we could type our papers, but the printers were the nine-pin models that made lots and lots of noise while

they were printing. Some of our exams were on mimeographed paper (look it up under “ancient forms of

communication”). When I received a degree in Journalism in 1995 and obtained a position at IUP, I was one of the

first to learn hypertext markup language for a new technology, web pages on the INTERNET!

Fast forward to 2021, where I have been happily employed for 12 years in my final work home at IUP, the Career

and Professional Development Center, where I am the Special Events, Employer Relations, and Technology

Coordinator, which means I was privileged to run the on-campus career fairs, interact with many students and

employers, and periodically explain Excel spreadsheets, dig jammed paper out of the copier or dump toner on

myself (you probably thought “Technology Coordinator” was something important….). I feel I reached the pinnacle

of my time when I joined this department, first with Mark Anthony, and then with Tammy Patterson Manko. I

couldn't have asked for two better people to work with in their capacity as directors. Both were wonderful at

making sure that team members knew we were part of the success of the department, while also being great

friends!

After Mark went on to bigger and better things at the University of South Carolina, Tammy was fantastic in her role

as director. I love her sense of humor, her work ethic, and the fact that she ALWAYS gives credit where credit is

due. Tammy has the best laugh and the best malted milk balls in Western Pennsylvania!

This past year has been a challenge for all of us, but at least I had the pleasure and joy of working with a great

team - Kelsey Thompson, with whom I can share laughter that has us practically crying, former co-workers Angela

Martinelli and Kevin Fleck, who brought knowledge and joy to their positions and who will always be friends, our

wonderful graduate assistants and undergraduate Career Development Advocates over the years, as well as the

many, many people from all over campus and throughout PennACE with whom I've shared a laugh and a good

time. I plan on spending more time with my family, traveling, and continuing to write feature articles, but I will

relish the memories and friendships we've created.