Kimberly Warner Recognized with 2025 Career Services Professional Award by Michigan Alliance
Kimberly Warner, the key leader in the field of student success and career development, was given the 2025 Career Services Professional Award by the Michigan Career Educator and Employer Alliance (MCEEA), as she has shown remarkable dedication to the cause. The noteworthy exception is to recognize the excellent work in the quality of services to students in Michigan. Warner has really been the source of the career centers’ power in the state for the past few years by showing not only students but also their colleagues and employers how to move forward.
The prize was initiated in 2012 to acknowledge those professionals who achieve their goals, such as those who improve employment outcomes, lead their peers, connect with industry, and especially who are the mission of MCEEA. Warn… negotiated all the needs of MCEEA, which in fact included all those mentioned in the mission statement of the organization—from creating connections in industry to the engagement of peers and improving employment outcomes. The most interesting is that Warner has been able to provided career services not only in the traditional job search skills but also in other business areas.
Today she is the Director of Career Services at Northwood University, Kimberley has been very helpful and has added value. Her contributions are directly related to the process of raising competent professionals. Moreover, Northwood’s brand has become recognizable around the globe as graduates can do not only the theoretical but also implement a vision, meaning they are very well-carried and driven in their minds and are responsible for the society’s evolution. Working with other colleagues, establishing programs that engage employers, and initiating a close relationship with students are her contributions to the university’s mission of generating leaders not only in entrepreneurial business but also in social project development.
“Kim’s actions are completely aligned with the philosophy of Northwood University,” stated Dr. Matthew Bennett, the Vice President for Enrollment, Strategic Partnerships, and the Center for Automotive & Mobility Studies. “She has been instrumental in helping students grasp the link between their studies and the careers that they will be employed in, and that is the reason why I think this is such a well-earned recognition.”
Career services have a wealth of experience in the form of Warner, who holds not only herself but also her mentees a priority and is known for her professional integrity, mentorship, her focus on results, and performance. Colleagues commend her for being an interactive leader and for imbuing others with the desire to raise the standard of their work. This is true for Steven Poole, the director of Career Services and Professional Development at Northwood, who said, «Kim is an outstanding professional and at the same time a guide for most of us in this area. The award recognizes the influence she has had all over the state as well as in the local area.»
At Northwood, the department of career services is not just another piece of the puzzle – it is, in fact, the cornerstone. The division provides students with specially designed coaching sessions, monthly gatherings with numerous of the best employers, and a calendar full of well-designed workshops intended to steer students to the sophistication of the world of work. The competence and efficiency of the students are the products of the leadership of Warner, whose ideas have indeed taken the department service to the next level of excellence, thus, leading to students being graduates with some uniqueness among the job applicants.
Kim Warner shares the principles of The Northwood Idea, the school’s ethical, values-based framework which speaks about personal responsibility, earned success, and ethical leadership. Warner is a proud alumna of Northwood who also resides in Kawkawlin, Michigan. She considers personal accountability, the belief of achieving success based on one’s merit, and ethical leadership as some of the fundamental aspects of The Northwood Idea that guide the belief, thought, and action of members. The people of Northwood and the community are an excellent match for Warner, who thinks that the close relationship between university and community is the true meaning of collaborative and applied learning. The life-touching stories of an employer-student relationship tend to make her day the most fulfilling, particularly those stories in which not only individuals but also businesses taste the nectar of success. Warner expresses extreme satisfaction at the thought of organizing such initiatives within the program and seeing the two parts connect for mutual benefit—fulfillment for the students and prosperity for the business and vice versa.
Employers who are looking forward to tapping into the motivated, ‘workforce-skilled’ and Northwood’s ‘industry- ready’ talent can send a message to Dr. Steven Poole at [email protected] or Kimberly Warner at [email protected] to have an open conversation about ways through which they would want to collaborate.
