An Interview with Lori Botelho
Class of 1998, degree in Communication Arts and Sciences

1. Where are you currently employed?

"I work for Human Resources International. It is a division for the company of Select Appointments North America. I'm an associate recruiter for Human Resources International. I work on the contracting side of the business. We focus on both permanent and contracting placements. We have clients that contact us or vice versa for business. They are usually looking for candidates with some experience in all areas of Human Resources and we search for candidates. We have a large database with hundreds of candidates and we are constantly bringing in new ones. We work together to get the best fit for the client and the candidate."

2. What does your job involve and what do you enjoy most doing?

"I perform many tasks through out the day and I enjoy all of them. If I had to pick an area that was the most enjoyable it would be the interviewing process. I find it fascinating to meet new candidates and hear about the different positions that they have worked at."

3. Of all the classes you took when you were an undergraduate at Bridgewater, which was/were the most helpful to you?

"Of course, being a communications major, I would say all of my classes. They really prepare you to be ready to effectively communicate with everyone. One class in particular that clearly prepared myself and I am sure most individuals would be CC-130-Human Communications speech class."

4. Knowing what you know now, if you were an undergraduate again, would you do anything differently?

"If I could do this all over again, I really would have focused my study more on Communications. I was an Early Childhood Education major with a double major in Communications. After discovering, life after college, I realized that my true talents are within the communications field. I would have definitely wanted to minor in Marketing. It would have been helpful."

5. Of all the extracurricular activities you participated in, which do you think were esepcially valuable to you?

"The Leadership Institute was definitely a great organization to be part of. I say this because it really has you learning how effective networking can really produce results as to what you want to accomplish. I deal with this on a daily basis for my current position. The Women's Institute Day Committee was also another great organization that made me believe in the fact that women really can do anything that they put their minds too even if they do want to be career mothers."

6. If you had an internship experience, where was it? And was it a good learning opportunity for you?

"My internship was with the Walt Disney World College Program. I was in Orlando, FL for the summer of 1996. One of the most valuable assets of that internship would have been to learn what it was like to work for a Fortune 500 company and to learn hands on what it takes for a company with that reputation to survive.

7. If you could offer advice to a current undergraduate student, what advice would it be?

"If I could help anyone right now and give advice to them on what to do I would so to get involved. You want to learn as much as you can because you may think that you are prepared for the really world until you are in it."

8. Was there any member of the BSC faculty who was especially helpful to you? If so, who was that and how was that person helpful to you?

"Well, anyone that truly knows me or anything about me could probably answer this question but the member of BSC faculty that helped me the most and made my believe in myself when I wanted to give up so many times is Susan A Holton. This woman was my professor, my boss, my friend, and most importantly, my mentor. She really played a major role in my life throughout my college years and is still continuing to play a huge role in my after life. If there is any advice I could give to the undergraduates it would be to find a Susan A Holton that they could have in their lives. She is one of kind. Thank you for everything Susan!!!"

9. What do you see for yourself in terms of career development? Long-term, is there a goal you're trying to reach?

"One of goals that I was trying to reach since leave BSC in May 1998 was to become a recruiter. I knew that I would be successful at it if someone would just believe in me. My goal is to just be very successful at this position for this company but most importantly for myself."

Leah Arruda, '94 / '98

Megan Blake '98 & Larry Marchese '93

Lori Botelho, '98

Jane Bulman, '93

Ed Donahue, '85