Going from majoring in fine arts to working as a director of alumni engagement may not be a typical career path, but it has proven to be a successful one for Stasia Sherman.
After graduating from the University of Missouri with a fine arts degree, the Kansas City native was working at Graceland University when her career took an interesting turn. The donation of a sizable art collection called for someone with her expertise to make a move to the alumni and donor relations office, and Sherman stepped up to fill the role. Since then, alumni engagement and event planning has been her life.
Sherman joined the Central Methodist University advancement office on Monday, March 23 as the new Director of Alumni Engagement, fulfilling a long-time goal.
“I’ve always wanted to work at Central,” said Sherman, whose husband Matt, ’10, is an assistant basketball coach at CMU. “I’m pretty lucky to have had a spot open up when it did.”
She joins the CMU staff after spending almost five years as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, Events and Special Projects at Columbia College, where her job responsibilities were similar to what they will be at Central. Sherman will play a big role in organizing and planning alumni events for the university.
In joining the wider Central Methodist family, Sherman will work in close proximity to her actual family. In addition to her husband, her in-laws Jeff and Julee Sherman serve as head men’s basketball coach and Vice President for Finance and Administration for CMU.
Outside of work, her family also takes up much of her time, as she and Matt have an 18-month-old son, Will.