Rochon Becomes New Director of Career Services at Northern Essex

Rochon Becomes New Director of Career Services at Northern Essex

By WHAV Staff

Sandy Rochon of Amesbury has been named Northern Essex Community College’s new director of career services.

The 1996 Northern Essex business grad was volunteering at one of the college’s mobile food markets when she heard that Ashley Moore, the then-director, was leaving for a new position.

“At first I thought, that’s terrible,” she says. “Then I thought, but wait, I’d love to have that job.”

Rochon has close connections to the college, having served on the Alumni Advisory Board for the past five years. She comes from Salem State University, where she provided career development, career counseling and support to students and alumni. She has also worked previously for MassHire, Clark University, the State Department of Training and Development and North Shore Community College.

In addition to offering workshops on networking, interviewing, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and more, Career Services staff at Northern Essex help students explore and identify careers and set goals, Rochon says. All students and alumni have access to Handshake, the college’s online career network, which connects students with jobs and internships.

Rochon can relate to students who aren’t sure about their career paths. When she enrolled at Northern Essex, she didn’t know what she wanted to major in and “wandered into business.”

After receiving her associate degree, she transferred to Salem State where she earned her bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in business.

One student, who will likely be visiting Career Services, is Rochon’s daughter Samantha, who is currently studying liberal arts at Northern Essex. A recent graduate of Amesbury High School, she participated in the Early College Program and transferred her credits to Northern Essex.

Rochon may be reached at srochon@necc.mass.edu.