Alumnus focuses on helping students find their career path

As a double degree recipient from Rider University, Adam Lucas ’08, ’15 knows the ins and outs of the school as well as anyone. So as the director of clinical internships, Lucas takes great pride in his ability to assist Rider students, not just with their fieldwork placements, but with any aspect of campus life.

“I try to be that support for any student who needs help,” he says. “I want all of our students here to feel successful and be able to take advantage of the many resources that are available to them.”

Lucas’s Rider journey began in 2006 when he matriculated as a junior after receiving an associate’s degree from a community college. “I had such a great experience here,” says Lucas, who received a bachelor’s in English, with a concentration in literature, in 2008 and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling in 2015. “I loved the class sizes, the close relationships with faculty and staff, and I just really felt like Rider was home.”

Upon receiving his bachelor’s, Lucas’s plan was to work at a publishing house as an editor. However, just after he graduated, he had to put his career on hold when his grandmother and his father, both of whom he lived with, became ill and passed away within months of each other.

“I graduated college, got my bachelor’s degree, and was excited to see what doors were going to open for me, and all of a sudden I lost my family,” he recalls of that difficult time. “I didn’t think about applying for jobs or anything. I wound up spending several years settling estates and taking care of my family. I just felt I needed to finish that before I could move on.”

It was during this time that Lucas reassessed his career goals and decided he wanted to study counseling, to help others much in the same way that he had been helped when he was grieving. He attended an information session at Rider where he met Dr. Trevor Buser and Dr. Juleen Buser, faculty in the Department of Graduate Education, Leadership, and Counseling.

“I knew right away that this program was exactly where I wanted to be,” Lucas says. He was accepted into the program, and returned to Rider in 2012 as a graduate student. “I was so proud and happy to be back. It felt like I was coming home,” he says.

During Lucas’s first semester back at Rider, he heard about an opening for a graduate assistant in the Office of Field Placement and State Certification, and he jumped at the opportunity. “I learned this office really well,” he says of that job. “I learned how to communicate with school districts and how to set up and run partnership events. I had never worked in schools, but thanks to this office I got to meet and work with a multitude of amazing teachers, principals, and other district staff.”

It was the positive experience of this position that again helped Lucas crystallize his career goals. “The wheels were starting to spin in my mind that I liked doing this — bringing people together, making connections, hosting events and helping students get placed was a lot of fun. So after I graduated and got certified as a counselor, I spoke to Dean Sherman and Erica Spence-Umstead, director of field placement, and said, ‘I want to stay here at Rider, what can we do?’ And as we looked around, we realized that there was a need for students and faculty in the graduate education programs to have the same support that students and faculty in the teacher education programs have when it comes to fieldwork, assessment, community partnerships, and certification. We worked together and came up with my position, and here I am.”

In his current role, Lucas's primary focus is on placing students from the College of Education and Human Services and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences into practica and internships that focus on clinical experiences. He is involved with planning and leading many large events on campus including fieldwork orientations, interview preparation events, partnership events and professional development workshops. Lucas also serves as the CACREP coordinator for the the College of Education and Human Services, working with faculty and students to maintain full accreditation for both counseling graduate programs.

Lucas says the most important aspect of his job is his ability to build relationships. “I’m usually the person who first introduces students to their school or clinical agency and connects them to principals or site directors when they’re looking for their first fieldwork experience,” he says. “Later, some of these students go on to work at the same school or agency I suggested to them. I really try to get to know our students and think about what opportunities would be the best matches for them. Now, some of the graduates I’ve worked with have been in their jobs for a few years, and I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I helped start that relationship. The fieldwork component of our programs is where students take what they’ve learned in coursework and transfer that knowledge to real-world scenarios. A strong site supervisor in a great placement can help make all the difference in a student’s ability to succeed in their future careers. I’m proud to be a part of that process.”

Q&A

What would you do if you didn’t do this for a living?

I graduated from the counseling program and became a licensed counselor. When I did my counseling fieldwork I interned at Princeton House, where I worked with children ranging in age from 6 to 13. It was really rewarding and fulfilling work, and I was proud to be working with those kids. So most likely if I weren’t working here at Rider, I would be a clinical mental health counselor, preferably working with children.

What is something about you that would surprise people?

I’m a bit of a craftsman and landscaper. Over the past few years I have renovated almost every room in my house, and done a lot of work in the yard. I inherited a lot of tools from my father and grandfather, so I decided to put them to use. I love my tractor and will take any excuse I can find to get on it and work in the yard — all while country music is blasting.

What personal achievement are you most proud of?

Maybe it’s cliché, but I would honestly say my family. My wife and I met as undergraduate students here at Rider 11 years ago. We’ve been married for seven years and every goal we’ve set for ourselves—earning graduate degrees, owning a home, having a kid — I’m really proud to say that so far we’ve accomplished all that. We have a 3-year-old son. He’s just wonderful — our little Bronc. All I’ve ever wanted was to have a nice home, a happy, successful marriage, and a child or two who had loving parents. So far, so good.

What advice do you have for students who want to work in higher education?

The most important thing is really getting that experience during your time in college. Be part of committees, be part of clubs, get a job as a student worker as an undergraduate, or if you’re in graduate school, try to find a position as a graduate assistant. As a graduate assistant, you’re not just earning a paycheck or getting free tuition, you’re getting to know people. You’re building connections. Never underestimate the value of being on a first name basis with university administration and faculty. These are great relationships to have. Even if you don’t ultimately end up working at a university, these are amazing connections to have for letters of recommendation when you’re looking for jobs elsewhere. If you go to a university and you’re not only a great student, but you’re also a great employee of that university, there’s a strong chance that they’re going to want to keep you. What’s more successful marketing for a university than someone who loved the place so much they didn’t want to leave?

What sets Rider apart from other universities?

It’s private, it’s small and the people really care. I had friends go to bigger schools and I’d say, “Hey, my classes have 12 people and my professor takes me to lunch to talk about my paper.” And they’d say, “I’m one of 100 people in a lecture hall, I don’t know my professor’s name, and they don’t know mine.” A lot of the people who come to Rider want that more personal connection. The faculty here is phenomenal. They care about every student, they know your name, they know who you are, they know what you’re trying to do, and they never make you feel like you’re just someone in class. And the same goes for the administration and the staff. I couldn’t ask for a better place to work or a better group of people to work with.