Title:Interview with Samantha Curran

Job Title: Executive Assistant to the Vice President for Advancement

What led you to Georgetown University Advancement?

I was searching through LinkedIn while I was finishing my Master’s degree when I came across a posting for a development assistant position for the Business School. To that point, my only experience in nonprofit work was through my internship position at Make a Wish in Connecticut and I wanted to expand my knowledge within development. Higher education felt like a great stepping stone into my career because of the growth opportunities it brought. When I applied, I met with members of the development team and I was soon offered a position on the Planned Giving team as a senior development associate. I was super excited to get a job in nonprofit work, at a University that I wasn’t super familiar with, in a city I’d been once ten years prior, and on a team with a focus area I hadn’t explored before. There was a lot of creativity and career/personal growth that I saw for myself at Georgetown and that’s why I decided to take the position.

What’s been your biggest achievement at Georgetown so far in your career?

Becoming a reliable and trustworthy colleague is my greatest achievement at Georgetown. In both of the positions I’ve held at Georgetown, I’ve been able to work across teams and interact with people in and out of development at Georgetown. This exposure to other facets of our office and the University helped me in growing my institutional and job-specific knowledge to better help internal and external constituents. When I was given the opportunity to advance my career at Georgetown after years of finding my footing within development, that position change gave me a lot of confidence and reinvigorated the excitement I had for my nonprofit career. Being a good colleague, being seen as dependable, and contributing to the office with my ideas has been a great accomplishment to me.

How did you end up in your current role? Did you have previous experience?

During my senior year of college, I was a development intern for Make a Wish Connecticut. It was an amazing job that mainly focused on stewarding gifts of all sizes. The following year when I entered my graduate degree program, my manager had reached out to me to ask if I’d like to fill her role while she went on maternity leave. It was a great opportunity that I am still so grateful for because it was an early exposure to the inner-workings of development work and all of the pieces that come into play, in addition to the stewardship arm that I’d solely been working with. Soon after, I was hired by Georgetown to work on the Planned Giving team. I now work as the Executive Assistant to the Vice President where I get to continue in the inner workings of development.

What’s one fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know?

was a two-time State Champion of the shot put in the state of Maine in high school.

How does your work align with the broader mission at Georgetown & Advancement?

From the OA pillars, I find innovation and creativity to be at the center of my work. Without innovation, I would not feel as excited as I do to come into work everyday. I also think we work in the people business and Georgetown’s emphasis on care of the whole person is never lost on me. The work-life balance that I’m afforded in this job, as well as the support I receive from my team and the friends that I have here is the foundation of my success at Georgetown.