By Melissa Evers
Megan Hoffner, adjunct instructor for PDS-300 at William Peace University practices what she teaches in class.
She encourages her class to give back to the community, to be authentic, kind, thoughtful, and to present themselves in a positive way to build a network of people.
Hoffner is a Peace alumna, a recent board president who loves animals, working in Human Resources, and is also very proud of her Lumbee Native American heritage.
She shows up for classes with her distinctive curly brown hair, an outfit that includes a rich color palette, and a piece or two of Native American jewelry.
Hoffner has both a professional and personal balance when it comes to interacting with people. She is social and enjoys people and needs alone time to recharge.
“I’m definitely an introvert,” said Hoffner. She has learned many skills to help her navigate the corporate and classroom environments and “anything that involves people.” She recharges on her own and then is ready again to connect with people on a deeper level to create longer and more sustainable relationships.
In her Wednesday 8 a.m. session of PDS-300 you can see her in action as she interacts, probes, and leans into her student’s career needs and goals while she coaches each of them to land their dream jobs. As a former student of Peace and a past board member, she has a lot of advice to give and is willing to share.
“Pay it forward once you have secured a network, internship, or job. Offer to help students coming behind you or who are in your class. You don’t know how much your little act of kindness impacts the world,” said Hoffner.
Hoffner’s degrees from WPU include a liberal studies major with minors in French, psychology, and a concentration in vocal music. “Because I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she said of all the minors.
She speaks highly of her experience at WPU and said that there have been many times when her networking connections and past relationships have helped her grow and advance in her career.
For instance, every job she has attained, “since graduating from Peace has been because it was some type of Peace connection where somebody was saying really great things about me in a room that I wasn’t in,” said Hoffner.
Her other professional roles include senior talent acquisition program owner for the internal retention program for Syneos health and WPU alumni association. Currently her role is in clinical research, which was not where she started out after graduating. She was focused on learning new skills which lead to changes and transitions to other fields throughout her career.
She is driven to give back to the future generations at the college and donates her salary from Peace back to the college.
“I served as much as I could because I feel like I am forever in debt to Peace for so many wonderful gifts that it has given me not just as a student but as an alum,” said Hoffner.
She mentions the biggest takeaways of coming to college in Raleigh. Specifically Raleigh was the big city compared to the rural North Carolina town she grew up in.
This was one of her takeaways and why, “trying, and that sounds somewhat simple,” said Hoffner, “it was filled with people and spaces that I had never navigated.”
Hoffner elaborates on the concept of, “trying” a lot of different types of things while she attended WPU. She participated in clubs, organizations, was involved with mentors and student leaders which helped grow her network.
“I distinctly remember having my mom kind of reminded me of that “trying” piece. And one of the things that she said to me that I still hear and in the back of my head, often somewhat begrudgingly is “nothing beats failure but a try,” said Hoffner.
It is obvious Hoffner cares, admires, and values her mom’s opinion. “I adore that human but yes, she’s super talkative,” and full “ of amazing stories,” said Hoffner.
Hoffner’s peers at WPU speak highly of her career advice and kind disposition.
“In every interaction I have had with Megan, she has been so kind and insightful. I feel like I learn so much when speaking with her,” says Erin Guarine, MSW, academic and career advisor at WPU.
Co-workers said she is prepared with ideas to add to the PDS-300 curriculum and is a “strong advocate” for the students.
“We are very lucky to have alumni who are as passionate as Megan,” says Jennifer Anderson, MA, assistant director office of academic and career advising.
Hoffner grew up in small rural towns in Robeson and Johnston Counties in North Carolina both of which are southeast of Raleigh. Her mom is part of the Lumbee tribe native to North Carolina and her dad also from Johnston County, NC. Her mom went to a Native American only school and her dad a white school.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is in Southeastern North Carolina “ are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and their focus on education,” according to the Lumbee tribe website.
Hoffner’s passion for education, people, and career started with her ancestors. She is continuing their traditions and continued learning through her Lumbee heritage.
A first-generation university student there are so many opportunities that came up for her and “after graduating my world is so much more open to two resources that my family did not have.
“So, I feel very fortunate to be able to kind of turn that back and to be able to give to them,” says Hoffner. Examples she gives are helping her nephew with FAFSA, navigating integration, and leaving the tractor traffic to live in the city.
She gives an example of the importance of giving back to her students, and how sharing her stories, family, life, history is so important.
“Because we’re real. we have real things I get all the time, at least once every other week. Something about someone one of my students like home life or something that’s keeping them like maybe keeping them from an assignment,” said Hoffner.
She finds value in recognizing we are all human and the importance of being authentic. “I recognize that they are human. I am also human, which is why I try to offer that first because I recognize the reciprocal piece,” she says.
Identity is something very important to Hoffner and she hopes coworkers and students use this as inspiration. She wears jewelry and clothing to honor her Native American heritage in the Lumbee tribe. She discusses this heritage in her PDS class with students.
“I noticed that she wears unique Native American jewelry, and she always wears something to show her personality which I think is important in the workplace and even is a good talking point when meeting someone new,” says Amber McLaren, a junior.
Students from Hoffner’s career planning class have been impacted by her authenticity as well. “She is very kind and can relate to a lot of things we may bring up or talk about in class,” said Carmen Tran, a junior.
Of the students interviewed they gave resounding kudos to her teaching style and attitude. “She’s an awesome teacher,” said Joseph Williams, a junior.
“Great professor,” said Dayna Kenworthy, a junior.
Hoffner emphasizes in class the importance of providing real life examples and creating communities to support opportunities as well as authenticity.
“To be able to have some of that visibility within the classroom because you never know you never know what student it’s going to speak to or the different pieces of yourself that they’re going to align with and make them more invested in the material that you have. To share with.” said Hoffner.
This directly speaks to her desire to connect and create deeper connections. “She knows what it’s like to be in our shoes, so she really does try and help us be our best and to be successful,” said McLaren, a junior.
The way Hoffner shows up in the classroom has made an impact. “She is very kind and can relate to a lot of things we may bring up or talk about in class!” said Tran.
Hoffner also reminds everyone on the last day of class that if they need help with a resume, cover letter, or to better understand a career package in the future she is available to help.
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On the final day of classes, she brought all her students little goodies bags with images of dogs on them filled with yummy treats. She said thank you and good luck to them as they continue their college and career paths.
Featured image: Megan Hoffner, adjunct faculty for the Career Planning course at WPU. She listens close to one of her students’ answers and provides feedback. Today, like most days she is wearing a bright color and a piece of jewelry from her native Lumbee Tribe. Photo by Melissa Evers