HELLO!
I’M EMILY SWIHART
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll take a moment to explore my site, where you’ll find details on my background, experience, skills and more. I’d love to talk in greater detail about what I can do for your organization. As long as you aren’t afraid to hear a “y’all” or two, don’t hesitate to reach out!
ABOUT ME
I’m a southern spirit with Midwest values, excited about the opportunity to grow my career. Throughout my life, I’ve approached every challenge with enthusiasm, creativity, and ceaseless desire to achieve success. This passion and drive have paved the way for countless opportunities, unique experiences and exceptional relationships both personally and professionally. I'm ready to learn, work, and support your team - just tell me where to start!
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SIOUX FALLS PILLAR 2 EDUCATION ASSISTANT, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA SANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
November 2018 - Present
As the Sioux Falls Campus Pillar 2 Education Assistant, I create and oversee the medical students daily schedules and monitor their progress through their educational journey. This position requires precision, consistency, and organization beyond belief. I created and presented original ideas that were adopted into the curriculum that will carry forward. A typical day sees collaboration with medical faculty, troubleshooting student concerns, and scheduling multiple educational activities. Working with the students ignited a passion for student advocacy that fuels my daily activities.
VIITOR SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE, SOUTH DAKOTA GAME, FISH & PARKS
June 2014 - November 2018
Customer service can be daunting. At the second busiest state park in South Dakota, my skills were thoroughly tested. I was able to connect with many of the more than one million annual park customers regularly by delivering exceptional, tailored service, ensuring that their expectations were exceeded and their experience was memorable. I organized a high volume of guest invoices daily, which exceeded 700 on a typical weekend! In addition to handling business transactions on a Point of Sales system daily, I consulted with various field professionals to coordinate messaging across several organizations - including Law Enforcement and the managing office in Pierre.
COMMUNICATIONS INTERN, RANDALL CRANE & ASSOCIATES NATIONWIDE INSURANCE
May 2017 - September 2017
Insurance was a major component of my Consumer Affairs major, so I was thrilled to have an opportunity to immerse myself in the operations of a conglomerate that included Nationwide and 15 subsidiary providers. I implemented sustainable marketing material with optimal demographic reach for four offices across the state of Texas. I also designed social media campaigns and calendars for multitudinous audiences including Spanish speaking markets. I positively interacted with consumers and their needs for products and services, which was done by performing market analysis and research on competition.
BUSINESS TRAINEE, DAKTRONICS
June 2016 - May 2017
This South Dakota-based, intelligent technology company takes a village to operate. I was fortunate enough to forge more career building skills through 3 positions: Project Coordinator, Project Manager, and Business Trainee. I interacted effectively with a variety of different groups to achieve daily goals; prepared, generated, and distributed reports to inform departments of timelines; and maintained all record-keeping on a specialized software to ensure accuracy. In these positions, I facilitated and coordinated the work of multiple project teams involved in the creation and execution of projects to support the Project Manager.
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
PRESIDENT OF RECRUITMENT, NATIONAL PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION
May 2017 - December 2017
My mission wasn’t easy: plan the fall recruitment for Women's Greek Life, an event that would include over 700 women. The result? We set the a university record for recruitment participation. I created over 500 schedules and maintained week and month-long event timelines. I adhered to and upheld National rules and regulations while tapping into creative freedom. To prepare for the week-long event, I led a series training meetings and managed seven recruitment teams in the months prior
ALUMNAE RELATIONS CHAIR, CHI OMEGA WOMEN'S FRATERNITY
January 2017 - July 2017
The year of my election to this position was a landmark year - Chi Omega at South Dakota State University had just turned 50 years old. With that milestone looming, I coordinated and planned a successful anniversary program. I was able to orchestrate the event from inception to completion, all while adhering to a strict budget. I corresponded with University and Fraternity officials to secure endowments, manage donations, and procure volunteers. Over the course of 3 months, I communicated with over 900 women to augment our attendance and corresponded with over 15 vendors to decorate, provide food and other services for the celebration
MARKETING & GAME TIME OPERATIONS INTERN, BROOKINGS BLIZZARD
September 2015 - April 2016
As a former athlete, I feel at home in sports venues. It seems only natural that I would jump at the chance to learn more about the operations component of sports games. I displayed and marketed vendors and business associates in a wide array of atmospheres while promoting local businesses and North American Hockey League opportunities. I also assisted in internal and external communication to aid the Sales Executives on game days. The high-pressure environment enabled me to perform efficiently and even sharpened my sense of humor!
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLIC RELATIONS, NATIONAL PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION
May 2016 - May 2017
My first elected term with Greek Life was exhilarating. I created media content for a whole host of events, updated websites and social media, and curated chats to ensure daily branding and connection. I also spearheaded the philanthropic efforts within the Brookings community and Greek Life, a network of over 500 people. In front of audiences of hundreds of people, I had no issue confidently making presentations - in formal and informal settings.
EDUCATION
B.S. CONSUMER AFFAIRS
CONSUMER SERVICE MANAGEMENT & FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
August 2013 - May 2018
The name of my major is unconventional; part Business, part Humanities. Consumer Affairs is a blend of consumer psychology and wellbeing, finance, marketing, and research. Within the major, I explored two specializations; Consumer Service Management and Financial Management. I believe in service and excellence in doing just that. In addition to my majors, I pursued minors in biology, chemistry, and Spanish. I value being a "slash" team player - communications specialist s l a s h Spanish speaking senorita s l a s h organization guru (just to name a few!)
M.ED. COUNSELING AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPEMENT
ADMINISTRATION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
January 2020 - December 2021
My position at the University of South Dakota lead me to pursue this program. I value advocacy and doing the best we can for students. Learning is never complete and this is my next step in continuing the education. My course work has included educational technology and community and public relations.
MY SKILLS
What I Do
LEADERSHIP
Show me a great leader, and I will show you a servant. I have extensively studied leadership strategies and fine-tuned my style for optimal output - and it all starts with service. I have held extracurricular and volunteer positions in:
Chi Omega Women’s Fraternity as Alumnae Relations Chair
College Panhellenic Council as Vice President of Recruitment
College Panhellenic Council as Vice President of Public Relations
Student Senate Association as Greek Life Ex Officio
Chi Omega Women’s Fraternity in the Marketing Cabinet
South Eastern South Dakota Science and Engineering Fair as Volunteer Judge Coordinator
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
My time in businesses and campus groups of all sizes allowed me to exercise extreme organization, coordination, and communication. While working with manufacturing, vendors, customers, and internal employees, I have accomplished a large volume of tasks in a streamlined manner. Project Management is about adaptation and foresight. My ability to plan, anticipate challenges, and overcome obstacles yields contingency plans that produce results.
PLANNING
I have always been a planner. What at first seemed to be an inconvenient personality trait has now proved an invaluable skill that I honed in my work and volunteer experience. I am able to juggle multiple schedules, meetings, conferences, presentations, weekend galas and tasks all while grinning, rolling with the punches, and getting things done right.
"If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done"
Thomas Jefferson
