Candace Phillips receives UAH Staff Leadership Award

Candace Phillips is the recipient of the annual UAH Staff Leadership Award.

Michael Mercier | UAH

Candace Phillips, senior coordinator of Career Services at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), is the recipient of the annual UAH Staff Leadership Award.

Winning the award "came as a complete shock and was a fantastic feeling," Phillips says. "Knowing that my team felt compelled to nominate me is such an honor and the award is just icing on the cake!"

She began working for UAH in 2010 as a career coordinator before assuming her current role. In her current position, she is in charge of the day-to-day office functions for Career Services. She works to ensure that students are able to explore majors and determine their career paths, as well as assessing the effectiveness of those methods. Additionally, Career Services is responsible for managing the student co-op and internship programs, i4, the Month of Externships, the Mentor-A-Charger program and other career-focused events.

"The career center has been through several transitions since I joined the team. Through these transitions, I've been fortunate to have creative freedom to focus on innovative ways to engage our students and corporate partners," Phillips says.

The project she is proudest to have been part of is i4, UAH’s unique four-year corporate engagement program that pairs corporate partners with students.

"I've always believed that UAH is a special place and thought that our potential is limitless," Phillips says. "I'm honored to work for an institution that continuously attracts and produces some of the brightest minds and ideas in the world."

Phillips says the best part of her job is the people she works with daily.

"UAH students are very academically and career focused. Their drive and determination to succeed are infectious and it pushes me to work harder for them," she says. "I also love my team. I work with a highly skilled and special group of professional staff members and student workers. I am thankful for them and know that our successes wouldn't be possible without their hard work."

She is married to UAH alumnus Heath Phillips, a systems engineer who works on Redstone Arsenal. The couple has three children, Evie, Isla and Ashton. "We love to travel and spend our free time exploring new places," Phillips says.