Laura Wuethrich

I always wanted to be a professional flute player. After getting my graduate degree in music performance from San Francisco State University, however, that goal didn’t pan out, so I opted to go into teaching – both flute and other subjects – and did that for a long time before taking a position as operations manager and race director at a nonprofit called Girls on the Run of Silicon Valley, which teaches girls to develop self-esteem and confidence through running.

I did that work for 10 years, but about a year after COVID hit, I decided to apply for a job as a multidisciplinary administrator for the School of Engineering, where I was first assigned to Chemical Engineering, then later to Electrical Engineering. I’d been there four months when my current job in student services became available. By then I already knew I loved working in student services, both because of the interaction with students and the variety of the job. This job involved a lot of the same things I’d loved about teaching – advising students, helping them figure things out, and working with them one-on-one.

Today, I focus on everything having to do with degree progress, which includes making sure all students are meeting their requirements for graduation, ensuring all forms are signed, figuring out if a student is allowed to take or drop a certain course, and clearing students to graduate. I deal with both undergraduates and graduate students, and work to uphold the policies of the Electrical Engineering department.

There are always things that need to be figured out. Students may come to me needing help balancing elective courses with those needed to graduate, for instance. Sometimes if they’ve gotten off to a rough start – or if I notice they’re having a hard time – I can meet with them on a regular basis to map out plans for their time here or design a strategy to bring up a low GPA. I also try to advocate for students by helping them navigate working relationships. Those cases can be more complex, and require me to work with multiple parties to find solutions that allow students to focus on their research and degree progress.

I also handle commencement for our department, and one project I’m proud of is the creation of a new commencement planning guide for the department. We have about 300 students graduate each year, and along with family members, that comes to about 1,500 people attending our commencement event. It involves a lot of moving parts. When I came into the job, it was important to me to create a single, updated guide that compiled everything into a cohesive manual containing a calendar of all the tasks involved, and instruction sheets with template emails and lists of all the people and vendors participating. I finished it in December of 2024, and I’m using it now. The event is big and can be chaotic to put together, so it’s been really helpful to have this.

Because everyone in this department is so busy, our director, Meo Kittiwanich, is a big advocate of community events that bring our students and faculty together. We host quarterly lunches that attract 300 people, and it’s wonderful to see everyone sitting together and talking. We also offer student events – like pumpkin-carving contests and gingerbread house competitions – which are a lot of fun. Our staff gets together for monthly breakfasts in the winter, and we also organize staff tours of facilities like the Cantor Arts Center and the Stanford Robotics Center. These are all done with the goal of getting to know each other better and to recognize that we’re part of the same department, working together to get things accomplished.

I feel so privileged to be part of this department. One of the most gratifying things for me is seeing our students cross the stage at commencement. They’re the ones doing the hard work, but it feels wonderful to help them get through a tough time or over a hump. Their research is making such an impact in the world; if I can make it easier for them to continue that, then I’ve been successful.