As Chase and I engage with members across our region, we are consistently reminded of the power of CASE to create professional pathways: the formal and informal things that advancement professionals do that facilitate transitions in their career. In April I met PJ Thompson, Executive Director of the Indiana State University Alumni Association, whose story exemplifies a bit of how CASE can catalyze careers.
In 2008, just a few years out of college, Thompson returned to his alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, as a coordinator in the alumni association. In his first year, at the prompting of his executive director, he applied for and received a CASE District V Diversity Scholarship. That scholarship not only connected him with CASE, it also kicked off his professional path and network. Thompson is still in touch “almost daily” with three other scholarship recipients from that year. The scholarship put him “in a position to be a professional” and at every CASE conference since, he’s volunteered, “paying it forward” in his own way.
A few years later, that volunteering connected him with a fellow volunteer and alumni executive director, Lori Winters Fan. They struck up a conversation at the District V registration table. Thompson thought nothing of the interaction until, more than a year later, they came face to face in his associate director interview at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. That quick interaction as District V volunteers paved the way for a great interview and ultimately Thompson landing the job at Bradley.
Sometimes professional pathways emerge when others help you to see what you’re capable of doing. Colleagues, mentors, and friends who call out the potential they see in you—the potential to one day lead the organization, the potential to get the master’s or doctoral degree, or the potential to step into a position where you can have an impact. Over the course of Thompson’s career, his supervisors and CASE network have helped him to believe in that future for himself. He has not only come to lead an alumni relations team but has also earned his Doctor of Education degree, and is not done yet. If you meet him, he’ll tell you that he has his sights on being a college president. His own professional development is in progress. He doesn’t have all the boxes checked… yet.
As we move through our careers there’s a subtle shift—a moment—that occurs when we become the providers of opportunity and encouragement as opposed to the recipients. That moment came for Thompson at the 2025 District V Annual Conference. A few years back at McKendree University, he had an assistant director, Holly Sallee, who had never gotten to attend a CASE conference. He helped her attend the District V conference back then, and this year she not only returned but brought several members of her team. For Thompson, it was the ultimate “full circle” moment to meet her staff and have this next generation of advancement professionals know him because of the way he made CASE available to her.
At what point is serendipity no longer serendipity? Thompson most certainly created his own network, excelled in his roles, and paved the way for opportunity, but what role does the CASE District V family play a role in his story? As this story shows, a CASE conference transforms empty hotel meeting rooms into a place where a smart and generous community can convene. It creates a space where good things can happen. People come and feel welcomed, understood, and valued for their contributions. They, in turn, welcome others and share their ideas, support, and encouragement. Somewhere in these interactions lies the secret sauce of CASE: support, validation, and realization of opportunity.
What’s next on your career pathway?
Thank you to PJ Thompson for sharing his story.