The University of Texas at Dallas
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Samantha Woodmancy BS’08, MPA’10

Home: Dallas, Texas

UT Dallas Degree: BS – Public Affairs, 2008 and Master of Public Affairs, 2010
Profession: Workforce Services Manager & Civil Service Administrator for the City of Carrollton

UT Dallas Achievements

In my undergraduate work I received the Academic Excellence Scholarship. It helped immensely because it paid a portion of my tuition all four years of my undergraduate program. I was able to attend college through various forms of financial aid (scholarships, grants and student loans) and without that assistance, I do not know if I would have been able to obtain my education.

My Work

I function as the Human Resources and Civil Service Manager for the City of Carrollton. I report directly to the Workforces Services Director and manage all aspects of Human Resources including compensation, recruiting, HRIS, administrative policies, employee relations and Police and Fire Chapter 143 administration.

Honors/accolades, additional degrees received, and/or previous work/positions held

I’ve previously worked for the cities of Garland and Richardson. In Garland, I worked in the Human Resources division and was a member of the team that received the 2010 Innovation in Human Resources Management award from the Texas Municipal Human Resources Association. In the City of Richardson, I was a Management Analyst in the City Manager’s Office and became very involved in the Urban Management Assistants of North Texas (UMANT) in which I have served in both a Committee Chair and Officer roles. While I was completing my MPA, I also received the Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship from the Texas City Management Association.

The Value of My Degree

I believe it has benefited me immensely because it prepared me for working in Human Resources in the public sector. We were required to take Human Resources classes in both my undergraduate and graduate programs and I believe it prepared me for the function I serve today for the City of Carrollton.

Also, being surrounded by my peers that were on the same track as me was very useful. Most of my classmates had similar ambitions as I did and we were able to relate to each other on real world issues when it came to class discussion. Also, the professors were always very knowledgeable of the profession and didn’t just teach the text book. They brought their real world experiences to the classroom and were able to offer multiple perspectives on certain issues.

Advice for EPPS Students

Get involved and start networking. As soon as you graduate, you will rely on your network of contacts to get your foot in the door and hit the ground running.