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Jill Nomura Administrative Associate
Victor MadrigalDeputy Director, Classes and Reunions
Find Your Path
Navigate the world of Stanford careersStanford staff are much more than administrators and lab technicians. With an incredible variety of work spread across more than 300 departments, the possibilities are nearly endless. The opportunity is there, but it’s up to you to chart your own career path.
To help, you’ll find a range of resources and tools:
- COMPASS (Career Management Program for Stanford Staff) workshops, web resources, and career counselors
- Staff networking organizations for many groups
- Professional Development funds, including $800 a year for staff training assistance
- Individual networking and mentor relationships
To see some of the possibilities, here are some of our staff and their stories.
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Administrative Associate
"Making the investment in teamwork"
When Jill Nomura first joined the staff in 1990, Stanford was a real change from her previous career in an intense technology environment. She looked forward to having “a regular job” with the security and benefits of the academic world, where people get the work done, then have personal lives as well. She found that, but also something else: a very high level of support, loyalty, and commitment among the staff.
Jill herself is anybody's idea of a team player. She provides administrative support to engineering faculty in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department - working for up to eight professors at once. "It began as only four," she explains, "when they really need more than one person, however everyone is very kind and supportive - we make it work." The other important element is the extraordinary commitment to teamwork Jill has found at Stanford. From faculty to graduate students to administrators, "the people are wonderful. Everyone knows each other, has coffee or lunch together. It's so much better if we're all committed to making this a positive experience."
By her own account, "I'm a little like Radar O'Reilly, the company clerk" for the group, "taking care of a variety of administrative tasks" for the Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology (EFMH) faculty and students, "tasks which could be anything from paperwork for new student admissions, to shipping research equipment to local and overseas field sites." She represents the group in a wide range of interactions throughout the Stanford community. "Everyone I work with here, the administrative resources and others, are all here to help. You just know that everybody is working hard and doing their best to work together as a team."
But according to some, her talents go beyond just doing the job. In 2003 she won the Amy J. Blue award for staff members who are exceptionally dedicated, supportive of colleagues, and passionate about their work. Her nomination described her cheerful enthusiasm and problem-solving talents as “legendary.” As one person put it, “Our lab would fall apart without her.” She explains her success in different terms, as part of a mutual commitment: “Everyone here takes the time to develop really good working relationships. It works because we make that investment.”
Her advice to prospective staff members? “You have to be a team player. It’s critical. But it’s also what I enjoy most about working here. If you want to work as a team, forge relationships, and be where a lot of great things are happening, this is the place.”
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Deputy Director, Classes and Reunions
“...the talent we have here is incredible.”
Victor Madrigal ’95 has experienced Stanford from many perspectives. As a student he worked extensively on campus, which led to an internship in the Office of Development, and then a job in the Stewardship Department as a facilitator for financial aid donors and recipients. “It was quite rewarding to be on the other side,” he says, “having been in those shoes myself as a scholarship student. What goes around really does come around.”
He has since moved into alumni relations, with the guidance of a mentor in the provost’s office. This kind of support has always been part of his Stanford career, which “started with a couple of people showing me the ropes, who thought I might be a good fit.” He has been building relationships ever since, on both the giving and receiving sides.
For several years he served as Director of Student and Young Alumni Outreach, introducing students to the Alumni Association, giving them opportunities for professional and personal growth, and working to build a sense of class identity and connection. Community and networking groups have always been important to him, from his student days to his duties today as co-chair of the La Raza Staff Association. Finding a support group is something he strongly recommends to anyone at Stanford. And with dozens of organizations on campus, there’s something for everyone.
Victor has recently been appointed Deputy Director of Classes and Reunions. His recent roles may have been unusually student-focused, but over the years, he’s found that in nearly all staff positions, contact with young people is an important aspect of the environment: “It’s refreshing to work with – and for – youth. It’s just invigorating to be around them all day.” And at Stanford, in particular, “it’s quite remarkable that you can cross paths with our future leaders. You just know that some of the people you meet, will change society, make a difference.”
He finds that the intense intellectual energy at all levels makes life at Stanford uniquely exciting. “If I had the time, I could go to a symposium, a lecture, a concert, or a brown-bag lunch literally every day. We may not have free food like at Google, but the talent we have here is incredible.”
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