Career Services director receives Good Citizen Award

Hannah Christian, the director of career services at Northwest Missouri State University, is the recipient of this year’s Fred Von Behren Good Citizen Award presented Sept. 19 by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce at its annual banquet.

The Fred Von Behren Good Citizen Award is given to any individual in the community, based on their involvement in volunteerism, dedication and leadership. The recipient is selected through nominations.

“It's just an honor to be nominated because the nomination process is when your peers in the community see you doing your best to make the community a better place,” Christian said. “Regardless of winning the award, the nominations themselves are, in a way, part of the award because it shows that someone has recognized you for your contributions in bringing things to the community, through service, professional work and being a member of organizations.”

Christian joined the Northwest staff in 2015 as an information librarian in the B.D. Owens Library and was named director of career services in 2021. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology with a botany emphasis and a master's degree in higher education leadership, both at Northwest. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in visual arts from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in Visual Art. 

As a director of career services at Northwest, Christian provides leadership in the University’s Career Services office and through the coordination of programs and student assistance. She uses her expertise to help Maryville and surrounding communities with economic and workforce development.

She also is a member of the resource team of Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation, a nonprofit organization in northwest Missouri’s six-county region that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.