Karla Flores knows from experience how daunting it can feel to pick a career. When she was thinking about what to study as an undergraduate student at CU Denver, she knew she wanted to help people. As the first person in her family to go to college, she didn’t always know what questions to ask as she navigated her academics.
She studied criminal justice, but it was her on-campus job that helped Flores find a career she was passionate about—and still is, more than 11 years later.
She’s the program manager for the Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering, Design and Computing. She wears many hats in her role, but she’s most passionate about helping students find their way on campus and in life. “I try to remember what I needed when I was a student,” said Flores. “I’m here to show them what classes to take but also to show those life skills they need to be successful.”
Flores’ day-to-day responsibilities include planning the department’s course schedule for the following semester, hiring teaching assistants, conducting advising appointments, and helping students make sure they have what they need to graduate. She also helps connect students to research opportunities and is a friendly face when they have questions about their major or academics. She encourages students to try out a class or two in a program they are interested in to see if they like it. “As a high school graduate, it’s hard to know what you want to do,” said Flores, who supports about 170 students per academic year. “Just me communicating with them is huge.”
Communication and connections are a large part of Flores’ story. Raised just outside of Denver in a tight-knit family, Flores was first introduced to higher education through her high school’s pre-collegiate program. During her senior year, she took a few classes at CU Denver and was drawn to the campus’ diverse community. “That program opened up the doors for [me to go to] CU Denver,” Flores said. “I was already coming here, taking classes.”
As an undergraduate student, Flores took part-time jobs to support herself. She first worked as a student assistant in the Registrar’s Office for about 20 hours per week and then moved to the Electrical Engineering Department, where she worked about 40 hours a week. When she graduated in 2015, she was offered a full-time position in the Electrical Engineering Department. She served as an administrative assistant for five years before moving into her current role as program manager. “CU Denver was like my second home,” she said. “I learned how to be balanced, disciplined, and determined.”
Today, she’s committed to helping students find that balance for themselves. She wants students to know that there are people to support them at every step of their journey at CU Denver. “We all need someone,” Flores said. “Now that I am in this role and can do something about it, it’s amazing.”