University of South Alabama

I honestly had never even heard of research administration before I came to work at my institution. I began my research administration journey in 2018. I spent a lot of time early on studying grants, policies, and the many new acronyms. The majority of my training and skills were self-taught however I attended all training sessions offered by my institution. I have also received the SRA departmental administration certificate and the financial management certificate. In February 2020, I transferred from the department to a position in the grants administration department. I became responsible for all grants within three departments. Working with so many new PI’s gave me an opportunity to learn more about different sponsors. I train and work with new grant administrators who, like me, came into grants administration with no prior experience. I enjoy research administration and always feel that I am an integral part of the projects being done within the departments I work with.

Like so many others in the field, I fell into research administration by chance. I happened across a job posting for a research administrator, saw my strengths in the required skillset and applied. The rest is history! I’ve felt right at home in the field and work in pre and post award for a busy set of PIs at the Michell Cancer Institute at the University of South Alabama.