Kelly Scanlan '94 Alumnae Profile

Kelly Scanlan ‘94
Major:  Government
Company/Position:  Outreach Director (environment and transportation issues) – Senator Amy Klobuchar – State office

Kelly Scanlan is the Outreach Director on Environment and Transportations issues for Senator Amy Klobuchar’s State Office.  Kelly describes her favorite part of the job is to plan events and take care of the details associated with all of the various meetings such as press events for Senator Klobuchar.  Kelly describes her work, “Being in politics is exciting, interesting but also very unpredictable.  There are lots of ups and downs.”

Kelly’s advice to other alums or students considering this field/profession, “Working for elected officials is a very unique job – you get to do amazing and interesting things you’d never get to do in any other job, but it is also very demanding in ways that other jobs aren’t.  Most people ask how to get hired to work for an elected official – and often the best way is to work or volunteer on a campaign or to intern in their office.”

Upon graduating in 1994, Kelly worked in the Saint Ben’s admissions office for a year and then attended Grad school at the Humphrey Institute.  During the time she was in her Master’s program, Kelly still didn’t know what she was interested in, “I couldn’t have even imagined that jobs like the one I currently have existed.”  After graduate school, Kelly began working for Common Hope which is a non-profit started by a Johnnie that does development work in Guatamala.  She then shifted to the policy arena and worked on Betty McCullum’s 2002 re-election campaign – and then got hired into her Minnesota office, which is where she worked for 3 years.   

In addition to her job working in Senator Klobuchar’s office, Kelly is a community volunteer.  She serves on the board of Hands On Twin Cities and is also involved with Common Hope, where she used to work.  Kelly also volunteers as a mentor at the Humphrey Institute and is exploring volunteer opportunities at Saint Ben’s.

Balancing work and family is always challenging.  Kelly has been able to negotiate a 4 day work week which works well for her family – giving her an extra day to do activities with her 17 month old daughter, Ginger.  “Work days are tough – it doesn’t leave a lot of play time with a little one, but you make it work.  I was lucky enough to be home with Ginger for almost a year – and wouldn’t have traded that for the world.” 

Kelly believes that Saint Ben’s has prepared her for a life in public policy. “A good liberal arts education is about being exposed to a variety of things, being able to learn about lots of new things quickly, being a good communicator – both verbal and written is important.”  Kelly’s favorite memory from Saint Ben’s is the great friendships, which continue today and which are such an important part of her life.

Kelly’s advice to current students is to take advantage of the opportunities at CSB/SJU – study abroad, take interesting classes, make good relationships with professors (you will want to keep those relationships later in life), and know that the CSB/SJU network of alums is invaluable for networking and careers.

Last Book: “Eclipse” and President-elect Obama’s book, “Dreams from my Father”
Favorite Movie: “Much Ado about Nothing”  and one that brings back great college memories, “When Harry Met Sally”
Favorite Restaurant: Muffuletta in St. Paul

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College of Saint Benedict
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