Our February 18 NRFSA guest speaker was Carole Elwell, who contributes her time on our Merchandising & Digital Retailing Advisory Board and is the Director of Digital Solutions for Southwest Airlines.  Carole is a seasoned marketing leader with over 20 years of experience of increasing customer loyalty and retention at the airline that invented the word loyalty! 

Carole was very open and honest with students, sharing it was not always an easy path, but she faced the numerous career challenges with tenacity and a passion for serving the customer. A working mom of 2 college-age boys, she works hard to keep all the demands in balance, while finding time to give back, including to UNT. 

Ms. Elwell shared that often students believe they must have the exact right skill set for a particular job, and while true this might be the case for some roles such as a software engineer, Southwest places high value on character and values, looking for eager learners who will be a great fit for their unique and award-winning culture. She encouraged students to do the research to find the best fit company in order to have a long and fulfilling career.