{"id":13849,"date":"2025-10-30T13:17:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/?p=13849"},"modified":"2025-10-30T13:17:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:17:59","slug":"uw-stevens-point-student-finds-growth-and-opportunity-close-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2025\/10\/30\/uw-stevens-point-student-finds-growth-and-opportunity-close-to-home\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Stevens Point student finds growth and opportunity close to home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student and Stevens Point native Gracie Gundersen graduated from high school, she was ready to explore what lied beyond her hometown and state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After visiting colleges across the Midwest, she initially enrolled at Indiana University South Bend, pursuing a degree in criminal justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had never even applied to UWSP,\u201d said Gundersen. \u201cI grew up here and knew I wanted the college dorm experience in another state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as an exciting out-of-state adventure quickly became a learning experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt turns out it was a commuter school, so everyone would go home on the weekends,\u201d said Gundersen. \u201cI had made friends, but they would still go home on the weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a different series of challenges during her time there, Gundersen began to rethink her path. Through that reflection, it brought her back home to Stevens Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I came home, I really didn\u2019t know what I was going to do,\u201d she said. \u201cI remembered that UWSP had received a large gift from Sentry, so I knew that the business program was going to be good and they are putting a lot of effort into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gracie
Gracie (fourth from left) at the Wisconsin Chief of Police Trade Show in Green Bay as part of her internship with Gamber-Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since enrolling in UW-Stevens Point and the Sentry School of Business and Economics<\/a>, Gundersen has found both purpose and community. \u201cI\u2019ve been loving all my professors,\u201d she said. \u201cI did not think I was going to do business when I was in high school. I didn\u2019t even want to go to college at the time and did not plan on going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now pursuing a business administration degree, she has taken full advantage of the opportunities available. Working part-time at Gamber-Johnson, a global manufacturing company based in Stevens Point, she completed a summer internship that introduced her to the world of professional sales and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started out doing customer service to help out and get my mind around how sales orders work, what people are purchasing and where they are purchasing it from,\u201d said Gundersen. \u201cThen for majority of my time, I did a competitive research project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work had a tangible impact on the company. \u201cAfter some research, I brought up that most of our competitors have events pages on their website, but Gamber-Johnson did not have one of their own. So, I said we have to add this event page, and they ended up building one.\u201d Gundersen said the proof and result of her work and research coming to life within the company was rewarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She credits her mentors at UW-Stevens Point, such as Lecturer Kit Kiefer, for connecting her to various opportunities. He encouraged her at the time to explore Gamber-Johnson for the internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gracie
Gracie followed in her father\u2019s footsteps becoming a second-generation Pointer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGracie has made herself into an excellent student through hard work and determination,\u201d said Kiefer. \u201cShe has always had a great attitude and a wonderful demeanor, but she\u2019s really taken it to another level through her time at UWSP. She credits mentors for some of her success, but you can have all the mentors in the world, and it can mean nothing if you don\u2019t take the initiative. Gracie\u2019s taken the initiative and run with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the experience, Gundersen gained confidence, skills and a clearer sense of her professional goals. \u201cCommunication is definitely big,\u201d said Gundersen. \u201cEven when you have a bunch of people in the same group, there\u2019s still stuff that people don\u2019t know about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also learned the value of adaptability. \u201cDon\u2019t be nervous when your advisor goes, \u2018Let\u2019s go and talk,\u2019 or \u2018Are you ready to give your presentation,\u2019 with little to no notice,\u201d said Gundersen. \u201cIt\u2019s nice at Gamber-Johnson because they do not have the mindset of everything has to be perfect. You can make mistakes. Things can be wrong sometimes. As long as you express and communicate that, you are fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Gundersen, staying local has offered more than just convenience. It\u2019s allowed her to focus on her studies and work and save money all while staying close to her support network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m still living at home. I\u2019m saving money,\u201d she said. \u201cI like having my mom\u2019s cooking and being five minutes from campus and able to walk sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gundersen\u2019s father John, a UWSP accounting alum who currently works at Sentry Insurance, also lived at home during his time as a student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Gracie
Gracie at the Sentry School Senior Celebration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Balancing classes, work and extracurriculars, Gundersen found ways to stay involved through the Sentry School Smiley Professional Events program and intramural volleyball. She says that she goes to Pro Events, even if they are not required, as they are a good way to connect with her friends and peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gundersen is slated to graduate in just three years this December. \u201cOver the summers, I took three classes, and then my winter term, I took another class,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter those summers, I realize I actually have a lot of credits and could actually graduate early.\u201d The benefit of living at home has allowed her to take those additional course when students usually go home for the summer and winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, she hopes to continue with Gamber-Johnson, pursuing a career in sales or product marketing with a goal of eventually leading her own company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her journey from wanting to move away to finding her second home at UW-Stevens Point has shaped how she views growth and opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomething that I always live by is \u2018Get uncomfortable to get comfortable.\u2019 If you\u2019re not feeling uncomfortable, then you\u2019re not growing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Courtesy of Point of U Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student and Stevens Point native Gracie Gundersen graduated from high school, she was ready to explore what lied beyond her hometown and state. After visiting colleges across the Midwest, she initially enrolled at Indiana University South Bend, pursuing a degree in criminal justice. \u201cI had never even applied to UWSP,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[85,305,342,343,344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13851,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13849\/revisions\/13851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}