JagNation’s Karleigh King: ‘Hands down, the students’ are her favorite thing at AU

In this new series, Jagwire will be featuring people from around Augusta University and AU Health who keep JagNation running. Email the media relations team to share your story.

Where is your spot in the JagNation?

I am the MBA (Master of Business Administration) program manager for the James M. Hull College of Business.

How long have you worked for AU? 

Five years in September.

Most interesting thing about your job? 

The support we receive in terms of professional development and growth. We have leaders who care deeply about their employees, and it makes the job that much more rewarding! I also love the opportunities I have to get involved with the community, such as YPA (Young Professionals of Augusta), PMI (Project Management Institute), etc. 

Favorite thing about JagNation? 

Hands down, the students. They come from such a diverse background and are hungry for knowledge and adventure. 

Family: 

I have four fur babies; names are Laney Boggs, Caden, Winnie Cooper and Ghost. I adopted a chihuahua mix from a local nonprofit called Team Stinkykiss Rescue back in 2017. I learned more about rescue animals,  adoption and the huge need for fosters through this nonprofit and quickly decided I wanted to foster dogs until they found their “furever” home. Since then, I have fostered approximately 15 dogs. It can be chaotic at times with five dogs in the house, but it’s more than worth it to give these dogs a second chance at happiness.

Hobbies: 

Kayaking the Savannah River, traveling and trying new restaurants. 

Something the JagNation does not know about you? 

I live a vegan lifestyle. Two years ago, I watched a documentary called What the Health, which opened my eyes to the atrocities animals go through to get to our plate. I decided to switch to veganism, which means I do not consume any animal products, and I try not to use animal products in any other product that I use when possible. Veganism is great for animals, the environment and your health.

How has COVID-19 changed/affected your job? 

COVID-19 has restricted face-to-face recruitment in the community. As an extrovert, I was very worried how this would affect my professional and personal capabilities. However, it has allowed me to get creative and think of alternative solutions to reach our audience regarding our MBA portfolio. We have implemented virtual information sessions, which have been extremely successful, and we plan to continue those in the future.