Meet the Staff
Rose Coppola-Conroy | Director Heading link
Rose Coppola-Conroy | Director
800D SEO | 312-355-5174 | rcconroy@uic.edu
Pronouns: She/her
Rose started her UIC career in 2014 as an assistant director in the ECC and became the director in 2016. Prior to UIC, Rose was a career advisor and full-time faculty member teaching career management courses at another university. Rose is continually excited to help students launch meaningful careers, as well as help employers to connect with our talented engineering students. When she’s not working, Rose likes to hang out with family and friends, try new recipes and explore her neighborhood on her bike.
Jonna McHugh | Assistant Director Heading link
Jonna (Cottrell) McHugh | Assistant Director
800F SEO | 312-413-3873 | jonnac@uic.edu
Pronouns: She/her
Jonna advises students of all Engineering & CS majors who come to the ECC seeking tips on career-related topics. She also works with employers who actively recruit students at UIC and helps the ECC team plan events like career fairs, career skills workshops, and employer information sessions. She earned her M.Ed. in Urban Higher Education from the College of Education at UIC in December 2022. Jonna has obtained most of her jobs through networking and enjoys teaching students about this useful topic. Her experience prior to working with the ECC includes a career as a recruiter and as a paralegal in an immigration law firm. She loves riding her bike along Lake Michigan in the summer and baking or curling up with a good book in the winter.
Alejandra Salas | ECC Peer Mentor Heading link
Alejandra Salas | Career Advisor
Pronouns: She/her800 A SEO | 312-355-5142 | asalas9@uic.edu
Alejandra is a Mexican-American first generation student, who graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Latin American and Latino Studies. Some of her research interests are immigration, gender politics and identity in Latinx communities, women’s studies as well career development and advancement. She enjoys helping students navigate their academic and career paths while helping them become successful students. Alejandra is a former graduate student worker at the UIC Engineering Career Center with over two years of experience. In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, music and loves a good movie night!
Jesus Ramos Flores | ECC Peer Mentor Heading link
Jesus Ramos Flores | ECC Peer Mentor
Pronouns: He/HimJesus is a fourth year Biomedical Engineering student. He is really interested in pursuing a career in neural-prosthetics and hopes to work in a clinical/lab setting. Whenever Jesus is not busy with school work, you’ll find him playing drums, bass, listening to his metalcore playlist at full volume, playing with his dog, and being a huge Marvel nerd. He also enjoys reading sci-fi, thriller, horror, and mystery novels, and his stack of books can attest to how versatile his reading tastes are.
Neelu Nerella | ECC Peer Mentor Heading link
Neelu Nerella | ECC Peer Mentor
Neelu is a third-year undergraduate Computer Science student. She is interested in pursuing a career in Artificial Intelligence/Robotics and Software Development Engineering. In her free time, Neelu is usually learning new choreography to dance with her friends or cruising down the streets on her skateboard. She is also a huge Marvel fan and has an unhealthy obsession with the rain.
Czarina Bautista | ECC Peer Mentor Heading link
Czarina Bautista | ECC Peer Mentor
Czarina is a fourth-year Civil Engineering student. She has an interest in both structural and environmental engineering, and topics of sustainability. Czarina is passionate about helping others and enjoys giving back to the community. During her free time, she likes to bake, spend time with her family and dogs, and try new foods. Czarina also enjoys watching true crime documentaries and horror movies. Her favorite horror movie is “Insidious”. If anyone has great food or crime/horror movie recommendations, feel free to reach out to Czarina!
Praveen Raj Veluswami | ECC Peer Mentor Heading link
Praveen Raj Veluswami | ECC Peer Mentor
Praveen is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Masters in Computer Science at UIC. He is interested in working on impactful consumer-oriented applications. He is always ready to learn and share job searching strategies and networking skills. During his free time, you can mostly find him watching crime thriller movies or working out. Praveen is also a history and geography nerd. He loves traveling and trying out new food. His favorite cuisines are Indian and Mediterranean. Reach out to Praveen to talk about career, computer science, or just anything.