Keona Gardner, Senior Career Development & Internship Specialist

As a NACE-Certified Career Coach, Keona works towards ensuring that students are heard, supported by meeting them where they are, and empowered as they work on their career readiness journey. Keona is originally from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. As a first-generation college student, she had the pleasure of leading service learning experiences in various states and was granted the opportunity to study abroad in South Africa. That experience is what changed Keona’s trajectory — passion-wise — to make it a point to continue to immerse herself in various cultures respectfully and serve historically marginalized communities — connecting them to more significant opportunities. Shortly after receiving her undergraduate degree, Keona served as a Community and Youth Development Specialist in the Peace Corps in Morocco. She has also worked in the mental health field, educational non-profits, and workforce development to help strengthen partnerships for overall sustainable programming. Keona enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, cooking, learning, picking up various creative projects, practicing and teaching yoga as a Registered Yoga Teacher, watching psychological thrillers, and overall being in intentional community.