Krystal Miller, MBA
Lakes Region Community College
Associate of Science, General Studies, 2006
Krystal grew up in a small town in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. She was the first in her family to attend college and had to navigate higher education with a learning disability.
“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. I knew I always wanted to go to school. I just had to overcome my circumstances.”
Krystal grew up watching her parents work extremely hard to support a family of six, giving them the best life possible. Even with her father working two jobs most of the time, there were still some struggles financially. She credits this experience as more motivation and determination to be successful.
“I had this fire in my belly to succeed. I wanted to be the best that I could be and not let a learning disability – or anything for that matter – hold me back.”
Krystal decided to enroll at Lakes Region Community College (LRCC). It was a great option for her as it was only five minutes down the road from her parents’ house.
“Going to LRCC allowed me to save money by staying home with my parents while also making the transition into college easier given my learning disability.”
While in school, Krystal worked as a bartender on nights and weekends, which presented another challenge: learning to balance coursework, her job and her personal life all while trying to pay for college.
“I had to learn to be present on the task at hand and give myself recuperation time to complete an assignment. I would re-read my work several times or have someone else proofread my work to ensure I was putting my best foot forward. I also learned strategies to focus on the tasks before me. This helped me to be successful and I was able to accomplish so much since I was present and focused.”
Another contributor to Krystal’s success was her own personal advocacy for her education and the hands-on, real-life experience her professors built into her coursework.
“The professors at LRCC focused on things that were happening in the real world and related that back to what we were learning. In return, this made learning fun and interesting and easier to understand.”
While at LRCC, Krystal took advantage of the extracurricular activities at the college.
“I was on the volleyball team for a few years and spent time as the vice president and president of the Student Senate. I loved my time at LRCC, and I enjoyed being an advocate for other students.”
And, despite having a learning disability, Krystal graduated with honors. After earning an Associate of Science degree in General Studies, she transferred to Southern New Hampshire University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2007.
“Because of all the credit hours I took at LRCC, I was able to get my BS in just two years and begin working as a Staff Auditor for a local CPA firm in January 2008.”
Krystal’s story doesn’t end there. She realized something else was missing in her career. In 2012, she decided to make a full career change and join Robert Half, a staffing and recruiting agency.
“I realized I had this passion for Human Resources, recruiting, and helping people find that ideal job opportunity. I loved it and decided to go back to school to earn an MBA with a concentration in marketing and human resources.”
She graduated with an MBA in 2013 from Southern New Hampshire University.
“LRCC helped shape my path. It was a great place for me to start. My education was great, and my courses were cost effective and the support with my learning style was granted.”
In 2019, Krystal joined Fidelity Investments as a Senior University Talent Agent where her role involves elements like program management, recruiting and onboarding new employees, building relationships, and attracting top talent to full-time positions and internship opportunities.
“I can’t say it enough to students who are starting out, that a community college is a great place to get your core classes under your belt while giving you real-world experience, exposure and networking. It’s a wonderful place to attend college and will greatly help develop you as a person. It will also get you ‘comfortable being uncomfortable’ and will teach you the skills you need to succeed in the real world. In addition, let’s face it, college is very expensive. As recent high school graduates, many of us don’t really know what career path we genuinely want to follow, so I’m thankful for LRCC because I was able to save money, get an excellent education and not be stressed with even more student loan debt.”
