Allison Wagman '18 | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

HDFS graduate cultivates a career in childcare services

As a 2018 graduate of Human Development and Family Studies, including a minor in Rehabilitation and Human Services, Allison Wagman has begun an exciting career in the head start and childcare services field in New Jersey. After graduation, Allison began working at Early Head Start as a childcare liaison, which provides her with many opportunities to use the helping and intervention skills that she gained in the HDFS and RHS programs at Penn State.

There are two main responsibilities in Allison’s role at Early Head Start. Primarily, she spends her time ensuring that federal regulations are met in the classroom, and that best practice standards for childcare and education are being maintained. Anyone that has worked in childcare can attest to the fact that keeping students on track and consistently offering best practices to them is a full-time job! Additionally, Allison spends her time completing classroom and child screening assessments.

Outside of her work in New Jersey, Allison spends her time singing, listening to music, cooking, and reading. She remembers her time at Penn State fondly – her favorite memory as a Penn State student was being in the student section during football games. “There is nothing like it!,” said Allison. As an alumna looking back on her Penn State experience, Allison offers the following advice to current and future students, “Take advantage of all the opportunities Penn State has to offer, and remember to network!”

This profile was published in February 2022.