From STCC to working for global companies: Alumna reflects on ‘rewarding career'

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Margaret Millett’s illustrious career includes leadership roles at global organizations where she has handled crisis management and disaster recovery.

She lived in Ireland before taking a position working for eBay in California. Today, she is head of Global Resilience at Uber, the ride-hailing company. She speaks at international conferences, serves as a mentor to others and has written for industry publications.

“I've had a very rewarding career,” Millett said. “I have spoken at business continuity conferences here in the United States and in Europe and Asia. I was the first woman and the first American to speak at a Middle East Business Continuity Conference, which I’m very proud of.”

But long before she was taking on leadership roles in recovery strategies, crisis management, pandemic planning and business continuity management programs, Millett was a teenager in West Springfield – a recent high school graduate who wasn’t sure what to do next.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in life,” Millett said. “That’s when I said to my parents, let me go to STCC so I can figure out what I want to take.”

It was a smart decision, she said.

At Springfield Technical Community College, Millett pursued her associate degree in liberal arts, which she received in 1986. Her mother, Joan Millett, was a founding member of the STCC Nursing program and part of the faculty while Margaret was enrolled.

Margaret Millett recalled her time at STCC as exciting and rewarding. “I had a great English teacher. I had a great experience in art history. I love the arts and still do to this day. I had a really great set of professors at STCC,” she said.

“I proudly tell people I am a graduate of a community college,” Millett added.

After graduating from STCC, Millett went on to Westfield State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. She continued her education and received a master’s degree in business continuity from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. Millett also holds a Certificate of Management from Harvard University and studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Her experience at STCC helped shape her into the person she is today.

I proudly tell people I am a graduate of a community college. Margaret Millett '86, STCC alumna

“I feel like they definitely put me through the paces,” she said. “I really felt like I got a world-class education out of STCC that helped me continue on my journey of living and learning and always wanting to learn something new every day.”

Growing up with a parent teaching at STCC also helped her see the value of a community college education. Her brother, Daniel Millett, also is a graduate of STCC.

“I do remember my mother talking about some of her students who were working multiple jobs to try to continue on with the nursing program while trying to make ends meet,” she said.

After her mother died, the family found a letter she kept from a student who thanked her for helping her through a very difficult time so she could finish the semester as a nursing student.

Margaret Millett described STCC as a valuable asset for the greater Springfield area. The community college provides access and removes barriers for residents who might be the first in their family to experience higher education.

STCC, the only technical community college in Massachusetts, offers a variety of programs in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business social services and the liberal arts. STCC also is a Hispanic Serving Institution, a designation given to colleges which have a student population that have at least 25 percent of students identifying as Latina/Latino/Latinx.

Now living in Raleigh, N.C., Millett will always hold STCC close to her heart. It’s the institution that gave her a pathway to her own career but also provided a satisfying career for her mother at a time when women faced more obstacles in the workforce than they do today. Joan Millett joined the STCC faculty in 1970, three years after the college was founded. She retired in 1994.

Millett said she and her siblings, including Dr. Catherine Millett, did not realize when they were growing up how remarkable their mother was.

In May 2023, Margaret Millett wrote an article offering advice to women joining the workforce and highlighted her mother’s accomplishments. “I am grateful that my mother, Joan Millett, was a strong role model for me and my siblings Daniel and Catherine,” Margaret Millett wrote in the article titled “My top 10 advice to women joining the workforce.”

Joan Millett was the first in the family to go to college. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn., and a master’s degree in maternity nursing from Columbia University in New York before becoming a founding faculty member of the STCC nursing program.

“We’re very grateful to STCC. She enjoyed her time at STCC and was very involved with the STCC community,” Margaret Millett said. “We had a working mom when no one had a working mom. Our mom was a whirling dervish. You came to our house and there were always homemade cookies. The house was decorated for everyone. She was there, and by her going to work at STCC, we had a much better life compared to what we would have had if she didn’t work.”

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

About Springfield Technical Community College

STCC, the Commonwealth's only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC's highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequaled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

• See All News