WKU News

 Robert Unseld's connection with Western Kentucky University spans over two decades first as student and now as an employee! Currently, he serves as instructor in the Department of Management.

As a first-generation college student from Louisville, KY, he said he was “very active in high school” as the senior class president and basketball team member. However, Unseld shared that he was not the most focused student academically, and he started his college search late.

“I was thinking of places where I wanted to be, and WKU rose to the top,” said Unseld. He was interested in WKU because the campus was lovely, and WKU also had the major he was interested in. There was an additional factor that made WKU attractive said Unseld, “it didn’t hurt that my future wife, whom I was dating at the time, was also a Hilltopper.”

As an undergrad, Robert l was the president of the Resident Hall Association. At that time,” he said, “we were working with campus officials to renovate and reconfigure dining options on campus and had scheduled multiple university campus tours for the middle of September.”

 Unseld said that he remembers being so excited because they were scheduled to visit multiple universities and get there by private jet. However, one week before they were set to fly, the events of September 11, 2001, occurred.

Unseld said, “I remember sitting in my resident hall, reflecting on what was happening in the world around me, and contemplating my responsibility for the things that were happening in my life. I was seeing the broader sentiment change from one of optimism to a landscape of grief and confusion. I remember thinking, Should I get on a private plane seven days after two private planes created one of the most horrendous acts in the history of America? Is it safe? Is it worth it?”

Robert's takeaway: “I must keep going. I am the culmination of the efforts of my ancestors. I benefit from the sacrifices of my parents and their parents. And my only purpose on this planet is to leave it better than how I found it. When I get knocked over, I get up, I dust myself off, and I keep working. I can’t control the world, but I can control what I do within it!”

After he got his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and his MBA from WKU, Unseld continued to be an active part of WKU, serving in various roles across campus, from the Director of the Center for Career and Professional Development to the Director of Strategic Planning and Innovation. After a stint away from campus, Unseld returned to the Hill in Fall 2023.

Unseld said being part of the WKU family is exciting, and his advice for students with a similar background is to be brave and challenge yourself to win, not just participate in everything you do. “We live in a world where luck favors the bold. Your talents, abilities, and perspectives must be shared and exercised for you to be successful. While it may feel frightening to put yourself out there and boldly express that you are the right person for any opportunity you seek, the world requires that and so much more. The times in which we live are defined by activism in social and political realms; I would argue that you must be an activist and advocate for your personal success.”