Csilla Csaplár

Administrative Services Manager, Department of Geophysics, School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences

Csilla Csaplar’s experience in grants management made her a natural fit for her first role at Stanford as an associate contract and grant officer in 2005. She then worked her way up in the Office of Sponsored Research before getting her current position in SE3, which happens to draw upon her educational background in environmental science.

Once you're working here, Csilla thinks it's much easier to move around and gain new professional opportunities because you get to know what she calls the “Stanford way”—a learned skill set she believes adds values to other units.

The mentoring relationships she's found in her supervisors enabled Csilla to take part in the Manager Academy and move into management roles. But that's not all. Early on at Stanford, Csilla says she was introduced to a completely new challenge when she was literally “pushed up on stage” to present during a conference.  She subsequently caught the teaching bug and was encouraged to lead several workshops, training and Cardinal curriculum redesign classes. 

“Since then, I have done a considerable amount of teaching, both on campus and in the larger research community,” she says. “I value this ‘push’ tremendously, and strive to emulate that mentality and provide similar professional development opportunities to staff who now report to me.”

The best part about Stanford to Csilla: “I get a front-row seat to amazing science every day! It seems cliché, but in a place like Stanford, innovative conversations about new scientific questions are happening all around us. It keeps me motivated to continue to be innovative and forward-thinking in what I do, as well."