Alumni Spotlight: Heidi Berglund
Alumni Spotlight blogs are written by members of the Student Alumni Board. This student organization’s mission is to build bridges between St. Thomas students and alumni. Heidi Bergland earned a B.A. in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas in 1992 and now serves on the Alumni Engagement Board and as a mentor.
How would you describe your role?
- Heidi Bergland is the Divisional Planner for Newborn Clothes at Target. She first began as an Internal Auditor and then moved to Senior Buyer for various areas. In her current role, the merchant determines the assortment, and she determines the investment to support the business.
How do you see this job changing in the next 5 or 10 years?
- Heidi has learned how important it is to meet guests where they are at. This could be meeting the guest with the right merchandise or in how the guest shops. She predicts changes in the way guests choose to shop including in stores, shopping online, same-day delivery, and drive-up. As Target evolves, digital will become a bigger part of the experience so she will need to adapt to keep up with the rate of change.
What does mentorship mean to you?
- Heidi has found mentorship to be a very circular experience. She enjoys giving some of her hard-fought wisdom from her journey to her mentees. Overall, she hopes to take a bumpy road and make it a little smoother without needing to have a preconceived notion of how mentorship may look.
What is your favorite memory from being a student at St. Thomas?
- She enjoyed the evolution of her college experience. She found when she joined one club it opened a door to another opportunity. The more things she embraced, the more connected she felt to campus. She also loved the experience of living on campus in Dowling Hall.
What is one thing you wish you would’ve known as an undergrad student?
- She wishes she knew that she didn’t have to have it all figured out. People will hire you for your potential and there’s no need to feel pressure to know it all.