Helping others find their place 

“As long as you do your best, your best is good enough” is a mantra Sara Biru lives by, and it’s one she shares with others as she helps guide them through their careers.

A career navigator in HR talent solutions for CentraCare, the St. Cloud State University alumna helps employees of the central Minnesota health care system find their niche within the organization.

“As long as they want to work at CentraCare, they always have someone with them to guide them throughout their career. I always try to reiterate and let them know that you're not stuck anywhere. You don't need to stay in a role. I always reiterate that, because there are certain managers who, if they have a really good employee, they don't want them going anywhere. I'm always the one that's like, ‘You don't have to stay anywhere,’” she said. “I always try to make sure at orientation to say, ‘Your first role shouldn't be your only role. You should always be thinking of what sticks. How can we keep growing?’ I always try to make sure they know they aren't limited. They have people in other areas to help guide them and get them to the right place.”

Biru started in the position in summer 2024. Prior to that she worked her way up in CentraCare, from scheduling appointments to training employees, and started taking on more leadership roles amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the health care system’s first career navigator, Biru said it’s a position that will grow into a department of career navigators as the role’s initiatives have taken off for CentraCare employees.

“We knew this would grow,” she said. “My director's already saying, ‘We're going to need more Saras.’”

Her director’s comments are a testament to the work Biru has put in to make the position successful and impactful for employees. Biru has spent months working on a website that recently launched. The site allows employees to schedule time with a career navigator, find resume and job interview assistance, pursue scholarships or grants, inquire about opportunities and other advancement inquiries. Currently geared toward the nursing department, Biru said the platform will expand to tailor to other areas and departments within CentraCare as her department flourishes. It’s exciting for her to be able to lead the charge.

“I think I take a great deal of pride in trying to help others find their place, because it is a journey and you just have to be patient,” she said. “That was one thing that I did have and I knew (when starting my career): my time will come. I just had to be patient about it. And so I'm really a huge advocate of staying on the course.”

Biru credits her time at St. Cloud State with preparing her for what it takes to find the right career track, and with giving her a background in higher education that helps her connect with colleges and universities on behalf of CentraCare employees looking to further their educational and professional opportunities.

“Going to school for that definitely made me prepared, so I definitely shout out college counseling, student development for sure,” she said.

Biru earned her bachelor’s in community psychology in 2014 and her master’s in college counseling and student development in 2017 from the University. While pursuing those degrees, she was active in SCSU’s Council of African American Students as vice president and as a graduate assistant for Multicultural Student Services. She also went on three different study abroad trips. That involvement in her campus community evolved into Biru now chairing CentraCare’s African American Employee Resource Group. It also encouraged the Burnsville native to not only make St. Cloud her home, but to get involved in the local community as well.

“I put myself in the community and I put myself out there because we need each other. We need to be able to see each other and be visible. I had to find my community, and different SCSU instructors were very comforting and gave me that safe space so that I could then have other relationships and find people,” she said. “But I really had to make my community, and that was probably the difference between me and the people I was going to school with at the time. Some of them just wanted to go back to the Cities, but for me it was like, ‘I’m making this home. I'm finding my way.’”

She hopes others — including students and recent graduates — will also keep working to find their way, especially as they look to enter the workforce and find a place of employment that supports or aligns with their goals.

“As long as you do your best, your best is good enough. Do not give up on what is in front of you. You need to have belief; you need to have some type of faith in yourself that what is happening right now is not going to be a forever thing,” Biru said. “I think that can be really hard, so I would just say do your best. Don't give up. And know that things are temporary. It will get better.”