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Thirty-one alumni representing a variety of careers returned to campus for the third annual Leopard Career Connections Day noon-5 p.m. Saturday, March 25, in Pfenning Alumni Center. All majors and class years were invited to attend.
“It will give [students] the opportunity to ask questions, gain insights into career fields, and learn about options beyond Lafayette,” Alana Gallo, assistant director, career services, said before the event. “This will prove to be an outstanding opportunity for students at all levels.”
Economics and business graduate Carrie Lee ’89, a morning business anchor for CNN Headline News, delivered the keynote address “The Power of the Leopard Connection.” Before joining CNN in 2001, she worked for The Wall Street Journal where she reported for CNBC. Lee earned an M.A. in journalism from New York University.
Following Lee’s address there were three concurrent alumni panel sessions; students chose one panel from each session to attend. Alumni discussed their specific career experiences within the broader scope of their panel’s topic. A reception for all participants followed.
The first session featured liberal arts, sport/entertainment/arts, and research, science, and technology careers.
Panelists discussing the liberal arts included Jodi Morgan Katz ’97,creative director, L’Occitane, a worldwide beauty, skincare, and fragrance company based in France; Michael Schmidt ’05, news assistant, The New York Times; Diana Foltz ’03, commercial rebate analyst, Schering-Plough Corporation, a worldwide, research-based pharmaceutical company; and Patrick Fletcher ’82, superintendent of schools, Glen Rock Board of Education.
The sports/media/arts panel included Lee, CNN Headline News; Claudine Lilien ’90, eastern & western regional vice president, The WB Television Network; Steve Fletcher ’92, head coach of men’s and women’s swimming & diving and aquatics director, Rider University; and Tina Beth Pina ’93, freelance reporter/producer.
Alumni with careers in research, science, and technology included research scientist, National Institutes of Health; Ashley Wesmiller ’03, systems engineer, Lockheed Martin; Ann Marie Alperin ’84, director of web services, Avaya, Inc., a business communications technology company; Debbie Cipriani ’80, medical assessment physician, Johnson & Johnson; and Judy Schnyder ’94, development scientist, GlaxoSmithKline, a research-based pharmaceutical firm.
Session two included young alumni, public service and nonprofit careers, and “From Campus Leaders to Professional Success.”
The young alumni panel included Byron Crump ’05, project engineer, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, a nationwide construction management, general contracting, and design-build firm; Jake Ruggles ’01, sales assistant, Wachovia Securities, LLC, a personal finance and business financial services firm; Simmone Chaddan ’04, merchandise assistant, Saks Fifth Avenue; and Fidel Maltez ’05, management trainee, Cintas Corporation, a North American public uniform company.
Representing public service and non-profit careers were Sarah Hazel ’05, assistant citizen outreach director, Grassroots Campaigns, Inc.; Tom Kleinert ’86, assistant director of enrollment management, New York University; Jon Marcus ’70, executive director, Music for Youth Foundation; and Tara Boorman Broczlowski ’87, manager, DaVinci Institute, DaVinci Discovery Center of Science & Technology.
The “From Campus Leaders to Professional Success” panel included Chaddan; Wesmiller; Amy Fisher ’90, vice president for consumer insights, L’Oréal Cosmetics; Justin Kidwell ’00, consultant, Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company; and Lee Goldfarb ’05, commercial real estate analyst, M&T Bank.
Session three included “The Power of Experience” and graduate and professional schools.
“The Power of Experience” panelists included Philip Goldstein ’70,physician with Pediatric Medical Associates; Curt Allen ’70, project executive, Clark Construction; Scott Spitzer ’73, senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, Bowne & Company, a global provider of financial printing, digital printing and electronic delivery of personalized communications; and Joe Bernardo ’90, vice president of global and strategic marketing, chemistry, hematology & automation, Bayer Healthcare, a research-based healthcare and nutrition company.
Panelists who provided information about graduate and professional schools included Cipriani; Steve Fletcher; Nicholas Minet Groch ’01, intern architect, Blackney Hayes Architects; John Molloy ’88, senior managing consultant, PFM Asset Management LLP, an institutional investment advising firm; and Susan Antonioni Royster ’01, associate attorney, White and Williams LLP.
Rufaro Mukogo ’07 (left) was one of many students who took advantage of opportunities to network with alumni at the second annual Leopard Career Connections Day.