Alumni Career Chats 2023

Join us for Alumni Week beginning Monday, November 6 to Friday, November 10, sponsored by the Piper Center for Vocation and Career & Alumni and Family Engagement. Through a combination of in-person and virtual events, Alumni Week provides students the opportunity to learn from our accomplished alumni who are excited to support your career journey. Students can attend a mix of virtual and in-person panels, 1:1 coaching sessions, coffee & career conversations, and more!

The alum was genuinely curious to hear about my vocational goals and provided specific advice for how I should pursue my goals based on personal experience.Elise Aslanian ’23

Current Role: Private Banker, J.P. Morgan

I have been at J.P. Morgan ever since graduating from St. Olaf. I started as a Summer Analyst, then completed the full time Analyst program and am now a Banker. As an analyst, I supported 3-4 bankers to help them manage and grow their books of business. As a Banker, I am in charge of managing and growing my own book of business.

Current Role: Project Analyst, City and County of San Francisco – Dept. of Public Health

My senior year, I was accepted to a fellowship program at the city of San Francisco for recent college graduates interested in learning about local government (would not have gotten it without the support I received from Piper Center!). Six months into my fellowship I was reassigned to the city’s Covid response where I ultimately managed the allocation and distribution of the city’s Covid vaccine supply. Since summer 2022, I’ve worked as a project analyst supporting capital project improvements for San Francisco’s safety net hospital. I can speak to local government work, public health work, life in San Francisco, and how to navigate the post college job search with a goal of moving to a new city with few existing connections.

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Current Role: Director of Research, Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania

Worked in political research for Democratic campaigns a year after graduating from college, moved into working in state government after working on Josh Shapiro’s campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania. Can talk about politics (vs policy), state government, and campaigns.

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Current Role: Strategy Analyst, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Since my time at St. Olaf, I’ve had the opportunity to explore a range of career paths from healthcare consulting to academia to hospital chaplaincy and now international relations/development. Happy to chat about any of those career paths, how to make the most of degrees in the humanities, or not knowing what you want to be when you “grow up.”

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Current Role: Product Manager, Splunk

Daniel has been a product manager in the cyber security industry for 2 years. He works with teams of engineers and designers to help customers effectively manage data lifecycle. Before Splunk, Daniel received his MBA from Cornell University. Prior to that, he started his career after St. Olaf in management consulting at Deloitte.

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Current Role: Senior Professional Research Assistant, Center for Health, Work, and Environment

Lived and worked abroad in Bolivia with 2 different non-profits, spent 3 years focused on social service work with families experiencing homelessness in Colorado, decided to change my focus to macro-level interventions so juggled multiple PT jobs while getting my MPH/MSW degrees. Focused Masters level work on environmental justice and implementing community voice into state level policy change.

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Current Role: Graduate Student, Industrial and Systems Engineering, UW Madison

I’m happy to talk about my field/role specifically (human factors, UX research, social science research, industrial engineering) or graduate life and the PhD track more generally (how to choose a program, PhD vs masters, academia vs industry, transition from undergrad)! I also did a Fulbright in Sweden post-grad and can definitely chat about that experience (and help with applications) for anyone considering it.

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Current Role: Senior Manager, Communications, The American Academy of Otolaryngology-HNS

Came to Olaf as a transfer student international student. Was interested in politics and foreign policy, and law so I took classes and sought internships in those areas to help me determine what career paths I could try. Worked in policy communications after college, then grad school, and now working in strategic communications.

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Current Role: PhD Student, Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University

I graduated from St. Olaf College with a major in psychology and a concentration in neuroscience. After completing a Fulbright Scholarship in Colombia and working in the field of psychology, I am now pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University. I am following the neuropsychology area of emphasis within the program and my goal is to work with Latinx populations in the future as a bilingual neuropsychologist.

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Current Role: Associate Director of Operations, Support Center for Nonprofit Management

Laura (she/her) served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer; she ran a community-based reading program at an elementary school. She then worked at the leading health care advocacy nonprofit in the state of Utah helping people navigate health insurance and obtain medical care. She now works at a capacity building nonprofit in New York City. She has a Master of Social Work focused in organizational administration.

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Current Role: Purchasing Analyst, McMaster-Carr

I started my path wanting to pursue a career in education – specifically Higher Ed. I envisioned myself as a History Professor. I began my journey serving as a Fulbright ETA in Croatia, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at the local University. Then I applied and was accepted into Oxford’s graduate program for Higher Education. I started my career in higher education at Elmhurst University as a study abroad and international student advisor which I loved. Due to life circumstances and starting a family – I pivoted into supply chain and inventory management. I love my current path as a Purchasing analyst at McMaster-Carr as it supports me and my family and encourages me to grow as a mom, employee and person

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Current Role: Manager of Brand & Business Development, 240 Logistics

I’m a strategic leader in the cannabis industry, currently pioneering initiatives as the Sales Manager of Pharmer’s Market in Oregon and the Manager of Brand & Business Development at 240 Logistics. Prior to 240L, I was an Associate of Investments at Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank managing vast investment portfolios and overseeing assets amounting to over $8 billion.

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Current Role: Managing Consultant, Crossvue

I have definitely come into my career in a round about way. I graduated in 1993 with a BA in Philosophy from St. Olaf and a Master’s in International Relations from Boston University. I had some student debt but was unemployed. I went back and got a BS in Computer Science and graduated in 1999 where if you could say Y2K you got a job. The rest is history. I credit all my success in the work world to St. Olaf. The ability to think across different areas, speak and write well, and be open to learning has served me well. As a hiring manager now, I look for these skills, because at the end of the day, we want to hire people who we will enjoy working with.

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Current Role: PhD Candidate, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

After graduating in 2019, I was awarded a Fulbright Student Grant to Tromsø, Norway to study red fox and arctic fox population dynamics. I then wrote a master’s thesis on parasite ecology in the context of a subarctic freshwater food web. I am now a PhD candidate and aim to elucidate the cumulative effects of climate change and anthropogenic stressors on community composition of fish in the Barents Sea.

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Current Role: Graduate student / Research trainee, BC Cancer Research Centre

I am currently researching breast cancer epidemiology as part of my graduate program. Previously, I was a data scientist for UnitedHealth Group and analyst intern for Analysis Group. I would be happy to discuss anything data- and research-related, especially when applied to healthcare.

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Current Role: Director, Science and Technology Industry Relations, University of Chicago

I’ve garnered 8 years of work experience in about three different industries – consulting, tech, and higher education in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. I’m originally from Minnesota and I’m now pursuing my MBA at Booth, where I’m exploring my interests in impact investing, consulting, and strategy. I’m more than happy to chat about career paths in higher education, consulting, tech, as well as careers in D.C.!

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Current Role: Academic Advisor, Family Advocate for TRIO Upward Bound, University of Minnesota-Duluth

On a daily basis, I work with students who are first generation, low income, at risk in high school while also working to build rapport with their families; students succeed when you are able to build a community for them! I love what I do!

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Current Role: Associate Principle, ECG Management Consultants

After a 12-year tenure in higher education administration, including as assistant dean of students at Cornell College, I pivoted toward healthcare administration. Since then, I have forged a 16-year career partnering with academic medical centers to align providers, organizational values, and strategic goals. Initially interested in medicine, I found my niche in administration.

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Current Role: Global Programs Coordinator, Women for Women International

Hoda Al-Haddad possesses five years of experience in the nonprofit sector specifically in the areas of women peace and security, and development. Presently, Currently, as the Global Programs Coordinator at Women for Women International (WfWI), she leads the coordination of the Global Programs Unit across the organization. Hoda’s passion lies in devising sustainable projects that not only create economic and social impact, but also act as a roadmap to peace-building and a sustainable future.

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Current Role: Founder – VP Marketing & Creative, Mixly Cocktail Co

With a background in graphic design and marketing, I started and crafted my career at major CPG companies such as Jack Link’s and Post Consumer Brands. I’m a passionate entrepreneur, the Founder, and Vice President of Marketing & Creative at Mixly Cocktail Co. I’d love to share insights on branding, entrepreneurship, and the art of mixing business with creativity.

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Current Role: Analyst, PMG Nigeria

Morountodun Adebiyi graduated from St. Olaf College in 2018 after completing her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and receiving two concentrations: Africa & the Americas and Race and Ethnic Studies. After working at Ecolab as Administrative Assistant, she went off to pursue her Master’s of Science in Human Resources Development at the University of Houston. Upon completion of her program, she decided to return to her home country of Nigeria.

Currently, she works as an analyst at KPMG Nigeria in the People and Change Advisory practice where she provides guidance to clients on a myriad of Human Resources solutions ranging from Remuneration Advisory to Culture Transformation, Change Management and Organization Design.

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Current Role: Annual Fund Manager, Children’s Theatre Company

After graduating from St. Olaf in 2016, I moved to Washington, DC for a summer fellowship at the Library of Congress and then to New York City to work for an academic publishing firm. I spent 3 years there before returning to the Midwest and pivoting my career into nonprofit development for arts and advocacy organizations, including my current role at CTC and the Guthrie Theatre.

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