Dr. Vicki Williams, vice president for student life, is a new face on the North Central campus. An avid sports fan and proud first-gen college graduate, she brings high energy and a fresh perspective as she works to enhance the vision for student life at the College.
From campus events, clubs and organizations to student employment, residence and commuter experiences, gathering spaces, and more, she says every moment matters. “We want to create those opportunities where memories are made outside of the classroom.”

Dr. Carly Drake, associate professor of marketing, says that “Everything is marketing, all around us, all the time.” Her research focuses on gender, bodies, and fitness culture, and her teaching includes everything from the basics of marketing to helping students use digital tools to tell their own stories.

Listen along as Drake shares her relationship-based approach to marketing and how she teaches students to sell not just products, but ideas. Plus, learn why she says her favorite students are B students.

Growing up as a Cubs fan in west suburban Chicago, Wayne Randazzo dreamed of a career in the big leagues. But rather than on the field, he wanted to be in the booth calling games like Chicago legends Pat Hughes, Harry Caray, and Steve Stone. North Central’s award-winning, student-run radio station, WONC, proved to be the perfect sandbox for Randazzo to hone his craft as a live play-by-play announcer for Cardinal athletics and co-hosting weekly sports talk shows. Today, Randazzo is living the dream as the TV play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels and for Apple TV’s “Friday Night Baseball.”

Listen along as Randazzo talks about the realization of his childhood dream and how North Central played a critical role in helping him get there. He also shares a few career highlights (like calling slugger Albert Pujols’s 700th career home run on national TV) and offers advice for aspiring broadcasters looking to break through in today’s media landscape.

Al Carius H ’06 and Frank “Grammy” Gramarosso are two of the most accomplished coaches in the nation. Together, as stewards of the North Central College cross country and track & field programs, they won a combined 31 NCAA Division III team national championships – 19 in cross country and 12 in indoor and outdoor track & field. At the center of that success was a focus on student-athletes and a commitment not just to winning, but to winning the right way: by putting the athlete before the sport.

Listen along as Al and Grammy relive some of their rich history of coaching success, their commitment to North Central College as a “special kind of place,” and the legacy that carries on at North Central and at schools across the country through their alumni coaching family tree.

Four years ago, on “Decision Day” at her high school, Olivia Rosenberg ’25 was wearing spirit wear for a big state school she planned to attend in the fall. Six months later, she found that college environment wasn't a good fit for her.

After transferring to North Central College, Olivia has never looked back. She talks about majoring in communication studies and sociology, competing as part of North Central’s “Sonata Problem” a cappella group, conducting original research about female executives in the workplace, and more. Besides reflecting on the opportunities she's had as a Cardinal — from pre-professional experiences to making connections — Olivia also shares her interesting take on the pressures around making a college decision.