Gary Beasley went with his gut to leave his first job after few months, despite the general rule of thumb his mentors suggested of staying at a company for few years. This was only one of the many successful calculated risks he took to become the CEO and Co-Founder of Roofstock, a technology-enabled marketplace that provides tools to investors for evaluating, buying, and selling single-family rental homes. Beasley shares his experience of how to take charge in one’s non-linear career track and how to manage transitions between varying levels of roles at one’s company. You’ll also hear tips on how to be a valuable CEO at a thriving organization and how to scratch the entrepreneurial itch.  

Nicole Gibbons moved her way up from being the PR Assistant to become the Global Director within her ten years of tenure at Victoria’s Secret. What makes her story even more impressive is that she was managing a side hustle at the same time to pursue her passion for design. Gibbons is the founder of Clare, a company designed to make paint shopping easier, accessible, and more inspiring. She has been sought out by top media outlets and appears as a design expert on Home Made Simple, a home improvement reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Gibbons sheds light on the reality of building your own start-up, transitioning into becoming an entrepreneur, and managing up at your company.

Scott Shay didn’t think he would be where he is today as the Chairman of Signature Bank when he started his freshmen year at Northwestern as a chemistry major. Shay, a Chicago native, moved to New York shortly after graduating to join the Salomon Brothers Group. Despite the first six months of his tenure at Salomon Brothers being some of the hardest times in his career both intellectually and physically, he grabbed every opportunity to pursue new projects. His dedication led him to meet some of the most notable mentors, including Lewis Ranieri, and opened up new forks down the road in his career path. Shay, who is also the author of In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism, reflects on his father’s experience as a Holocaust survivor and to continue his legacy of resiliency.  

As the CEO and Co-Founder of Moringa School, a multi-disciplinary learning accelerator to provide young students with digital and professional skills training in Nairobi, Kenya, Audrey Cheng quickly rose to be selected as one of the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs. But Cheng shares that this journey also came with battling unforeseen life hindrances and burnouts. The key to her success? Being rooted in happiness. Tune into Cheng’s story to hear how she led her team to prioritize their well-being, even through difficult situations.

It was during his undergraduate years that Brian Mustanski knew he wanted to combine the perspectives of biology and psychology in the world of human sexuality research. He now serves as the Director of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, the Co-Director of the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research, and he is a tenured Professor at Northwestern. In this episode, Mustanski enlightens us with how his identity has impacted his career as well as his passion for influencing local policy makers on public health. Tune in as Mustanski talks us through fighting for equality, how to be allies to show solidarity with the LGBT community, and how to form collaborative partnerships.

Earlier this spring, the NAA hosted Campus to City, an event where four recent alumni returned to campus from San Francisco,Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago to share advice with the Class of 2019 to help prepare them for the transition from campus to post-graduate life. They candidly chatted about staying in touch with Northwestern after graduation, managing work, life, relationships, and more after leaving campus. Whether you are graduating this month or you graduated years ago, we hope you enjoy this conversation moderated by Andrew Harlan ’19 featuring panelists, Fenit Nirappil ’12, Zoe Goodman ’13, Xiomara Contreras ’17, and Rodney Orr ’18.

Mallory Thompson graduated from the Bienen School of Music in 1980 and is now only the third person in the university’s history to hold the director of bands position. Beloved by the Northwestern music community, Thompson shared stories about helping students and alumni network with each other, but even more importantly, make lasting connections with one another in informal settings. She talked us through the challenges and opportunities that she faced in her career as well as issues like burnout, and the importance of getting to know oneself, that musicians face throughout their lifetime.  

Mallory Thompson will also be conducting for the Symphonic Wind Ensemble 50th Anniversary Celebration on Sunday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. Central. SWE alumni from virtually every major orchestra and military ensemble will perform a program of ensemble favorites and wind masterworks to commemorate the 50th anniversary of SWE's founding. Visit music.northwestern.edu/events/live after 7:20 p.m. Central to view the live stream.

In honor of one year of incredible alumni stories on this show, the Northwestern Alumni Association hosted a live panel of recent alumni who shared stories about what it takes to make a major transition early in their careers. You won’t want to miss what our panelists, Victor Shao '13, Brittany Croone '13, Colette Ghunim '14, and Michael San Gabino '13, had to share about taking feedback and making tough decisions in their careers.

Discover What's Next in your career by listening to the recording of our first ever live podcast experience.

Sometimes, taking one step in the right direction is all you need to go from feeling stalled to having momentum in your career journey. Carol Ross ’83, ’87 MS hosted a webinar for the NAA in April 2019 where she coached three volunteers, with three common career challenges, to get back on track with their careers. After the webinar, Carol had a conversation with Northwestern Intersections host Cassie Petoskey about major themes that came up in the coaching, the emotions behind career changes, and what was surprising from the session. Tune in for validation that you are not alone if you are feeling confused about, or stalled in, your career journey. You'll walk away with hope, inspiration, and new perspectives. 

To celebrate the podcast turning one on April 12, 2019, we wanted to share what resonated with our alumni through their voices. We asked alumni to share their name, class year, and what stuck with them from a Northwestern Intersections episode thus far. Tune in to hear what career stories have inspired alumni over the last year.