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Episode 2: Featuring Anthony Ratliff as he shares his experience working with the fashion industry in Chicago, Atlanta, and New York Fashion Week

Listen to Jamil who is majoring in Public Policy talk about his internship experience with Knox County Democrats in Galesburg.

Listen to Benjamin Rogina share his summer internship experience with the Bastian Family Center for Career Success organizing the 2nd Annual Gateway2Galesburg Community Fair which took place in September 2022. His internship experience coupled with his Start-up Term project shifted his career interests from finance and accounting to marketing and strategic business planning.  

Jennifer Smith, Professor & Chair of Dance at Knox College, shares her professional dance journey, how she built Knox's dance program over the years, and her work as the Artistic Director of "Back & to the Left Productions", a contemporary dance based performance company in Galesburg, IL. 

This week's Alumni Spotlight welcomes Jessica Drew, '07 alum, to talk about her professional experience in Human Resources for non-profit organizations, her journey to self-awareness and work-life balance, and how studying at Knox prepared her for the job application process. 

As a plant enthusiast, Jessica leaves us with some words of wisdom: "I like to think of people as plants. Different plants flourish in different places. It's important to understand what kind of plant you are and where you would really best thrive when planted." 

Laura Lane, Professor of Music & Director of Choral Activities, shares her journey to becoming a Choral Director, her experience with the Knox College Choir, and advice to students interested in pursuing music as she completes her 40th year at Knox.

In this episode, we welcome Zip Nguyen, Business Intelligence & Yield Manager in News at BBC Studios. Zip is an international student coming from Vietnam to the US, where she got a B.A. in Organizational Communications and B.S. in Business Management with a minor in Marketing from Keuka College, and her MBA degree in Marketing Management from Pace University. Our guest speaker has an insightful conversation with our PCLs, where she shared her experience of finding her passion in media and communications, and how she established her career journey in Marketing as an international student from Vietnam. Through the sharing of her stories, Zip wants to inspire students to have the courage to get out of their comfort zone, explore to seek more opportunities and work hard to achieve their goals.  Besides her main job, she is also a BBC Senior Leadership Team Advisor alumnus and Deputy Chair of BBC Studios Next Generation Board. Zip is the founder and CQO (Chief Quarterlife-crisis Officer) for the Bloom in Crisis brand, and host of the Bloom in Crisis podcast, where she openly shares her experience and provides pragmatic advice to help young adults on their journeys to personal growth. Check out her podcast's episode "How to nail job interviews? (or become a better interviewer?)" to learn more about how to nail job interviews and effectively improve the hiring process: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32e1hHN8Cky0CbQNTYLHYL?si=3dae678a72994e83

In this episode we welcome Dr. MarQuita Barker, Vice President for Student Development at Knox College. Through the sharing of her educational path and how she navigated her career in student affairs, we want to offer insightful advice and help students in pursuing their career passion. 

Tony Oligney-Estill is the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Galesburg, IL. He obtained a masters degree in Leisure Studies with an Emphasis on Sports Management, and he had a lot of great insights regarding a career in recreation management. Tony shared stories from his career, how he got interested in working in parks and recreation, and what has made him so successful in his career. 

Nyerere Billups '99 is an inspirational leader who has experience working in many different roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Billups is also on the Board of Trustees at Knox College, and continues to support and foster growth in our community. He shared advice and insights that you are not going to want to miss out on.