From the Hawk's Nest Podcast

Sarah tells us about her career path to becoming QU’s Provost & VPAA. In addition to her academic experience, Sarah has also worked as a medical entomologist with the US Army Reserves and served as a captain in the Army. Sarah shares her goals for the university and the things that stand out to her and her family about QU and the Quincy community, and she offers some advice to students.

Nancy Benz tells about some of the projects she’s working on as the curator of collections and exhibits at the Quincy Museum. Nancy recently researched and published a coloring book for all ages highlighting the historical women who lived in the Quincy region, and she shares some of those stories. Nancy also shares some fun, memorable moments of her days as a QU student.

Mike Sennett discusses his role as antitrust and competition partner at his  international law firm and shares some of his experiences representing clients in countries throughout the world. Mike tells us about his current work with the Water Quality Association and about his involvement with immigration and children and family services. Then Mike offers some advice to students.

Theresa Spear shares her experience as a licensed funeral director. We talk about Theresa’s community involvement and work with non-profits. She tells us about her time at QU and some of the art projects she worked on as a student and art projects she works on now. Then she shares some advice for students and alumni.

Mark Mantovani shares his experiences in a broad range of professions including his  work in business and digital marketing fields, and as a practicing attorney and a college professor. We’ll also talk with Mark about his civic activities and philanthropy in the St. Louis area as well as with QU. 

Chad Thomas discusses his role with Chicago public schools and how he progressed to administrative roles in education in Chicago communities that deal with consistent gun violence. Chad also shares how his time at QU equipped him to take on these challenges and shares some of his favorite QU memories.

Diane Ary shares what her role at ADM entails and how her time at QU helped prepare her for career challenges and accomplishments. Diane also discusses her involvement with community organizations, and she reflects on her days at QU and offers advice for current students.

JP Limbaugh discusses his current role with Silver Eagle Beverages in San Antonio and walks us through the journey he took to get to this position. JP also shares some fond memories of his days at QU as a student athlete and how his time at QU prepared him for his career path.

Tanner Stuckman shares his experiences as an international professional basketball player and tells us about his time at QU as a student athlete. Tanner also highlights the foundation that QU provided for him and how he has applied that foundation to his life and his basketball career. 

Jim Mooney tells us about the challenges and successes of the national and international businesses he has managed and what projects he’s working on now. Jim shares why he’s committed to supporting QU and offers some advice to alumni and students.

Fr. John discusses ways we can embrace Franciscan values throughout the holiday season, and he shares some special childhood Christmas memories.

Robert Kennedy shares his career path and areas of interest related to history, art and the combinations of those fields, and his work with Harper’s Weekly.

Mike Elbe tells us about his career path, his areas of service, and what he’s looking forward to doing after retiring as the president of John Wood Community College. Mike also has some interesting stories about his coaching experiences and connections with coaches close to QU.

Jamal Thompson shares his coaching experience after graduation and gives highlights of his current position as head coach at his high school alma mater in Chicago.

Meet Kim Kull -- the highest ranking female fire official in Evanston, IL, and get her input on what it’s like to be responsible for emergency management logistics.

QU coordinator of annual giving, Michelle Kirkham, explains the history and approach of Giving Tuesday and highlights QU's plans for Giving Tuesday.

Evan tells us about his experiences playing on international professional basketball teams. Plus he shares his career plans now that he’s back in the states. 

Kevin tells us about his years of service in the Navy and some prominent positions he’s held and noteworthy leaders he’s interacted with. Kevin also talks about his advisory roles with some feature-length films. 

Coach Kemner talks about her time with the US women’s Olympic volleyball team and her approach as the coach of the QU men’s volleyball team.

Anita Krieger and Linda Moore talk about their time at QU as student athletes and how their experiences relate to the implementation of Title IX. 

Brady Collings graduated from QU in 1995 and is the general manager for Spyder Active Sports, the world's largest ski specialty brand and the sponsor of the US Ski Team since 1989.  They are now a multi-season brand and distributed in over 60 countries.  Besides Spyder, Brady has also worked for Nike and Global Brands Group. In this episode, we will talk with Brady about his journey to QU and...

Nate McGhee, a current student here at QU. Nate is from St. Louis and is a member of the Hawks football team. In this episode, we will talk with Nate about the book he has written and what dreams he has after graduation.

Cris Cray ’86 has spent her career in Springfield, Illinois serving as the director of legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, as director of legislation for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, executive director of the Illinois Manufactured Housing Association, and assistant to the policy director for the House of Representative.  In this episode, we will talk with Cris about her...

Darren Lillard was recently on campus working with high school students at QU's Music Department's Saxophone Day. Darren took some time to chat with us about his current fellowship at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and why it is important to him to come back to his alma mater and give back. 

Jarja has spent her career working for some of the best Fortune 500 companies and is currently the vice president of field human resources for Kohl’s Corporation. As the Head of HR for field operations, Jarja supports over 80,000 associates across 1,166 stores. In this episode, Jarja will share about her time at QU and her journey to become a successful human resource executive.