Joust About Careers Podcast

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2000 VB graduate Dr. J. Michael Weiss-Holmes, who is a Professor of Saxophone and performer. In this episode, Michael shares how he developed the skills necessary to become both a performer and professor, why performers typically travel with their own instruments, how he doesn’t fall into the star...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2018 VB graduate Lydia Reineke, who is a Clinical Fellow Speech-Language Pathologist. In this episode, Lydia shares how she is in the career field she chose to pursue during her junior year of high school, why she decided to double-major in Speech and Hearing Science and Spanish and how she uses b...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2020 VB graduate Tyler Arbaugh, who is an outside sales representative and former Division I track & field athlete at the University of Oregon. In this episode, Tyler shares how his career path shifted from finance to sales, what it was like to be a student-athlete at the University of Oregon,...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 1994 VB graduate Amy (Kuhn) Hoffmann, who is a biocompatibility and medical device expert. In this episode, Amy shares how chemistry has play an important role in her career journey, how a wide variety of degrees can help a person get started in the medical device field, how her current employer,...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2020 VB graduate Alyssa (Potteiger) Stewart, who is a certified athletic trainer at Tiffin University. In this episode, Alyssa shares how her love of sports led her to become an athletic trainer instead of a physical therapist, how CCP classes affected her college academics and athletics, the wide...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 VB graduate Silver Viera. In this episode, Silver shares how her education at The Ohio Academy helped her start in the cosmetology field, how it took time to build her customer base, why she values having her salon, Silver’s, in downtown Findlay, and much more. Whether you are interested in a...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is former member of the VB Class of 2020 Karis Brown. In this episode, Karis shares how the multiple positions she holds at IMG Academy lead to plenty of variety on a daily basis, how adding a minor to her major in college helped when applying for jobs, how her experiences led to career opportunities...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is medical assistant and 2010 Van Buren graduate Katelyn DeVore. In this episode, Katelyn shares how she became a medical assistant after working for ten years in another field, how perseverance has been invaluable on her journey to becoming a medical assistant, what she values most about her career,...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 1998 Van Buren graduate Jason Wagner, who is an art educator, entrepreneur, and musician. In this episode, Jason shares how working at a summer camp led to amazing career opportunities, including backpacking across Europe; how he sometimes looks at his career as a compilation of side hustles; how...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! We’ve been on a break for a couple months, but we are back in the new year with more stories of VB graduates. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2004 Van Buren graduate Caleb Etzler, who is a bank operations manager. In this episode, Caleb shares how a college job led to his career, the “unexpected” careers in the banking industry,...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2018 Van Buren graduate Maria Trusty, who is a GLP Archivist. In this episode, Maria shares how a campus job at Ohio State led her to her career, the many places archivists can work, how her career...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 1998 Van Buren graduate Lee Salisbury, who is the founder and Chief Creative Officer for UnitOneNine, a boutique creative agency. In this episode, Lee shares how his life looks much different today...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2007 Van Buren graduate Katherine Wilkins, who works as a Senior Computational Biologist. In this episode, Katherine shares advice for students looking to attend a highly selective university, how s...

This week's guest is 2015 Van Buren graduate Brooke Klausing, who works as a nuclear medicine and PET/CT technologist. In this episode, Brooke shares how she ended up in nuclear medicine when that wasn’t even on her career radar in high school, the positives and challenges of her career, the importance of high school science classes, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career in nuc...

This week’s guest is 2015 Van Buren graduate Thomas Wolford, who works as an airline captain. In this episode, Thomas shares how he decided to become a pilot, the various paths a person can take to become a pilot, the benefits and challenges of this career, and much more. Whether you are interested in a career as a pilot or still exploring your options, I hope that what Thomas shares today will he...

Welcome back to season six of the Joust About Careers podcast! This is still the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2015 Van Buren graduate Essma Kheiry, a Creative Production Manager at Forge Biologics. In this episode, Essma shares how her career is a mix of graphic arts and film, how intern...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2011 Van Buren graduate Hannah Shank, a Transport Operations Supervisor at Marathon Petroleum Corporation. In this episode, Hannah shares how a typical day looks for her, how studying abroad led her...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 Van Buren graduate Madison (Grant) Schwable, a Speech Language Pathologist at the Hancock County Education Service Center. In this episode, Madison shares how a typical day looks for a speech l...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2019 Van Buren graduate Johnathon Farthing, a general manager and franchise trainer at Five Guys. In this episode, Johnathon shares how he decided to leave college to pursue full-time employment wit...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2009 Van Buren graduate Evan Shank, a Senior IT General Controls and TBM Business Analyst with Orlando Health. In this episode, Evan shares how he has attained an IT career despite not having a degr...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 Van Buren graduate Luke Routzon, a state and nationally-licensed EMT who is now a Division Simulation Specialist with HCA Healthcare. In this episode, Luke shares how a typical day looks for hi...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2013 Van Buren graduate Heather Clark, a Senior Public Relations Specialist for Cardinal Health. In this episode, Heather shares how a typical day looks for her, why she has always been interested i...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2013 Van Buren graduate Heather Ritson, a Behavior Services Coordinator II at The Medical University of South Carolina. In this episode, Heather shares how a typical day looks for her, how the path...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 Van Buren graduate Michael Flanagan, a civil engineer for the city of Thornton, Colorado. In this episode, Michael shares how a typical day looks as a civil engineer, how the first-year enginee...

Welcome back to the Joust About Careers podcast! This is the place to learn about careers from the people who are actually doing the work every day. I’m your host, Brian Bratt, and this week’s guest is 2010 Van Buren graduate Michael Caris, a business manager for SRC Worldwide, Inc., and owner of MC Golf Performance and Buckeye Rental. In this episode, Michael shares how a typical day looks as he...