Northwestern Intersections

When life throws you curveballs, you can either hide or welcome the new changes into your life. In Jordan's case, he welcomed them and quickly adjusted to the changes to live out the most fulfilling life he can have. Major changes were part of his journey, which led him to become an Executive Coach who guides others to overcome uncertainty and discover what brings them meaning and fulfillment. Lis...

Welcome back to our new season of Northwestern Intersections . We're starting off the season strong by having Chelsea Hayes with us to talk about how we present ourselves in front of others. As an Executive Coach and Corporate Trainer for Fortune 500 companies, she emphasizes the importance of directly asking for what we want, giving ourselves the credit we deserve, and forming memorable relations...

Today's episode marks the last episode of 2019! As a way to celebrate, our podcast team went back and pulled out some of our favorite advice and insights from various alumni guests from 2019. We'll be back in February 2020 with our new season so stay tuned. Have a wonderful holiday season and go 'Cats!

Roy Lu's first career transition came shortly after his graduation from the McCormick School of Engineering, when he made the move from engineer to entrepreneur, with his first startup, Vitaminbubbles, a biotechnology company.  Since then, Roy has worked and learned at two major tech companies, seeing first-hand how companies grow and flourish. Roy's latest venture, Timepop Technologies, focuses o...

After receiving her Ph. D. in Political Science and Methodology at Northwestern University, Dr. Sally A. Nuamah worked at Princeton University and Harvard University as a research fellow, followed by her assistant professorship at Duke University. She then returned to Northwestern to become a tenure-track professor of Urban Politics in Human Development and Social Policy. Her work explores issues...

From dressing up as a clown for birthday party gigs to working at Hilary For America, Ryan Bernsten has done them all. But one of the most fascinating experiences he has embarked on was driving across America to listen to stories of Americans in all 50 states from 2018 to 2019. His thesis, now a podcast called 50 States of Mind , sheds light on his journey of interviewing elected officials, mayors...

After running a marathon, Zeena Dhalla recognized her passion for fitness and decided to become a personal trainer, transitioning from the film and Internet industry. Finding great success in her training, she took on a new major role: being a mom. Now she works as a Certified Postural Alignment Specialist improving posture, a small part of fitness that makes a world of a difference. Zeena coaches...

What's Next Live is back by popular demand! This time, we traveled to New York to host a live panel of recent alumni who shared stories about what it takes to make a major transition early in their careers. Our panelists, Sierra Boone '17, Charlie Oh '16, Tracey Haneman '13, and Henri Pierre-Jacques '13, are phenomenal alumni, living in New York and navigating their career transitions in their own...

Becoming a successful comedian and performer in New York did not happen overnight for Ziwe Fumudoh. Her Twitter fame started when she worked as a hostess at a barbecue restaurant, tweeting as much as she could during her breaks. While juggling multiple jobs, Ziwe worked harder than anyone else by working at prestigious digital media companies like The Onion, Above Average, Comedy Central, and many...

As the principal of Acero Marquez Charter School in the Chicago area, Allison Hansen wears many hats to make sure that school is a place where both her teachers and students can grow together. Despite seeing the challenges of being a principal through her experience with the Teach for America Program, Allison still stuck to her passion for education reform. She sheds light on her definition of wha...

The NAA is happy to introduce our new host of Northwestern Intersections , Helen Kim. Helen is one of the founding team members of this podcast and has served as the editor and producer of Northwestern Intersections . She currently works as the Assistant Director of Career Advancement at the Northwestern Alumni Association, specializing in digital career programs for both alumni and students, and...

In this three-part series featuring outstanding coaches, you'll hear some of the most frequently asked questions that they receive from their clients in their industries. Tish Hicks '88, Kathryn Haydon '99, and Melissa McFarlane '86 are leading experts in their fields who have presented Northwestern Alumni Association's career webinars in the past on topics including on the power of one's voice, c...

In this three-part series featuring outstanding coaches, you'll hear some of the most frequently asked questions that they receive from their clients in their industries. Tish Hicks '88, Kathryn Haydon '99, and Melissa McFarlane '86 are leading experts in their fields who have presented Northwestern Alumni Association's career webinars in the past on topics including on the power of one's voice, c...

In this three-part series, you'll hear some of the most frequently asked questions that they receive from their clients in their industries. Tish Hicks '88, Kathryn Haydon '99, and Melissa McFarlane '86 are leading experts in their fields who have presented with the Northwestern Alumni Association through career webinars in the past on topics including the power of one's voice, creativity at work,...

After her own experience in conflict with chairpersons, Isabelle Nüssli interviewed 100 chairpersons and CEOs to uncover the source of the tension that's often built at the top of the corporate pyramid. When she realized that admitting these issues in leadership was considered taboo, she sought out to take action, ultimately resulting in writing her book. Nüssli is the author of Cockfighting: Solv...

Start your day off with a sense of peace and mindfulness with Ellie Burrows Gluck as she guides us through a calming meditation exercise in this special episode. Before co-starting MNDFL, Ellie Burrows Gluck served as an executive in the film business for a number of years until she came across her true passion: spirituality and pursuit of consciousness. She then quit her job in 2013 to travel aro...

Erica Keswin is a workplace strategist and business coach with over 20 years of experience, having worked with top organizations that honor relationships at their workplace. Keswin, a bestselling author, published her book, Bring Your Human to Work, to help employees and leaders at organizations navigate ways to connect in the workplace and develop a winning culture. In addition to tips on how to...

Concertmaster of Hamilton: An American Musical of the Chicago company and artist and teacher-in-residence at the Lyric Opera of Chicago come together to share their stories as entrepreneurial artists in the 21st century. What's inspiring about these artists is that they're not afraid to be vulnerable when it comes to elaborating on the topics of injury, fear, and insecurity – most which are not of...

August 1st is the long-awaited day that the Common App opens for students applying to colleges. Paula Whitman is here to tell you that applying to colleges does not have to be stressful! Whitman, a college application and essay coach, shares what has changed and stayed the same over the past year in the admissions process and offers tips for each class of high school students. She also points out...

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 rent...

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 be...

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 phys...

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 succes...

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, Musta...

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...