WGU Alumni Podcast

Imagine facing immense pressure in your job during a global pandemic and deciding it's time to make a bold career change. That's exactly what Dr. Brady McNulty did, transitioning from pharmacy to cybersecurity. In this episode of the WGU Alumni Podcast, we explore Brady's inspiring story of resilience and reinvention. Hear how his interest in hacking culture and his Navy background...

On this new season of the WGU Alumni Podcast, we’re sharing the inspiring stories of our distinguished graduates who went back to school to pursue a degree and better their lives. Over the next few months, you’ll hear graduates who took control of their future and decided it’s “never too late” . We’re so excited for you to meet them. We have stories of pharmacists who became cybersecurity experts,...

On this episode of the WGU Alumni Podcast, learn how Cole Frandsen-Smith, a 2023 WGU graduate in Human Resource Management, has become a strong champion for education, inclusivity, and the power of community. Also, learn how Cole's life, and that of his family's, has been enriched by the example of his mother and how her referring Cole to WGU has had a ripple effect upon many others. 

Meet Ebony Gray , a WGU graduate and former president of WGU's Student Nurses Association, share her experiences. From her 13-year tenure at Cedars-Sinai to her leadership roles, Ebony's journey exemplifies the tenacity required to succeed in the dynamic field of healthcare. Takeaways:  How Ebony navigated the challenges of nursing with determination Why the Julie Aiken Hansen scholarshi...

Meet Jessica Shelley, a WGU alumna who's revolutionizing education and entrepreneurship while balancing family life with five children and supporting her husband's academic journey at WGU. Explore her journey from elementary teacher to Forbes' 30 under 30 powerhouse and discover her groundbreaking educational platform, Dailies, disrupting pre-K through 12th-grade learning. Delve int...

Nontraditional graduate, Washington Native Eric Miller, joins the alumni podcast to share his motivation on his WGU journey, his passion for nursing, and his interesting hobbies such as cross-stitching and running half marathons, more than 100 to date. 

Recent WGU graduate and current member of the alumni team, Ginny Ersery, joins the podcast to share her thoughts on her recent commencement experience in Chicago, and how things are going in her new role. 

Recent WGU Graduate, bowling coach, and two-time bowling hall-of-fame inductee Ronald Simms Jr. joins the podcast to share his thoughts on his WGU journey, his experience speaking at WGU's commencement last spring, and how his bowling team challenged him to go back to college thirty years after he quit the first time. 

As we kick off the new year,  listen to the latest episode to hear WGU Senior Vice President of Regional Operations, Gene Hayes, and Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Development, Robert Sullivan, share their insights into exciting alumni opportunities in 2024 and beyond. 

Serial entrepreneur, WGU MBA graduate, and  Nashville resident Corey Alexander joins the alumni podcast to share  how he manages to run six different business while balancing family and other commitments in the community.  A former cornerback with the University of Tennessee and a member of the U.S. Army National Guard, Alexander earned his degree from WGU back in 2018 before going on to earn his...

We are talking alumni events with Michael Daniel from WGU's alumni team. Next up is WGU alumni's annual virtual 5K, the Night Owl Trot. Michael highlights the 5K and the Alumni Celebration, and recaps the Kindness Quest. Visit www.wgu.edu/events for all of the upcoming exciting alumni events. 

WGU College of IT Vice President Paul Bingham and two-time WGU IT graduate Chris Abbey join the alumni podcast to highlight the new Cyber Security Web Series on LinkedIn. Learn about the series, why it's important, and watch the first episode entitled "Risky Business" with Paul and Chris. You can watch the episode here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwqIyvFQH48

WGU Graduate and small business owner Nathan Todd joins the alumni podcast to share how his business capstone at WGU led him to purchase a local Iowa ice cream business and who he's successfully expanded into three locations.

Two-time WGU graduate and recently published author Bill Burns joins the podcast to discuss his journey as a Senior Principal DevOps Engineer at a Fortune 50 company as well as his latest project: publishing his first book. 

Professional Soccer star and WGU Graduate Samantha Johnson joins the alumni podcast to share her experience earning her degree while competing in the National Women's Soccer League and also how she's using her degree in education to impact kids, making them better and more resilient.

Gene Hayes joins the alumni podcast to share WGU’s focus on increasing access and outcomes in higher education. Gene joined WGU in 2020 as Senior Vice President of Regional Operations and is committed to advancing WGU’s mission. In addition to talking about the  success of WGU graduates, we talk inspiration, music, and we have a lot of fun with Gene and his “Southern” accent.

WGU grad Amanda Banks is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sports To Suits, LLC. She is also the host of the weekly live show "Sports To Suits", an enterprise sales leader, strategic partnerships creator, and joy enthusiast. She joins the alumni podcast to discuss her WGU journey and life as a successful entrepreneur. The episode also features a special guest. 

Raised in Nepal, WGU student Devi Pariyar is fueled with the desire to give back and help the next generation. She’s seen firsthand the importance of compassion, good leadership, and the power education has on changing lives. On this episode she shares her WGU journey  and her plans to return to Nepal with her husband to open a school that will help underprivileged kids.  

WGU Texas was created 10 years ago as a partnership between the state of Texas and WGU to expand access to more Texans. On this episode of the podcast, we visit with WGU's Regional Vice President and WGU Texas Chancellor Linda Battles about the growth in Texas as well as hear from IT grad and Texas resident Chad Welch. 

Diversity and inclusion advocate Carmen Kingston, a leader from Sam’s Club and Walmart, Inc., spoke at WGU’s summer commencement and now joins the alumni podcast to share her impressions at commencement and how she continues to be inspired by life-long learners and achievers, particularly those from underserved and underrepresented populations.

As WGU honors our veterans in the month of November, we are featuring some of the key figures at WGU who are moving the university from military friendly to military focused. Dave Ammons and Casey Byington from WGU's Veteran's Employee Resource Group (VERGE) join to share how this group helps employees who in turn helps military students and alumni. WGU's latest effort toward becomi...

A committed lifelong learner, Andre Alfred has leveraged educational opportunities to become a recognized leader in cybersecurity. Andre has held numerous leadership positions at some of the world’s most recognized organizations, including Oracle and Microsoft, and today runs cybersecurity governance of the cloud and AI division at Microsoft.  He's currently pursuing his doctorate degree at G...

Two-time WGU business graduate Mark Dimalanta earned his first master's degree from WGU while stationed on a U.S. Air Base in South Korea and his second after relocating to Denver, Colorado. A huge advocate for WGU, Mark, who was the 5,280th graduate in the Mile High State, was recently promoted to Information System Security Manager for a Fortune 500 company. 

College of IT graduate and award-winning professional  Anthony Utt, from Mount Airy, North Carolina, joins the alumni podcast to talk about his passion for software development, his work as an engineering lead at GR0, and his reaction to receiving the 2021 Tech Innovator Award. 

Two-time WGU graduate Claire Gravenhorst from North Carolina joins the alumni podcast to talk about the lessons she's learned from her professional mentor and how her two business degrees have helped her thrive in the HR space while also keeping her creative dreams alive.