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Alumni Spotlights

  • Katie Glaser is a Senior Innovation Manager with a well-established career in brand management with some powerhouse companies. In this episode, we discuss how her interest in I/O psychology, specifically the Emotional Labor Lab, sculpted her interest in matching psychology with marketing. Plus, the observations of the perfect sandwich, favorite emojis, and the complex nature of cereal mascots...
  • Amanda Fitts held a narrow focus when choosing where she went to college. Ultimately, it led to the UIUC Psych program and one course taught by Eva Pomerantz. Now she is currently the College and Career Counselor of Oak Park High School in California, and opening a world of opportunities to her students. Plus, giving our host a few playlist pointers during the "Fast Five."...
  • Tom Haig visited the University of Illinois to consider joining the diving team and stayed because of the educational opportunity. After graduation, Tom and his brother took a unique trip to Italy and made "The Bridge to Venice Rule." The focus is on taking the more difficult route in life to live it to the fullest. After traveling the world as a professional diver, Tom was in an unfortunate...
  • This is the first guest on Sixth & Daniel, who is currently working for the university! We discussed Nikki's college days and determining where her career would lead. During the interview, she introduced me to the term "wandering student," a wonderful way to describe the experience of finding one's place in the world. That journey led her to a perfect fit of using that expertise and...
  • Jocelyn joined us as a guest in a previous Alumni Career Panel and really made a splash, so it was natural to have her back to expand her thoughts and experiences. On this episode we discuss...the pros and cons of private practice and telehealth, plus selecting a masters program and the UIUC Study Abroad Program...and as always, in S&D fashion...we break down Super Bowl snacks and creating a...
  • Jacob Triplett graduated in 2021, so this was my first time speaking with a NEW member of our alumni family. He is a Senior HR Manager for Proctor and Gamble and is eager to establish a psych grad pipeline to that well-established company. We talked about recruiting on the campus, what it is like working for such a huge place of business, his time working for the UIUC Career Center and the...
  • Amy Charvat joins us on the show to give insight into the world of Occupational Therapy. We discuss her decision to step out of her comfort zone in choosing a bigger university than initially planned, plus how she overcame her struggles to find a sense of family and routine in a new place. Through the "Fast Five," we also cover aromatics, summer trips, and the balance of honesty vs. kindness....
  • Keeping it close to home once again with our latest guest, Matt Difanis. After leaving the halls of Sixth & Daniel, Matt pursued his law degree while becoming a practicing Realtor. We delve into how his career in real estate has evolved since then, especially his work with teaching courses on implicit bias and his role in eliminating housing discrimination. Plus, we get into a local lesser-...
  • Dr. Dohleman is currently the Director of Organizational Research at AbbVie in the Chicagoland area. We discussed how her career all started at a job fair here at UIUC! We travel through her career path and talk about her upcoming discussion about the workplace of the future.  During the "Fast Five," we have fun discussing "Football's Birthday," the Harry Potter universe, and her VIP...
  • Our first "townie" guest on Sixth & Daniel! Lisa Sullivan gives a unique perspective of her experience with the campus from a student, resident, and mother of a current attendee. We cover her journey back into the workforce after taking time off to raise a family. Showing how the skills learned from a psychology degree can be proven valuable in the not-for-profit sector. We also talked...