In her first job out of college, this alumna combines her engineering know-how with her passion for the environment

What does your job involve?

I work on Eastern Research Group, Inc.’s (ERG) facilities and process engineering team as a chemical engineer. ERG is a consultancy that serves federal clients such as the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency. My job is to analyze operations, systems, and equipment used in our clients’ manufacturing facilities and prepare process safety and quality documentation. This includes analyzing data, performing hazard analyses, writing and editing operating procedures, and producing technical reports.

How did your education prepare you?

As a chemical engineering major with a minor in environmental engineering, Rochester taught me to fine-tune my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Rochester also honed my attention to detail. These are all especially important skills to tap into when documenting operating procedures and identifying potential safety issues (all those lab reports I wrote in college turned out to be really great training exercises).

Rochester helped me sharpen my soft skills, too. Group projects helped me practice how to work effectively and collaboratively within interdisciplinary teams. I learned leadership and presentation skills on the executive board of the Society of Women Engineers and as part of a student club associated with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Was there a pivotal Rochester experience that helped point you in your current direction?

I can think of two. I was part of a research project with Professor David Foster. In his lab, I learned about computational fluid dynamics and how to use simulation software to model fuel cells, which I really enjoyed. That experience showed me how much I enjoy engineering and wanted to continue pursuing technical work. The second happened during the summer after my junior year. That’s when I interned with Booz Allen Hamilton, a consultancy in D.C. Both experiences pointed me in this career direction, toward a job where I can practically apply engineering skills while working with a range of clients, projects, and people.

How did you find the job?

I saw this job posted on LinkedIn, applied, did a phone screening interview, and then was invited to interview via Zoom. I relocated from the Philadelphia suburbs to northern Virginia for the job and I now spend about half the week onsite at client facilities. I love it.

What would surprise people to know?

I’ve played the flute since I was about 9 years old. During college, I was a part of the wind symphony, which gave me a creative outlet and taught me how to work with a large group and understand my role within it.

What do you like most about your job?

I get to work on a wide variety of projects, interact with different clients and coworkers, and hone different types of skills, such as those related to process safety and technical writing. I love that every project is different. This job has also shown me that I am never done learning and I really like that.

What’s most challenging?

Starting my career has given me a new perspective on what it means to do my best. It definitely adds some pressure. It’s clear to me that the potential consequences are far greater than when I was in college and my work “just” affected me. Now, my work affects my colleagues, company, and clients. And, there’s money involved along with safety implications. At the same time, excelling at work is really fulfilling.

What do you do when you aren’t at work?

Washington, D.C. is full of museums, restaurants, and culture. And, just outside the city, there are so many parks and places to hike. I’ve also tapped into my Rochester network. I’m a member of the Young Alumni Council and the D.C. regional network, both of which have helped me meet, network, and make friends. Being alumni gives us a built-in bond with each other.

Growing up, if you had asked Madeleine (Maddie) Graham ’18 whether she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father, Tony (class of 1981) and older brother, Duncan (class of 2015) when selecting a college, she would have said “No way.” But, as the forces of fate and family aligned, she fell in love with the Ģ����ý after just one visit.

As a student, Maddie took full advantage of everything the University had to offer, including close proximity to the Eastman School of Music; she served as a four-year member of the Woman’s Chorus. Maddie also showed her school spirit as part of “BlueCrew,” a student-run organization that promoted enthusiasm and excitement at athletic events. Elected president of the club in her sophomore year, she cheered on the Yellowjackets in a role that helped her gain leadership and management skills. Academically, the open curriculum was influential to Maddie’s overall experience, and she counts English professor David Bleich among the outstanding faculty that made a lasting impact and helped her develop critical thinking skills. “I consider myself very lucky for all the things I was able to do and experience as I pursued my passions at the URochester,” Maddie recalls.

Feeling prepared to take on the world in New York City after graduating in the spring of 2018, she was ready to expand her horizons after a brief stint with a very small marketing agency. However, to Maddie’s dismay, her previously proven networking tools were falling flat. Even with a paid account on LinkedIn, she was facing dead-end connections and feeling stuck.

She needed something different: to make meaningful connections within a community she already knew and loved. She needed .

Maddie’s father, Tony, is a member of the Alumni Board and Metro New York City Network Leadership Cabinet. He introduced her to the Ģ����ý’s platform for professional exploration before it even officially launched in March 2018, and she noticed an immediate difference from other tools. Not only was every graduate she contacted willing to speak with her, she consistently had fulfilling conversations. Discussions revolved around alumni sharing valuable insights on their own career journeys, and advice on how to be successful doing something you love.

Inspired, Maddie used The Collective’s search feature to enter the name of her dream company––global media megastar Condé Nast. While she didn’t expect to find many alumni who worked there, one person, executive account director Kathryn Nave ’06, appeared to her surprise and delight.

Kathryn responded to Maddie’s first message right away, and things progressed quickly from there. Kathryn provided both a list of open positions at the company and her expertise on the ones Maddie was the best fit for. Maddie then got a call from Condé Nast, interviewed the next week, and received a job offer shortly thereafter.

Fast forward to today––now a sales planner for the style division, Maddie and Kathryn are colleagues. The two met face-to-face for the first time at event in New York City, and discovered they worked on the same floor. Both active alumnae, the two women often run into each other at other University events in the Metro New York City area.

Maddie believes wholeheartedly in the importance of leveraging the entire Ģ����ý community. She’s a newly-minted member of the George Eastman Circle and plans to pay her good fortunate forward by serving as a resource and advocate on The Meliora Collective, sharing her experiences to help others and encouraging her friends to join. As a recent graduate, she knows firsthand what it’s like to face the uncertainty that can come with leaving the campus she fell in love with on that first visit as a prospective student.

“The University is a truly special place, with such intelligent and interesting people. What defines Rochester is how curious everyone is, with an authentic love of learning–something you don’t always find in the ‘real world.’”

Her best advice? Embrace that inner nerd, and maybe listen to your parents.

A national arts leader, Emil Kang ’90 took his first job as a gallery receptionist and made it his own.

You graduated as an economics major with several lucrative offers. Why did you take a job as an art gallery receptionist?

As a child of immigrants, I was actually raised with the expectation that I would be a doctor. At Rochester, I met my premed requirements, at the same time pursing an economics major and an art history minor. It was art history professor Grace Seiberling who had the greatest impact on me. Up until that point, I had really been a student of memorization and regurgitation. She helped discover my ability to express original thought and interpretation and to worry less about “being right.” She supported my interest in art history, and when I asked her about careers in the arts, she encouraged me to pursue a job at an art gallery.

What did your job involve?

I worked at Eli Wilner & Co., which specializes in 19th-century period frames, and talked with collectors and gallery owners all the time on the phone. I was the first person they talked to. Through my experience with Professor Seiberling, I had formed opinions on art. As clients called, I was able to develop even further my ability to see art and to explain what I was seeing. Soon I found that collectors would call me and ask how I was doing, and if there was anything I saw recently that I liked, and why. I was able to build relationships, through mutual knowledge and interest in art, and a network of advocates around the world in the field of art and art collecting.

How else did your education prepare you for the job?

Professor Seiberling really pushed me. Her belief in my own thinking made me feel, for the first time, that I had the ability to research and analyze subject matter. I also think that a real gift that I received at Rochester was to acknowledge that my curiosity would lead me someplace valuable. I think that a lot of people follow on a path that they think is practical or that they assume is somehow preordained. They’re not being given the opportunity—either by themselves or by loved ones—to actually pursue the things that they find interesting.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started out?

The most important thing is to discover one’s voice. As people started to see the value in my opinion, it shaped my own sense of self and my own confidence about my contribution to the world. Those things are really very valuable as a young person, when you’re trying to find your own way, to know that the things you have to say actually matter to someone.

Are there things you learned in your first job that you still draw on now?

Absolutely. I’ve been in the arts my whole life now, and my own interpretive abilities in evaluating art—my ability to hear music, see dance, to see theater, to see paintings, sculptures—really extends from that experience.

Sophie Zhang ’17 is nine months into her first post-college job. Here’s what she’s learned so far.

What does your job involve?

I serve as a bridge between a few different groups, including our front-line customer support staff and our engineering group. Engineering might know how to develop a product, but not know about customer experience. Our customer support staff understand customer issues. I help engineers understand the customer, and I help the support organization identify issues in support processes and policies.

How did your education prepare you?

My engineering degree taught me problem-solving skills. I learned to tackle a lot of problems on my own. When I’m troubleshooting for customers, it’s different every time. I have to use whatever resources I have to solve them and I can draw on what I learned in college.

Soft skills help, too. I really honed these as a Meridian and an RA for Hoeing 2 during my senior year. At that time, my “clients” were students and families, and first-year students in the residence. Those jobs helped me be more empathic and more patient, which is very useful when dealing with customers.

How did you find the job?

I literally applied online. Two months later, I was invited for a phone interview. Then I was flown to an on-site interview in Dallas. I mock-interviewed with David Cota-Buckhout [at the Gwen M. Greene Career for Career Education and Connections]. We practiced together and he provided advice on how to improve. Altogether, I had four in-person interviews. I was offered the job before I graduated and was hired into the MACH program, which stands for Microsoft Academy for College Hires.

What were your first days like?

The first two months on the job were like going to college again. There were 200 of us in MACH’s services area. We trained together and we really bonded.

What do you like most about your job?

I love the mobility of the job. I get to hop around a bunch of projects and practice different strengths. I love talking to customers. I knew I didn’t want to code every day so this is a perfect fit for me. Also, I learn so much being a part of MACH, and I’ve made a lot of friends in the program. That made it easier to move to a new city.

What’s most challenging?

Dealing with a lot of ambiguities is really the hardest part of my job. There’s no GPA here. You have to deliver what you promise when sometimes what you are working on isn’t very well defined. Also, where my career is heading is entirely in my hands. That’s hard to practice at college. The path is much clearer there. You’re moving toward your degree.

What do you do when you aren’t at work?

Seattle is a lot of fun. It’s an outdoorsy city, so I go hiking a lot. Skiing, too. I keep meeting different people, including a few from the University who now work at Amazon, some actuarial firms, and other places around the city. I met them at a self-organized happy hour event in downtown Seattle. Being an alum gives me a built-in community wherever I go.