As that time of the year approaches when students are scrambling to find a summer job, seniors are for the first time, in a different boat.

You may miss returning to that familiar pool or ice cream shop you have been working at since high school, but now it is time that those sleepless nights throughout college will come to use.

Now, us seniors will be able to put what we learned in college into practice.

As seniors are filling out countless applications and making career-decisions based on locations, Dubuque may be looking far more attractive as a place to settle down.

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation recently announced that Dubuque has climbed from 157^th place for small metropolitan area in the country for expected job growth to 1^st place on this year’s list.

Director of Workforce Development at Greater Dubuque Development Corporation Sarah Harris explained how Dubuque has seen a substantial spike in job growth, fueled by IBM, Hormel, Medline and other business expansion.

Dubuque has also moved up in the Forbes list of the best small areas for businesses and careers, making the leap from 40^th place in 2009 to 15^th place in 2010.

Harris explained how this jump is attributed to a combination of factors, but largely rests on the notion of Dubuque’s quality of life.

“With human capital being a number one asset, companies need to know that they are locating in a place where employees and their families want to live. Great schools, healthcare, low crime and community collaboration are just a few of the many qualities employers look for when choosing a location. Dubuque’s job market continues to increase because businesses see value in providing great quality of life for their employees,” remarked Harris.

However, the many opportunities available to Dubuque citizens are no coincidence.

The mayor and city council identified workforce development strategy as a top priority in the city of Dubuque, explained Harris.

As a result of their collaboration, Dubuque Works was formed. Greater Dubuque Development, Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, Telegraph Herald, Iowa Workforce Development, The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Dubuque Area Labor Management Council and Northeast Iowa Community College have all combined efforts to fill current and future workforce gaps and to strengthen existing workforce programs.

With the Greater Dubuque area being home to roughly 18,000 college students, the college presidents at the local institutions spoke highly of their students and their dedication to work closely with IBM leaders, creating a segway of talent for the future.

The pool of college graduates was later cited by IBM executives as one of the key factors in their decision-making progress, according to Harris.

City-workers are doing all they can to make college graduates aware of the career opportunities that exist in Dubuque after graduation.

Events such as the CEO Network Luncheons, Dubuque Live, Future Young Professionals and the Tri-College Career fair are just a few of the many opportunities for students to connect with CEOs, Human Resource executives and other community leaders right on campus, explained Harris.

“Due to the down economy, college students will be competing against experienced professionals for job opportunities. Internships, community involvement and a polished resume will give you an advantage over the competition,” said Harris.

Internship Coordinator at Loras College Faye Finnegan wants to make sure that students are aware of all the networking opportunities available to them right on campus as well as in the larger community.

“We as an institution have worked more closely with the Dubuque Chamber in showing students opportunities, such as through the Career Extraveganza and Dubuque LIVE. At least 7 students got offered full-time positions at the Career Extraveganza because they went in being open-minded. The Chamber also recently began hosting the Welcome Back Bash, which creates avenues for students who attend,” said Finnegan.

“The city is reaching out—we want you to stay; young professionals bring a lot to the table and we want you to be tied into the city and the Chamber,” stated Finnegan.

Senior Zach Gries took advantage of the opportunities Loras offered involving Dubuque.

Gries will be working for Cottingham and Butler as an Account Manager upon graduation.

This Dubuque Health Insurance Company was represented at this year’s Dubuque LIVE as well as the Career Fair.

“I spoke with Jennifer Wolf who is the Vice President of Human Resources at Cottingham and Butler at Dubuque LIVE, when she asked me about my graduation plans. Eventually she offered me a chance to interview, and the rest is history!” exclaimed Gries.

“There are a lot of great companies in Dubuque and even if people don’t want to stay forever, these companies provide GREAT experience. Cottingham and Butler is one of those companies. The experience I gain while there, could lead to a variety of new opportunities or a chance to grow with a company throughout my career,” said Gries.

As the city is making continuous efforts to enhance the area, focusing on recreation, advancements are seen through the Mines of Spain, the Riverfront, Arts and the Carnegie-Stout Library, companies are finding more of an avenue for business growth.

Senior Class President matt Romkey is optimistic that the reason seniors are staying in Dubuque is because of the exploitation of workforce.

“This is a very exciting time for the Dubuque community. I believe that this reiterates the fact that there are jobs out there if students are proactive. I have heard from several seniors that they will be staying in Dubuque next year and I believe these new opportunities are to credit for that,” stated Romkey.

Senior Derek Olberding will be holding the position of Loan Representative at Dubuque’s Fidelity Bank & Trust.

“The Greater Dubuque Development Corp and the City of Dubuque should be commended for the job they are doing. I know from personal experience that these two organizations are working very hard not only to retain businesses currently in Dubuque but also to attract new businesses to the city. Dubuque has been known for having many young people either grow up in the area or go to school in Dubuque only to lose that young talent to other larger cities. With the attractions of those businesses and their ability to create job growth they are doing everything in their power to keep that young talent in Dubuque and the ranking just proves that even more,” said Olberding.

Colleen Fitzpatrick is the Academic Secretary of Henessey Hall and the Science Hall

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Dubuque and stayed here throughout all of my education, including college. After getting married and starting a family, we moved several times throughout the Midwest including Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

As a child, what was your dream job?

Just to have a family and become a mom.

Now what is your dream job if you could be doing anything?

I would definitely want to work with landscaping and the outdoors—planting—I find it very relaxing.

How many years have you been at Loras?

9 years. Prior to this, I was an elementary school teacher at HCRL (a small Holy Cross school), then I was a full-time mom for awhile, and then went to St. Joe’s, the Worker School before coming to Loras.

When I started at Loras, I worked part-time in Hennessey. When the secretary in the Science Hall left, I took this position as well to make it full-time. Now I typically work in Hennessey from 7:30-11:30 a.m., and the Science Hall from 11:30-3:30 p.m. I do a lot of running back and forth, though, and some days the times are swapped—I will be in the Science Hall in the morning and Hennessey in the afternoon.

What does your job entail?

Part of what I do is take care of faculty needs—that can be anything from helping with course materials (such as scanning things to eLearn) or scheduling room reservations for campus activities. I help the professors with cancelling classes when they are ill, managing the eLearn site, and making sure the technology (printers, fax machines, copy machines, Internet) in Hennessey and the Science Hall buildings is properly functioning. If something needs to be fixed I talk to the people at the Tech Center. I order supplies, and arrange for new faculty coming in the fall—getting them situated and making sure their offices are in order, and ordering them a set of keys.

Do you find anything challenging about your position?

Having to manage the two buildings and juggling that—it is a good challenge though. The two buildings both have a different feel—the courses are different, the people are different, and just altogether the buildings have different personalities.

What is the best thing about your job?

The flexibility absolutely—I love being able to switch to another task if what I am working on is making me weary and I need a break. Since there are so many different people, they all need something, and there is always something else I can be doing if I want to put something off to the side.

Is there any advice you have for students, faculty and staff?

Be patient with each other, this is a really stressful time of the semester— for everyone!

What is most important to you in life?

My family—my husband and 3 sons

What words of advice do you live by?

Be gentler than necessary because everyone is fighting their own battle—they are the words on David Summers’ door in Keane Hall.

If you could change one thing about Loras, what would it be?

Being able to walk inside from building to building—skywalks would be great, especially in the winter.

What is your favorite thing about Loras as an institution?

The students are very friendly, not only to just their friends or other students, but to everyone. When you walk around campus they greet you.

What is your favorite movie?

This past weekend I saw The Blind Side’ which I definitely recommend.

What do you do in your spare time?

During school year when I have free time it is just evenings and weekends and I keep up my kids’ activities, and in summer I’m outside almost every single day, whether it is gardening or walking the dog.

Interview with Kay Gasemer, administrative secretary for the Education Department in Wahlert Hall:

Q: What does your role as Administrative Secretary in the Education Department entail?

I help Dr. Blesz with various things and take teacher education and student-teaching applications and process all the forms. I am also a source for students to come answer questions.

 Q: What does your typical day look like?

I am on the computer most of the day ordering forms, doing registration, and entering all field placement forms. I started with the tri-colleges in Dubuque and did that for 23 years — doing the same thing at Clarke and University of Dubuque as well as Loras.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?

Interacting with students.

Q: What do you find most challenging about your job?

Once a month at the Education Division meetings I am responsible for taking minutes — recording down everything that is being said at the meetings.

What advice do you have for students, faculty and staff? Is there anything you want them to know?

Fill out applications on time.

Is there anything you want students to know about you personally?

I like to quilt.

Q: What made you come to Loras?

I was fortunate when the tri-colleges broke that I was able to get this position at Loras doing the same thing — it was very beneficial for me.

Q: What is your hometown?

Dubuque

Q: If you weren’t doing this at Loras what do you think you would be doing?

I would be a stay-at-home grandmother.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

I like to quilt, bike ride, take walks and read.

On Wednesday, April 28, during Common Time, Loras students presented their research projects through poster displays at the Research Colloquium, which took place in the Alumni Campus Center Ballroom.

Research included a variety of topics from several majors, including marketing, psychology, science and Spanish.

Anyone was welcome to attend the event. Many faculty members looked at their students’ final posters and were also interested in exploring what other students from different majors researched.

Some students presented in groups and others individually. Some presented the topic of their senior thesis, while others designed studies involving students on campus.

Senior Lisa Cook had two posters displayed at the colloquium — one of which was for her biochemistry senior thesis and another for her organic chemistry course, in which she presented a project lab.

“It was great seeing students’ posters from different majors,” said Cook. “I thought it was interesting learning about different topics that were researched and getting to see how different groups presented their work.” 

The posters were displayed from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and students were encouraged to stay by their displays in order to speak with the frequent guests coming by to view and ask questions.

 Faculty members were impressed by the students’ work. Psychology professor Dr. Lisa Grinde advised students on project from their Research Methods and Statistics II classes.

“I appreciated the level of confidence, knowledge, interest, and maturity shown by the students across a number of disciplines when presenting their research to faculty, staff, and fellow students,” said Grinde. “Faculty-student research provides a great opportunity for students to apply what they have learned and then explain that learning to others.”

April 20-23 were days full of excitement for Loras sports management majors. A group of nine Loras students along with faculty attended the College Sports Research Institute’s annual conference at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Four students, senior Dolly Duffy, junior Jacob Hanselman, senior Andrew McGinnis and sophomore Tim Kelly were selected to represent Loras.

This group of students delivered a 10-minute presentation in front of a panel of three judges involving a case study about the University of New Orleans and its current decision of whether to allow the school to stay NCAA Division I or move to Division III.

Nine students tried out for this opportunity. As part of the application process, students were required to individually write a 1,000-word essay as well as present a sample case study in groups of three – something similar to what would be presented at the conference, according to Dr. Matt Garrett, chair of the Division of Physical Education and Sports Studies and coordinator of the sports management program.

“It wasn’t about picking the best four individuals; it was about selecting the best team of four,” said Garrett.

Thirteen undergraduate colleges competed. After each school presented the first case study, the judges made their decision of which three schools would advance to the next round.

Loras, along with Ithaca College in New York and St. Leo University in Florida, were the three schools chosen to advance to the second round.

When Duffy, Hanselman, McGinnis and Kelly were notified of their accomplishment, they had less than 24 hours to prepare for their 15-minute case study to be presented before the panel of judges.

 On April 23, the last day of their trip, the team was told they had won and would be bringing home a national championship.

Hanselman is grateful for the wonderful opportunity he was given.

“I’d like to thank Student Senate for the funding they were able to provide us. It really helped offset the costs of the trip and made it viable for us to take nine students to experience the conference. My advice for other students is to try to do all you can to get yourself out there while at Loras. Take advantage of trips or conferences that are part of your major because they can really open up opportunities for yourself,” stated Hanselman.

The Conference is something Loras will definitely be pursuing in future years, according to Garrett.

“Winning the CSRI championship against high-caliber competition only affirms the notion that our sport management major is becoming well-respected by peers as one of the premier programs in the country,” proclaimed Garrett.

“It was a great educational experience that benefited the program and school as a whole, where I learned a lot from the panels and symposiums as well as the case study. The trip initiated contact with many professionals in our field and provided great networking opportunities,” said Kelly.

If you have been feeling a little green lately, you could blame all the hoopla surrounding “Earth Week” during the past week.

Thursday, April 22, marked the 40th observation of Earth Day around the world, and the Loras campus was celebrating the entire week with various activities.

Activities included tree-planting, an emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables and eco-friendly coffee samples in the Cafe, and selling reusable “green” water bottles in the Duhawk Market, among others.

Students were encouraged to pledge to “go green” and T-shirts were sold throughout the week promoting conservation and protection of the Earth.

Each day, students were encouraged to sign up for times to help in the effort to plant trees around campus, 

Junior Sujan Devbhandari helped with the tree plantings throughout the week.

continued on page 2

“Fortunately, it was a perfect week weather-wise to plant trees and get hands dirty out in the sun,” he said. “Student participation was impressive. Everyone who came and helped were thinking of how good it would feel 10 to 15 years down the road when these trees would establish themselves and add something positive to this planet.”

Junior Patrick McCarty also participated in the tree- planting activities. “A lot of students, as well as faculty and staff, seemed to take interest in making Loras look nicer but also cleaning up our planet,” he said. “The tree-planting was not easy work, but it was a lot of fun and now I can pass a tree every day on my way to class and know that I contributed to our Earth in a good way. I think we could all benefit from getting our hands dirty and doing our part to help, rather than harming where we live.”

Sustainability Committee Chair Nathaniel Wagner sent out daily tips on how students, faculty and staff can go green, some of which included thinking twice before you print something, downloading “EcoFonts” (that use less ink than traditional typefaces), re-using whatever you can and making an extra effort to recycle, such as making the extra effort to find a recycling can.

Senior Kate Stachowiak, who participated in Earth Week festivities, said she is glad she had the opportunity to help and leave a legacy that will be recognized for years to come.“I’ve always wanted to plant a tree,” she said. “It’s the simplest thing I could do but I feel like in the long run that one little tree is going to bring someone a place to find shade or some leaves to jump in during autumn. You want to make a difference in the world, keep it simple, plant a tree and laugh while doing it.”

Kristen Smith is the Information Services Librarian at Loras and has been dedicated to this position for almost twenty-five years as she is approaching her twenty-five year recognition. She loves her job working in a college environment.

Q: What does your role as Information Services Librarian entail?

When people are having issues finding what they need, I help them find what they’re looking for—whether it is an article, paper, stats or book. One of the responsibilities that I have is trying to anticipate the Loras community needs and trying to keep up with the Loras curriculum, coordinate databases that we buy for information, and I need to do this in a way that is the best fit for the budget. Basically, trying to pick the right resources is a big part of my job.

Q: What was your field of study in school?

I attended Illinois Wesleyan where I got my Bachelor of Arts in History and then I went to the University of Illinois to get my Masters in Library Science. I was leaning in the direction of working at a college since I loved Wesleyan so much and had a great time there.

Q: What does your typical day look like?

It varies a lot. I spend part of my day making myself available to people in reference area. I am also on my computer a lot answering students’ questions they ask through email. We also have a chat system in which students can ask questions through that. I work on database selection, government documents and supervise the student that works in Documents.

Q: What is the best thing about your job?

Even though there are common things that are going on, my day can take a lot of turns. For example, the MOI courses require a lot of work in September and October and so I am in the classroom a lot being kept busy with that. Always having something different keeps you from getting in a rut since you’re not doing the same thing all the time. I really enjoy that.

Q: What do you find most challenging about your job?

It’s a challenge to keep up, but I love it. It’s not challenge in a negative way but a positive one. Things are changing so quickly with resources and technology becoming available. It requires you to constantly be available to what is going on. I constantly have to be reading and keeping up with what’s out there and what might be useful to Loras students.

What advice do you have for students, faculty and staff? Is there anything you want them to know?

One thing I would say is never hesitate to contact the librarian if you have any library-related issues or problems or if there are things you can’t find. I wonder if some students faculty have frustrations in using tools and things available and I want them to make contact with us to let us help them work through difficulties.  

Is there anything you want students to know about you personally?

I’m always interested in hearing what people are doing and what they are interested in, so feel free to come and talk to me.

Q: What made you come to Loras?

Wesleyan pointed me toward an academic career and when I visited Loras I felt comfortable in terms of people that were here. Also, the environment was similar in size with Wesleyan and it had a similar environment—one that I thought would be a good fit.

Q: What is your hometown?

I lived with my family in Lincoln, Nebraska until about 14 and then moved to Illinois, in a suburb near Chicago.

Q: If you weren’t the Information Services Librarian at Loras what do you think you would be doing?

I’ve never felt like there was another career I wish I had done. If I weren’t at Loras, though, I would imagine I would have a similar job somewhere else—I wouldn’t be too far away from what I’m doing now.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

I like to cook and bake. I also love stories of any kind—whether it is reading a book, listening to audio books which I love, watching movies, or hearing a story word-of-mouth. I just love a good story—anything that is interesting and entertaining.  

             This past Tuesday evening, April 20, Psychology students presented their research presentations in the Alumni Campus Center Ballroom at 7 p.m.

              The Psychology National Honor Society, Psi Chi, hosted the event.

              The event was open to anyone, though Psychology faculty and students were encouraged to attend.

               The students who presented their research are currently enrolled in Advanced Research Methods in which they put much time and effort into conducting their designs. Students worked together each on a different topic in groups of two to three.

               Topics encompassed various aspects of psychology from psychology of art to cognition to the neurodevelopment of children.

                Each group chose how the wanted to conduct their tests, ranging from observation to surveys and came up with conclusions based on their psychological analyses.

              After each presentation questions were open to the audience about the studies.

             Some of the students will be attending the MPA conference this coming week from April 29^th to May 1^st. The conference is held this year in Chicago where both graduate as well as undergraduate members of Psi Chi will be displaying a poster of their research.

               Senior Psychology major Nicole Danna presented at the event and feels it was beneficial for her fellow classmates to display their work and share to others what they have working on.

             “The Psychology students were proud to show their work and are excited to be able to participate in the MPA Conference this year. All the students in Advanced Research Methods Lab work hard on their research each year. Research Night is a wonderful opportunity to share this work with other students,” said Danna.

               Psychology Professor Dr. McLaughlin helped the students with various projects they were working on and helps coordinate Psi Chi events.

              “I was really impressed with the breadth and professionalism of the presentations.  I think it was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about the research possibilities in psychology and to engage in conversation with their peers about research and community involvement,” stated McLaughlin.

                Junior Mariana Aparicio and her group members presented on Children with some degree of Autism Spectrum Disorder (mild to severe) and their Influence on their Neurotypical Siblings.

                “Due to the increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with autism (1 in 110 children) we need to continue to conduct research which illustrates how this disorder impacts not only the child diagnosed with it, but all other children in the family,” said Aparicio.

              “We are interested in studying how autism might affect siblings in both positive and challenging ways. We are also interested in examining how mothers and fathers each view the effect of Autism Spectrum Disorder on neurotypical siblings. Our hope is to provide information that will help therapists better serve all members of a family with a child with autism. We know right now that services and support groups for siblings are limited in this area and across the country, so we’d like to provide information that will help to change that,” stated Aparicio.

                If you would like more information about the Autism Spectrum Disorder study or are interested in participating, please contact Dr. Lisa Grinde at Loras College at 563-588-7113 or Lisa.Grinde@loras.edu.

Beginning this summer the campus will be hosting the Loras College Summer Academy (LCSA) for students entering grades 8-10

This is a prestigious pre-college experience for students to become familiar with the college life, including classes, the option of living in a dorm with a roommate and being away from home.

 Mike Budde, who is the executive director for business development and strategic initiatives at Loras College, initiated the idea due to the popularity of the Loras All Sports Camp for younger participants.

 “Since 10 to 12 percent of the College’s alumni attended the Loras Sports Camp as kids, we can expect that this will be beneficial for admissions,” explained Budde.

There will be two sessions of the camp, from June 6-11 and from July 25-30.

A variety of classes will be offered, ranging from crime scene investigation to cooking to creative writing.

LCSA courses will provide intensive, interactive daily classroom and field-related experiential learning in small groups. Each group focuses on one main course subject taught by Loras professors. In the evening, all students will participate in nightly educational and social activities with the larger group, ranging from a ‘Night at the Museum’ taking place at the Mississippi River Museum, a boat tour and a dance.

Twenty Loras professors were chosen to teach the courses after being elected by 3 student interns. In addition to professors, campers will also get to experience being guided by a teaching assistant who has been recommended by the professors.

First-year student Kate Heidorn is very excited to be a teaching assistant for the new program.

“I’m so grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity. I hope to become a high school teacher, and given this opportunity to work with the program, I’ll be able to gain experience with students at that age level in an academic setting. I’ve been told about some of the classes and activities planned for the academy, and I have to say, I wish I could have done this in high school. I think it will be a big success as well as a lot of fun,” said Heidorn.

The Summer Academy will strive to create an academic and faith-based learning environment, a culture of experiential learning, responsible decision-making, social interaction and active participation.

In addition, as stated in the LCSA Mission Statement, the program will attempt to foster academic enthusiasm and provide meaningful opportunities for personal transformation.

“Having the academy for students in this age group is beneficial to admissions as students begin thinking about which college to attend. I think this program will enhance enrollment for the college,” stated Budde.

As Loras prides itself on its small class sizes, the academy will be no different, holding an estimated 15 students in each class.

“I think we’re going to provide an outstanding educational experience for the participants and we anticipate that the students attending will be ones in which the college can be proud of,” said Budde.

One of the student interns, Senior Teanna Cardin, believes students are bound to have an unforgettable experience at the Summer Academy.

 “It will allow students to experience a summer unlike any other. The Loras College Summer Academy gives students an opportunity to learn through experiential learning. Some will be exploring the natural resources located at Mines of Spain, while others will be writing ‘Kooky, Spooky, Weird and Freaky Ghost Stories’ at haunted locations throughout Dubuque. Some students will reside on campus getting the college-like experience, while local students will attend the academy during the day. Not only are the students partaking in hands-on learning, but they are also building friendships through the various social activities. The students are sure to have a fun and unique experience at the Loras College Summer Academy,” stated Cardin.

English Professor and LCSA Faculty Chairperson Susan Stone will be teaching the ‘Kooky, Spooky, Weird, and Freaky’ Creative Writing course.

“Many colleges offer a discipline-specific summer course of study for rising high school students, but Loras is unique in that it provides rising eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders with a true multidisciplinary, faith-based liberal arts college experience. Participants learn side-by-side with creative, motivated, real-life college professors who are experts in their fields. They can explore the mysteries of archeology or engineering in one session and hone their creative writing or acting and directing skills in another. What could be better?” stated Stone.

Bobbi Earles is a 1988 Loras grad who now is a Loras staff member after a distinguished career in television broadcasting. We sat down asked her about her professional career:

 What does your position as executive director of alumni and communication entail?

It’s not very clear when you say you work “in alumni.” Very simply put, the job involves building relationships with alumni of Loras College and helping them stay connected with the school.

Having graduated from Loras, did you ever guess that you come back to work here?

I think almost anyone who attends Loras has a fantasy of coming back and working here. 7 years ago, in January 2003 an opportunity arose and I took the offer. I started on the development side of fundraising and for about 2 to 3 years now I have worked exclusively with alumni.

What positions did you have prior to becoming executive director of alumni and communications that led you to what you’re doing now at Loras?

After graduating in 1988 I worked at KWWL in Cedar Falls. From that position, I moved to a variety of positions — associate producer, health reporter, noon anchor, 10 o’clock anchor, etc. During my 14-and-a-half years at KWWL, it was truly one of those career paths of working my way up through organizations. I took advantage of the opportunity that was presented, and that allowed me to get to my goal.

What activities were you involved in during your time at Loras?

I had two work-study jobs, 4 internships, had an off campus job, wrote for the Lorian and was the Features Editor and I worked for what is now called LCTV. The media students had program that was once a week where we worked with the local ABC affiliate, KDUB. It was in 1984 that the Media Studies major was introduced and my incoming class was the first class to go all 4 years with the major.

Were internships as important or attractive to employers when you were in college as they are today?

Back then, they were certainly available but not pursued as much as much as they are today. Now they’re essential — back then it was a bonus.

What advice do you have for students?

Take advantage of every opportunity that you have at Loras, whether it is a club or a leadership role through Student Senate — make sure that your collegiate experience is well-rounded, whether it is through studying abroad or service learning. Get to know alumni and other staff across campus because they are great resources. When you leave Loras, don’t forget that connection that you had on campus. Wherever your job lands you or where you are living after college, Loras is always going to be second home — so make sure you want to come back as alumni.

If you didn’t have this position you currently have, what do you think you would be doing?

When I was working for KWWL, I looked at that as my lifelong career. I wouldn’t trade that experience because it brought me where I am today. There are opportunities that come along keep yourself open, be passionate and do the very best. I love what I am doing now, though, and hopefully I’m going to be retiring from Loras College.