Think you might be interested in law, medicine or finance? How about music, publishing or catering? Want to work outside, work with celebrities or work for yourself? These were just some of the career options explained to juniors and seniors as thirteen alumni returned to campus for MKA’s Career Day 2012.
Ranging from the MKA classes of 1978-2004, the Career Day speakers had followed a wide range of traditional and not-so-traditional career paths: The Hon. Robert Gardner ’78, a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, discussed various fields of law, while Dr. Ken DiStefano ’96, a family doctor, explained what it takes to get into and survive medical school. Candace Messinger Rabinowitz ’94 and fellow Wall Street comrade Jeremy Kahn’ 93 joined forces to discuss the world of finance – revealing that an undergraduate degree in psychology is a good place to start. Representing the arts, George Hrab ’89 returned to talk about a life in the music industry, Amanda Englander ’04 discussed her work as an editor in book publishing and Christian Langbein ’00 explained how to navigate the world of fashion.
For those interested in turning their passions into their professions, Dan Carson ’83, co-founder of one of the country’s premier construction and engineering companies; Neil Grabowsky ’99, CEO and founder of a cross-generational email service; Jared Cook ’01, owner of and trainer at a sports club ; Steve Raab ’97, owner of an award-winning BBQ chain; Bryan Becker ’96, founder of a real estate investment and development company, and Ryan Schinman ’89, founding partner of a celebrity marketing and branding company; all described the ways in which their interests led them to becoming successful entrepreneurs.
For senior Devika Patel, the morning was especially rewarding: “I was in a session with Neil Grabowsky, a young man who I could relate to in many ways: I was thinking about pursuing the same degree and was interested in entrepreneurship. Getting to talk to him and learn about his good and bad experiences really opened my eyes to the growing field and the vast number of opportunities. It made me excited to go to college and get out into the real world.”
And the benefits accrued from spending time with MKA alumni was not lost on junior, Rob Pannullo: “I had a great experience at Career Day. It's refreshing to see people who were once just like us, and who are willing come back to school with the desire to give back. The relationship between MKA and its alumni is growing, and having a group of people with whom students can connect with is a great resource to have. I think I can speak for the entire student body when I say that we had an extremely productive and informative day.”
Click here to see photos from the event