Northwestern Intersections
Listen in as alumni share stories about how their careers have evolved and how key intersections of experience, opportunity, and alumni connections have propelled them to where they are today. Find out what these alumni have done right and wrong and what they’ve learned at each intersection along the way.
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 36 minutes
- Episodes
- 185
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
Conversations with the NAA Board President: 2018 Northwestern Alumni Medalists Edition
Tune into a conversation with the Northwestern Alumni Association Board President, Samir Mayekar, as we discuss pivotal career concepts from the 2018 Northwestern Alumni Medalists. The Northwestern A…
Ben Parr ’08 on Networking to Make Career Transitions
Ben Parr ’08 may not have found the perfect fit in his career right after graduating from Northwestern but he quickly transitioned to an organization where he thrived. Parr stayed at Mashable for ove…
Heather Foster ’03 on Growing Through the Obama Campaign and Administration
Heather Foster ’03 joined the Obama Campaign early on in her career and she stayed with the Obama Administration for over ten years, growing her career throughout that time. She held a number of diff…
Sarah Powers ’02 on her Nontraditional Path to Podcasting
Sarah Powers ’02 worked in restaurants after graduating from Northwestern so that she could pursue her passion in dancing. Although this may not be a stereotypically traditional career path, she beca…
Thaddeus Tukes ’16 on Creating a Major and a Lifestyle
Thaddeus Tukes ’16 came to Northwestern knowing that there wasn’t a program for what he wanted to do but he had the faith he could work with Northwestern to create one. Although it wasn’t always easy…
Alexis Alexanian ’85 on Mentoring the Next Generation of Women
Alexis Alexanian ’85 started her career in advertising before quickly moving into the entertainment space where her career took off. She is currently an independent feature film and television produc…
Peter Schoenke ’92, ’93 MS on Becoming a Fantasy Sports Entrepreneur
Peter Schoenke started his career in financial journalism in New York and has long since moved back to the Midwest after making a career shift. He launched a website in 1997 in the tech boom that lat…
Amanda Litman ’12 on her Passion for Progressive Politics
Amanda Litman went into politics right after graduating from Northwestern, starting out her career in the Obama Campaign. She may not be working in campaigns now, but her passion for politics has gro…
Dr. Don Martin ’94 PhD on Insights for Applicants
Dr. Don Martin ’94 PhD cherished his six years earning his doctorate at Northwestern, which played into him pursuing his passion for helping others find their personal fit in a grad school. But, befo…
Natasha Lindor '09 MS on Finding Happiness through Coaching
Natasha Lindor '09 MS, the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from Haiti for a better life, grew up believing that a world class education and her unrelenting work ethic would b…
Jonathan Eig '86 on his Career Path in Journalism
For the award-winning journalist and author, Jonathan Eig '86, his first job delivering newspapers on his bike throughout his neighborhood was only the beginning of his long career in journalism. Fr…
Apryl Schlueter '02 on a Career Change to Find Balance
Apryl Schlueter started her career in IT consulting but later learned that her calling was in a completely different industry. Schlueter is now the Chief Energy! Officer of The Cheerful Mind, Inc. -…
Carlos Paret '13 MBA on Integrating His Personal Life into a Successful Career
Carlos Paret came to Northwestern for his MBA and soon moved from Chicago to Southern California. He quickly got involved in Northwestern Alumni Association activities; Paret is the current president…
Daniel H. Pink '86 on How Timing and Motivation Impact our Lives
Daniel H. Pink graduated from Northwestern in 1986 and later became a New York Times bestselling author. Pink is the author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, To Sell is Human: …
Dr. Alexandra Solomon '98, '02 PhD on Loving Relationships and her Career at Northwestern
Dr. Alexandra Solomon started out in pre-med as an undergraduate but she went on to become a different type of doctor than she initially intended. Dr. Solomon came to Northwestern for her Masters an…
The Best of Alumni Career Advice
The NAA wanted to celebrate reaching the tenth episode of Northwestern Intersections by curating some special content for our listeners. Our podcast team went back and listened to our first nine int…
Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow '71 on Three Successful Careers in One Lifetime
Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow is the definition of a successful career changer with three different and successful careers throughout the span of her lifetime. Her first career was as the Founding General …
Daniel Moser '02 PhD on Using a Theater Background to Communicate with Confidence
Daniel Moser began his career as a stock boy but quickly learned that he was destined for something very different. Moser started his creative career in music playing the trumpet and soon after that…
Dave Collins '10 on Starting a Company Based on Improv
Dave Collins graduated from Northwestern and went straight to work in a large corporate consulting firm before later branching out on his own. He discusses the profound impact that his work in stude…
Ali Russo '13 LLM on Her New Definition of Success
Ali Russo came to Northwestern for her LLM in taxation after she had been working in the legal industry for years. Russo started her own firm in the suburbs of Chicago in just a month's time and now…