Country Day alums gave Seniors invaluable accounts of their experiences at the Senior Seminars on Thursday, experiences which ranged from running the world’s largest student-run nonprofit corporation and working in Research Laboratories at Yale University, to managing, editing, and printing a literary magazine.
Matt Lesser (’08): Collegiate Athletics – Beyond the Jersey
Ben Valido ’12, Contributor
In his Senior Seminar session, “Collegiate Athletics: Beyond the Jersey”, alumnus Matt Lesser ’10 discussed his role as an equipment manager for The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Via Skype from his hotel in New Orleans, where the Tide will be playing the Louisiana State University Tigers in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship, Lesser revealed the inner workings of an elite college football program. As an equipment manager, Lesser is responsible for every piece of equipment a football team needs. From washing practice jerseys to loading up semi-trucks for away games, Lesser does it all. Lesser also discussed the challenges of having a serious job, maintaining a social life, and going to class. Overall, Lesser is thrilled with his experience and encouraged all in attendance to pursue something that they are passionate about in college.
Allison Lazarus (’10): Community Service: Tutoring Young Inmates in a Local Prison
Haleigh Miller ’12, Editor-In-Chief
Allison Lazarus ’10, graduated as one of the “most distinguished students ever to grace the halls of the Upper School,” said Senior Dean of Students Fred Carey. She now attends Yale University, where she became involved with, and now leads, a program dedicated to helping inmates at the Manson Institute earn their GEDs. She discovered the program at Yale’s Extra Curricular Bazaar, attended the orientation at the Manson Institute, and, unlike some who were frightened away from the program, tried it out. The tutors in Lazarus’s program work with a select group of inmates, most of who were arrested sometime during high school, and don’t have high school diplomas. The purpose of the Prison Education Initiative is to help them gain their high school graduation equivalency— the GED. Lazarus and other tutors work in small groups, usually two inmates with one tutor, on fairly basic (sometimes shockingly so) concepts required to pass the GED. For four hours every weekend, Lazarus can be found in the library of the Manson Institute, explaining fractions or negative numbers, attempting to give her soon-to-be-released students a chance at better jobs. At the end of her presentation, Lazarus added that doing community service in college is “a good wakeup call—it makes me appreciate Yale more. I don’t feel as sorry for myself, just because I have a lot of homework.”
Brooke Heinichen (’08): Business and Innovation at College
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
You may think, “I’m no Mark Zuckerberg! There’s no way I could ever start a company.” Brooke Heinichen ’08, a senior at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, showed Seniors that it was possible. Brooke described her experiences working as a Georgetown barista and coffee shop supplies manager, as well as her current position as Chief Operating Officer (Vice-President) of the largest student-run nonprofit corporation in the world, Students of Georgetown, Inc., also known as “The Corp”. Heinichen said, “most ideas for start-ups [like Facebook] were generated between college roommates over cups of coffee at 3 am.” How? Well, first, she said, you need to look around you, and ask yourself, “what can be done for my community?” Then, raise the funds for it. Heinichen suggested recruiting some friends to help sell snacks and drinks at strategic locations around campus, and investing the revenue in your idea. Her sister, Kelly Heinichen ’07, a student at Miami University who has had various experiences as an intern working in the business world, also helped with the presentation.
Both sisters encouraged seniors to get involved right away in clubs and activities, and work towards taking leadership positions in those activities. As the supplies manager at a Georgetown coffee shop (owned and run by The Corp, of course), Brooke had to manage hundreds of thousands of dollars each semester, a huge responsibility. Such leadership positions, Brooke said, are what really show your capabilities to potential employers.
Brooke also talked about the importance of getting involved in internships, which, she said, help you to network and build connections, improving your opportunities for getting a job after college. “When you apply for a job, you have one page to show them what you’ve got,” Brooke said. “GPA, Standardized test scores, and where you went to school only take up three lines of that page. You have to have real experiences that show you can manage yourself professionally, and work with people, successfully.” So, next time you consider getting a job scooping ice cream or working at a clothing store, remember that you also have the option to gain experience in real jobs, and really brighten your future.
Allison Lazarus (’10): Research Internship: Israeli National Security
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
This summer, Allison Lazarus ’10, spent two months in Tel Aviv, working as part of a think tank to improve Israel’s national security. As a member of the think tank, Lazarus’ task was to find “countries facing the same security issues as Israel and [present] to my team the strategies each had developed”. She focused on Singapore and Turkey, and even got to meet with the former Israeli defense minister! In Tel Aviv, she roomed with three other Yale students, all in different summer programs. They lived independently, cooking for themselves and navigating the foreign city on their own. This was especially difficult for Lazarus, who said she didn’t speak any Hebrew. The hardest part, she said, was riding the subway— at first she wasn’t even sure which stop was correct! However, she soon overcame these everyday challenges (she asked for help!) and acclimated well to her new environment. Lazarus stressed that students should apply to internships that interest them, even as early as the summer after their freshman year of college.
Matt Eichel (’09): Having Your Voice Heard On Campus
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
Matt Eichel ’09, found his voice as a radio broadcaster on the Colgate Unviersity radio station, WRCU. The former PA announcer at Country Day football, basketball and lacrosse games, Eichel decided to get involved in radio work at Colgate. As Eichel explained it, anyone can have a show about anything— he knows people who “read Harry Potter for an hour!” Eichel started out as a sports dj, doing about an hour of research a night in preparation for his hour-long show, “Sports: The Opiate of the Masses”. He would watch ESPN, and read all the sports sections each day. This past year, Eichel started Colgate’s first ever political talk show, “Bloviation and Elucidation” with fellow Colgate student Kyle Gavin. Eichel and his colleague research about an hour each day, watching the news and reading newspapers to prepare for hour long conversations and interviews about the news and politics. Eichel said he may go into a career in radio broadcasting, although he is a history major and a political science minor.
Rene Peters (’09): Using Your Science/Engineering Background to Land a Corporate Internship
Anisa Tatini ’12, Contributor
Rene Peters ’09, a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Chemical Engineering major, spoke about his experiences as a P&G intern, and about how his scientific background gave him an advantage in the position. Each summer since he started college, Peters has interned with P&G in different departments. Peters explained the ways in which science applies to such real-world jobs, and emphasized the particular importance of getting an internship in one’s area of interest. In his presentation, he debunked the myth that internships are hard to find and even harder to get; internships, he said, are everywhere, and applying early and writing a great resume makes them very attainable. According to Peters, in terms of finding what you are passionate about, nothing compares to actually getting hands-on experience in the field. He also emphasized that working as an intern helped him to realize that he wanted to pursue a career in science, specifically engineering. Renee certainly seems to be on the path to accomplishing this goal!
Lauren Legette (’07): Television: More than Just News
Emily Sprinkle ’12, Contributor
Lauren Legette ’07, studied at Hampton in pursuit of a career in broadcast journalism. While fulfilling internships at the local news station, Lauren realized that she wanted to try branching out into other aspects of television as well. Through networking at her school, she was able to land a thrilling job in entertainment television working with popular stations such as HGTV, DIY, Great American Country (GAC), Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, and the Food Network. Although she does many important jobs, her main focus is on creating promos and commercials. One of Lauren’s main points was that if you strive for what you enjoy doing, everything else will fall in to place.
Molly McCartney (’09): Designing Your Own Studying Abroad Program
Haleigh Miller, ’12, Editor-In-Chief
Molly McCartney ‘09 recently returned from a semester abroad in Florence. Working as the Abroad Counselor at Wake Forest University, Molly applied for several different abroad programs, including one at NYU’s campus in Florence. She lived in an apartment in the city center, walked 40 minutes to the NYU campus, and was taught by Italian professors. In her presentation, McCartney broached not only what her experience had been, but also why she had chosen the NYU program, what other options had been available to her, and what she thought of the decisions now. She discussed the merits of programs of different sizes (and why she went for a larger program), the affect location had on the experiences of students (i.e. why Florence was better than Barcelona—Florence was closer to more destinations of interest), and how to deal with transferring credits. Perhaps most importantly, however, McCartney successfully explained the study abroad process clearly, relieving the the shroud of confusion many students experience about the process. She explained the planning process, her experience abroad, and sprinkled in tips for studying abroad and travelling while urging seniors to consider the potential for a great, customizable experience.
Jordi Alonso (’10): Living Through Words: Writing, Managing, Editing, and Publishing a Literary Magazine
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
Jordi Alonso ’10, was shocked when he read the Facebook message informing him that he was editor in chief of Kenyon College’s Persimmons Literary Magazine, in August of his sophomore year in college. How did he get the position? Alonso joked that he “showed up to the meetings and submitted work, and… brought M&M’s for [the staff] one time.” In fact, as editor-in-chief, he held a great deal of responsibility. He was in charge of managing, editing and publishing a full literary magazine, with the measly resource of a $1000.00 budget, half of the previous year’s budget. Alonso described the editing process, which is actually very similar to InWords’ process. After reading and rating dozens of submissions of art, poetry, prose, photography, and even music week after week, the staff finalized the magazine, and within a week and a half, distributed all 350 copies to the student body. Acknowledging the magazine’s great success, Kenyon’s Budget and Finance Committee gave the magazine a $2700.00 budget for the 2012-2013 year, more than double the budget Alonso started with! Alonso said his experience with Persimmons helped him to “grow as an editor, a professional, and most importantly, a poet.”
Greg Magarian (’08): Studying in Germany: From Start to Finish
Sarah B. Beyreis, CCD Director of College Counseling; Scroll Faculty Adviser
Greg Magarian ’08 took himself to Germany for the fall semester of his junior year at Trinity College with only a single college German course under his belt. Barely able to communicate, Magarian said, he carried his German textbook with him for the first few days and ate exclusively at McDonald’s until his roommates discovered his dilemma and directed him to the local grocery store. Magarian wouldn’t have had it any other way. He wanted to immerse himself in the language and to live away from Americans for the whole semester, he told his audience. He was enrolled in a single course—an all-day German immersion course for foreign students—and when he returned to Trinity he was the best German-speaker at the college, he said. By contrast, he found that friends who had gone to Trinity-sponsored programs in Paris or Rome came home speaking little of the language and knowing few Europeans. “Do study abroad,” Magarian told the seniors, “but go with a plan.”
Xanni Brown (’10): The Serendipitous Athlete: from Soccer to Rugby to a National Championship
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
Xanni Brown ’10, talked about her experiences training and preparing to “walk on” to college sports teams. Brown, who was an All-City soccer player in 2010 for Country Day, described how she “stumbled” upon rugby at Harvard during the fall of her freshman year, and came to love the sport. Her team, the Radcliffe Rugby Club, went to the national championship in May 2011, and was crowned 2011 USA Rugby DII National Champion after beating Notre Dame’s team. She also got a chance to represent the USA last summer, as a member of the Northeast Rugby Football Union Under-19 all-star team. Brown emphasized the importance of training, devotion, and truly feeling a passion for your sport.
Sebastian Koochaki (’10): Exciting Science Beyond the College Classroom
Victoria Mairal-Cruz ’12, Lens Editor
Sebastian Koochaki ‘10, a CCD all around academic legend, spoke about his experiences at Yale University with involvement in science, specifically clubs, research and volunteering. He gave good advice, citing his own hands-on experiences working in labs. Koochaki, who placed in the top 50 high school students on the 2009 National Chemistry Olympiad Exam, spent time as a research assistant in Yale’s laboratories, researching genetics and miRNA. Koochaki gave useful insider’s tips to getting involved in the scientific community, and said he hopes to go into bioengineering.
Tom Langlois (’10): College EMS
Michael Morgan ’12, Contributor
Tom Langlois ’10, a former member of the Scroll staff at Country Day and now a student at Georgetown University, saves lives every day as part of his work with EMS. His presentation “[informed] seniors about the opportunities available in college emergency medical services as well as student organizations in general,” Langlois wrote in his synopsis. He also talked about how one may join the EMS, and work successfully as a member of the organization.
Hazel Mullan (’10): Rubbing Shoulders with the Big Wigs
Sarah B. Beyreis, CCD Director of College Counseling; Scroll Faculty Adviser
Hazel Mullan ’10, a sophomore studying film at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, never intended to get involved in student government, she told her audience Thursday. But she wanted the free food offered at the meetings, and as she ate, she got interested. Mullan joined Webster’s “delegate’s agenda,” an annual spring conference at which students propose large-scale projects for the university that they then research and present to administrators. As a result of Mullan’s work, Webster now has an art council working to bring a large sculpture to campus. Mullan said the experience of researching and proposing the art council was the most intense experience of her college career so far, and “looks really great on my resume!” She advised the seniors to go to introductory meetings when they get to college, eat the free food, and get involved.
Retired Math Department Head and Senior Seminar Committee Chairman Samuel Tumolo had the idea to start the Senior Seminars many years ago, and when he retired last year, Dr. Jane Kairet (French, US) agreed to take over as the committee’s new chairperson. Committee members included teachers Paula Butler (Science, US), Melena Castro (Spanish, US), Peter Fossett ’80 (History, US), Louise Hausman (Art, US), Dr. Jeremiah McCall (9th Grade Humanities Coordinator; History, US), Brock Miller (Science, US), and Andrea Owens (Technology and Media Services Coordinator). Kairet said, “I think it was a great experience for the seniors… I hope that they were inspired by the seminars, and will come back and present when they are alumni.”
