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“Maintain a growth mindset when it comes to finances… Recognize that financial literacy is for everyone, regardless of background or experience.”
Brian Li (’03), Financial Education Teacher at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
We recently caught up with Elise Jones (‘19), Head of People & Operations at Pinata in📍Durham, NC. Elise’s main goal is to support her team and enable the business to run smoothly, which can look like anything from managing performance to the intern program, to benefits, to sales tax, to audits.
Here are a few fun facts about Elise:
🍩 Sweets are her favorite type of food.
🍰 She recently got into baking healthy takes on classic desserts.
🇺🇸 She’s lived all over the US – from New York to California to North Carolina!
We’ll leave you with some wisdom from Elise:
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“It’s important to find what works for you and try not to worry about what everyone else is doing. It’s easy to be swayed by influencer-culture or seeing what your friends are doing, but it’s important to remember everyone’s personal habits are going to look different.”
Read more of our Q&A with Elise at the 🔗 in our profile.
Not to be overly dramatic, but…WE WON!!! 🏆🎉🎊🥳
Yesterday the Alumni Career Services Network, a national professional organization for alumni career support professionals, recognized our small team of 3 with the 2024 ACSN Excellence and Innovation Award for marketing and communication strategy to drive alumni awareness and engagement.
We pride ourselves on being a national best practice model for providing highly unique and personalized career support and offerings for alumni in their lives after college, and we’re thrilled to be recognized for this on the national stage.
But most importantly, our team loves supporting our phenomenal @wfualumni in all aspects of their lives and careers after Wake. Thank you for engaging with us in this online space (and in many other ways) and making this job so much fun! 🫶
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Ryan Pierce (‘08) currently works as a 3D Imaging Specialist at Architect of the Capitol (AOC) in Washington, DC. His work focuses on documenting the architecture, art, and other subjects across the Capitol campus that are in the care of the AOC. Utilizing 3D reality capture technologies (such as laser scanning and photogrammetry), he captures and produces digital models of these subjects for an array of uses.
Here are a few fun facts about Ryan:
🚶🏽♂️He doesn’t own a car.
🗽He’s been on the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
💛 He shares Homecoming Anniversaries with his parents (Glenn & Sandy Pierce, Class of ‘73).
We’ll leave you with some wisdom from Ryan:
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“Be patient. Being in a rush usually doesn’t actually get you there quicker, and we all learn to be wary of ‘get rich quick’ schemes for a reason.”
Read more of our Q&A with Ryan at the 🔗 in our profile.
Figuring out a new workplace in your first job after college is difficult!
That’s why we created an online course for new graduates and @wfualumni called Year One. 🎩
In Module One: Figuring Out Work, we help you:
🗂 Figure out the norms and rules for behavior in your workplace
👥Identify 3-5 people for informal convos to learn about work
📝Set 3-4 learning goals for the next 6 months
Click the 🔗 in our bio to learn more and register for this 💥free💥 self-paced course!
💡BONUS: Filter all of the expert advice posts on the home page of our website by “Year One” to see even more resources to help you successfully navigate your first job after college.
Get to know one of our newest Alumni Career Advisers, Laura Trollinger Derry (‘13), who works as a Clinical Assistant Professor and Hospitalist at Stanford in Palo Alto, CA! 📍
“In 2015, I returned to North Carolina to pursue concurrent MD and MBA degrees… I am passionate about connecting with others, sharing insights about consulting, medicine, and healthcare careers, and fostering meaningful connections within our community.”
Whether you have questions about consulting, medical training, or navigating post-graduate life, Laura is here to help. She looks forward to connecting with you! Visit the 🔗 in our bio or stories to read Laura’s profile and reach out for a conversation.
Want to check out our other Alumni Career Advisers? 🎩 Click on the industry-based highlights in our bio to explore this awesome group of @wfualumni who have raised their hands to talk to YOU about career decision-making, to offer up advice, and to help grow your network.
![Just a friendly reminder (particularly for our new followers) that we offer several easily-accessible online courses, all 💥FREE💥 for Wake Forest alumni! 🎩 Take some time this summer to explore these courses made exclusively with our fellow Deacs in mind.
What are they?⬇️
🟠 JUMPSTART [ for any age or stage of life/career, open enrollment, register and access at any time ] This is our premier job search strategy prep course designed to provide you clarity on your job search target, a refreshed resume and LinkedIn profile, greater understanding of the strength of your network, and a plan for what’s next.
🔵 YEAR ONE [ for alumni who are about to graduate or have graduated in the past year 🎓 (or alumni who are managers to new professionals), open enrollment, register and access at any time ] This course provides you with the tools and resources needed to figure out how to navigate work, life, relationships (at work), your personal development, and what comes next.
🟡 FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE [ for alumni who have graduated in the past 5️⃣ years, open enrollment, register and access at any time ] Learn about the five key competency areas that we believe all young professionals need to master in their first five years after college.
Learn more and register for any of these at the 🔗 in our bio!](https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/files/sb-instagram-feed-images/451405991_1183485656293905_7601333974676447697_nfull.jpg)
Just a friendly reminder (particularly for our new followers) that we offer several easily-accessible online courses, all 💥FREE💥 for Wake Forest alumni! 🎩 Take some time this summer to explore these courses made exclusively with our fellow Deacs in mind.
What are they?⬇️
🟠 JUMPSTART [ for any age or stage of life/career, open enrollment, register and access at any time ] This is our premier job search strategy prep course designed to provide you clarity on your job search target, a refreshed resume and LinkedIn profile, greater understanding of the strength of your network, and a plan for what’s next.
🔵 YEAR ONE [ for alumni who are about to graduate or have graduated in the past year 🎓 (or alumni who are managers to new professionals), open enrollment, register and access at any time ] This course provides you with the tools and resources needed to figure out how to navigate work, life, relationships (at work), your personal development, and what comes next.
🟡 FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE [ for alumni who have graduated in the past 5️⃣ years, open enrollment, register and access at any time ] Learn about the five key competency areas that we believe all young professionals need to master in their first five years after college.
Learn more and register for any of these at the 🔗 in our bio!
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
We recently caught up with @wfualumni Jonessa Howald Alexander (‘97), President and CEO, United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia and United Cerebral Palsy of South Carolina in Atlanta, GA. United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia and United Cerebral Palsy of South Carolina support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) by helping them maximize their potential to live a life without limits as they continue a lifelong journey of development and growth.
Here are a few fun facts about Jonessa:
📍She lived in Bostwick Hall during her freshman year and still keeps up with three of her hallmates.
🫶 She has a husband, a son, three bonus sons, a bonus grandson, and a canine son – that makes for a lot of men in her life!
⚾️ She’s a huge Atlanta Braves fan.
We’ll leave you with some wisdom from Jonessa:
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“I think healthy personal habits are all about intention and follow-through…If you are intentional about scheduling time for physical wellness, for relationships, for spiritual growth, FOR REST, work/life balance tends to take care of itself.”
Read more of our Q&A with Jonessa at the 🔗 in our profile.
One of the top concerns we hear from @wfualumni is around managing work-life balance. (Side bar: Are we surprised?! These are folks who attended “Work Forest” 🤷🏼♀️, they come by the hard work ethic naturally!)
While finding your balance is often an individual pursuit, we all can benefit from incorporating moments of rest into our routine. 🧘♂️📖🛌🎧
That’s why we’re focusing on the importance of rest in our expert advice posts this month. As you look at this list of 7️⃣ types of rest, which ones are you feeling the most deficit in?
Check out this latest piece from BetterUp to learn practical ways to incorporate rest into your day-to-day. Your mind, body, and heart will thank you for it! Read more at the 🔗 in our bio. 🫶
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Our latest alumni profile is of John Tobler (‘96), who works as Senior Director of Engineering at Google in San Jose, CA. He leads the Google Ads data management team, which focuses on secure, private data exchange technology to meet the needs of advertisers and their customers. John is particularly focused on evolving confidential computer technology and applying it at scale to ads use cases.
Here are a few fun facts about John:
🇸🇪 In college and HS, I used to be a dishwasher and goat herder at a famous Swedish restaurant.
🎥 My kid is a musician and I make all of their music videos (see AP Tobler on YouTube)
📍I’m a rare Cubs/Packers fan combination. My parents are from Chicago but I grew up outside of Green Bay.
We’ll leave you with some wisdom from John:
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“Don’t skip steps. You first need to learn technology and become deeply knowledgeable. Then innovation tends to follow.”
Read more of our Q&A with John at the 🔗 in our profile.