{"id":2169,"date":"2024-05-23T12:16:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/spring-2024\/features\/navigating-change\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T13:43:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T17:43:44","slug":"navigating-change","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/spring-2024\/features\/navigating-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Kathy Andrews<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2633\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2633\" style=\"width: 229px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2633 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-229x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-782x1024.jpg 782w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-768x1005.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-1173x1536.jpg 1173w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-1565x2048.jpg 1565w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/TRINITY-PIVOTS-FINAL-SAIL-scaled.jpg 1956w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2633\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Illustration by Chris Gash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Regardless of how many years have elapsed since Commencement Day, the career paths that Trinity alumni once envisioned \u2019neath the elms are likely to change direction, at least in small ways if not momentous ones. As we close out the Bicentennial year, the Reporter spoke with alumni about career transitions and the ways in which their liberal arts education\u2014comprising a wide variety of academic disciplines\u2014helped facilitate their professional journeys.<\/p>\n<h4>Choosing paths<\/h4>\n<p>Long before arriving at Trinity, Celia Rodriguez \u201908 anticipated medical school in her future. Of growing up in El Paso, she says, \u201cIn my Mexican American family, becoming a doctor was the epitome of success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So it makes sense that Rodriguez was thinking about her potential career as soon as she started at Trinity. Biology, calculus, chemistry, and an Interdisciplinary Science Program seminar filled Rodriguez\u2019s first Trinity semester. \u201cI had always excelled in high school and heard \u2018you\u2019re so good at math and science.\u2019 \u201d But upon failing her first exam in biology\u2014her intended major\u2014her heart sunk. She regrouped with Alison Draper, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Science. \u201cAlison was there to catch me and say, \u2018Alright, next semester let\u2019s ease up a little bit.\u2019 \u201d<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2371 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Celia-and-Alison-scaled-e1716495371399-264x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Celia-and-Alison-scaled-e1716495371399-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Celia-and-Alison-scaled-e1716495371399-902x1024.jpg 902w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Celia-and-Alison-scaled-e1716495371399-768x872.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Celia-and-Alison-scaled-e1716495371399.jpg 977w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Trinity\u2019s Human Rights Program also interested Rodriguez\u2014in fact, the strength of the program was one of the reasons she decided to attend Trinity\u2014and she began taking classes in that area, finding them fascinating. Junior year, she chose human rights-affiliated study away in Chile, which led her to pivot to an interdisciplinary major in human rights studies with a focus on health care. She loved living in another country and culture so much that after graduation she taught English in Japan for two years.<\/p>\n<p>Upon returning home, Rodriguez began working for health care organizations in El Paso, where she found her niche in social work. She earned two advanced degrees from the University of Texas, a master\u2019s in social work and an M.B.A. Today, she runs the Social Services Department at Bienvivir All-Inclusive Senior Health, overseeing a large group of social workers, licensed professional counselors, social work clerks, and chaplains.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez tells current college students, \u201cIf you find a class that you\u2019re really interested in and it sparks something in you, then chase that spark and find a way of making a living out of it.\u201d Deciding not to pursue a medical career was difficult, she says, \u201cbut Alison helped me see that I was choosing a path more aligned with what I truly wanted for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Messaging with meaning<\/h4>\n<p>After graduating with majors in studio arts and political science, Jay Sidebotham \u201976 wanted to live in Manhattan but was unsure about his career aspirations. He had always been skilled at drawing <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2387 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Jay-Sidebotham-1-1-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>and cartooning, so he decided to follow his father\u2019s and grandfather\u2019s footsteps into the advertising business. Eight years later, his animation work on the television series <em>Schoolhouse Rock!<\/em> had received acclaim, and, he says, \u201cIn advertising, I was paid more than I deserved.\u201d But amid that success, he quit to begin seminary study.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just had a deep desire to study more about theology,\u201d says Sidebotham, who worshiped during college at Trinity\u2019s Chapel, a place he says \u201ctouched my heart and<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2389\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2389\" style=\"width: 251px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2389 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/cartoon1-251x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/cartoon1-251x300.jpg 251w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/cartoon1-768x920.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/cartoon1.jpg 820w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2389\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Jay Sidebotham \u201976 original<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>moved me, in deep ways.\u201d Studying at Trinity\u2019s Rome Campus also was a formative experience. \u201cIt was really edifying in terms of my interest in art and, on a broader scale, with all the history and political science, Rome was a highlight of my life. Some of my best friends are from that program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ordained as an Episcopal minister in 1990, Sidebotham has served churches in five states and now works half time as associate rector of St. James\u2019 Church in New York City. He also founded the RenewalWorks ministry, which advises congregations across the country on strengthening their spiritual growth, and he published a book\u2014<em>Signs of Life: Nurturing Spiritual Growth in Your Church<\/em>\u2014that draws lessons from that work.<\/p>\n<p>As a cartoonist, he notes that his hero is Charles Schulz, who said, \u201cCartooning is preaching.\u201d Sidebotham concurs. \u201cA lot of what I learned as an art director working with a copywriter was about messaging, and I think I have carried that over to what I do in the church.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He aims to retire from rectoring within a year to spend more time with family and on his painting, a realm in which his heroes include Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and Richard Diebenkorn. \u201cLife is full,\u201d says Sidebotham. \u201cI feel it\u2019s such a privilege because I don\u2019t know many times in my life when I\u2019ve been bored.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>A better fit<\/h4>\n<p>As an English major, Thomas Hunter \u201980 loved studying Faulkner and Hemingway and rowing on the crew team. Today, as manager of case management at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, he supervises nine case managers, serving clients who are HIV-positive or have AIDS. It is challenging, meaningful work and worlds away from where he began his career after Trinity.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2375 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367-287x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"287\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367-287x300.jpg 287w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367-981x1024.jpg 981w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367-768x802.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367-1471x1536.jpg 1471w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Tom-Hunter80headShot_67129857-scaled-e1716495520367.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px\" \/>During college, Hunter landed a summer job in New Jersey, his home state, at a research company, leading to a position after graduation with an advertising research firm. He earned an M.B.A. at New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business and shifted from research to branding, overseeing elements such as packaging, promotions, and advertising for accounts including chewing gum and writing instruments. After more than two decades, he still enjoyed the work, but when his employer\u2019s business foundered in an economic downturn, he was laid off. While mulling over next steps, Hunter took the Strong Interest Inventory career assessment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy personality really wasn\u2019t the right match for branding. I\u2019m pretty down to earth, a little reserved, and testing suggested a helping profession would be a better fit.\u201d Hunter secured a job as a case worker at a transitional living facility in Chicago. After five years in the field, he realized that to further his career, he should pursue a master\u2019s in social work, which he completed at the University of Chicago. \u201cIf you really want to do something, you make it work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on his Trinity rowing days, including senior year on an undefeated varsity team, he says, \u201cI think it confirmed during college that I am a responsible, determined person with a strong work ethic.\u201d These days, he still rows\u2014on a Concept2 machine at the gym\u2014and participates in grueling bike-ride fundraisers to benefit people living with AIDS. In his job, he says, the most satisfying parts are \u201chelping clients achieve good things in their lives and seeing them improve their situation, and seeing case managers flourish after training and developing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Unconventional superpower<\/h4>\n<p>Katie Harte Rosenblad \u201908, a biology major, proceeded from Trinity to Boston University for a master\u2019s in forensics, her chosen field. She then worked for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston and soon was recruited by the Pathology Department of Boston Children\u2019s Hospital to conduct autopsies. \u201cI was great at the analytical but wasn\u2019t prepared for the emotional toll.\u201d After her position changed to require increased interaction with families of deceased children, Rosenblad says, \u201cI couldn\u2019t do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, she is a senior financial analyst with the Walt Disney Company. \u201cSometimes, careers are not a ladder. Mine was more of a zigzag path.\u201d After leaving the hospital, Rosenblad decided she <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2381 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Katie-Rosenblad-1_Castle-1-e1716495665270-300x297.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Katie-Rosenblad-1_Castle-1-e1716495665270-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Katie-Rosenblad-1_Castle-1-e1716495665270-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Katie-Rosenblad-1_Castle-1-e1716495665270-768x760.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Katie-Rosenblad-1_Castle-1-e1716495665270.jpg 889w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>would attend business school. Before her classes began, she found a job at a local mall\u2019s Disney Store. \u201cIt was such the mental change I needed of just joy and happiness. I was way overqualified, but I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her Disney experience stuck with her as she headed to the University of North Carolina\u2019s Kenan-Flagler Business School for an M.B.A. While other students prepared for employment at big consulting firms, Rosenblad set her sights on Disney. \u201cThey all thought I was crazy.\u201d Instead of a traditional M.B.A. internship, she entered the Disney College Program. \u201cI\u2019ve never been traditional, and I\u2019m not afraid to start at the bottom again and work hard.\u201d In the past decade, her Disney roles have included working at a roller-coaster and as part of a team launching a cruise ship, coordinating training for 200-plus hotel housekeepers, helping open Pandora \u2013 The World of Avatar, and analyzing capital projects across the company. Now she\u2019s helping to build a new business, Storyliving by Disney.<\/p>\n<p>At Trinity, Rosenblad first delved into finance while serving as treasurer of Cleo of Alpha Chi, the coed literary society; later she was the group\u2019s president, gaining leadership experience. Besides her focus on science, she took theater classes in stage lighting and set design, costuming, and improv. \u201cI\u2019ve used many of those skills in my career. If anything prepped me for being on opening teams within Disney, where you have to think on the fly, it\u2019s improv.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing unconventional is my superpower,\u201d says Rosenblad. \u201cEmbracing that has led to unique and amazing job experiences that otherwise never would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>\u2018Cherry on top\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>Steve Salky \u201976 has practiced law in Washington, D.C., for 35 years, representing executives in federal proceedings. \u201cIt was a great career. But I did not want to limit myself for my entire life to one professional activity. I wanted to shift gears and challenge a different part of my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Members of Salky\u2019s family have worked in health care, inspiring him to want to do the same\u2014particularly to serve low-income patients. After studying and acquiring preliminary credentials, he attended nursing school and became a certified nursing assistant. Now, he volunteers two days a week at a medical clinic at D.C. nonprofit Bread for the City, conducting patients\u2019 initial health <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2383 size-medium alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Steve-Salky-e1716495807189-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Steve-Salky-e1716495807189-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Steve-Salky-e1716495807189-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/143\/2024\/05\/Steve-Salky-e1716495807189.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/>assessments and drawing blood samples, among other duties. He also volunteers one day a week at a hospital mental health ward, spending time talking with people seeking acute care. He still squeezes in time for legal work, too.<\/p>\n<p>A history major, Salky recalls a favorite Trinity hangout was the library, where he would read for hours. \u201cTrinity [also] was very flexible. I could do things that I wanted to do in the community, and Trinity would support me. The stimulation I received in the classroom led me to explore all sorts of other interests of mine,\u201d he says, including attending the London School of Economics his junior year. In Hartford, he was energized by tutoring children at the Charter Oak housing project and interning with the state public defender\u2019s office and the Hartford Institute of Social and Criminal Justice. After graduation, he worked at the latter, which led him to pursue a Yale University law degree.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I\u2019m a proselytizer for volunteering,\u201d says Salky, a donor to Trinity\u2019s Liberal Arts Action Lab. \u201cI view this part of life as the \u2018cherry on top\u2019 portion. I\u2019ve raised my children, I\u2019m still healthy, I have a lovely marriage, and now this is the time to do whatever you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>For information about career-related resources available to alumni, contact Alumni Career Consultant Paul Gagnon M\u201901 (<\/em><a href=\"mailto:paul.gagnon@trincoll.edu\"><em>paul.gagnon@trincoll.edu<\/em><\/a><em>), whose bio on the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/careerlifedesign.trincoll.edu\/staff\/#paul-gagnon\"><em>Career and Life Design Center website<\/em><\/a><em> describes his professional background as \u201cfour careers rolled into one.\u201d <\/em>To schedule a career consulting appointment with Gagnon, log in to <a href=\"https:\/\/trincoll.joinhandshake.com\/login\">Handshake<\/a> online platform, Trinity\u2019s careers portal, using your Trinity credentials to log in. (For alumni who are not familiar with Handshake, or if you are having issues accessing or logging in, please contact <a href=\"mailto:careers@trincoll.edu\">careers@trincoll.edu<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>More stories about career transitions<\/h2>\n<h4>Levi Litman \u201998<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI was an economics major and modeling and data minor at Trinity.\u00a0After graduation, I worked for a start-up internet company, an investment bank, and then a strategy consulting firm. After September 11, 2001, my consulting firm lost many of its clients as their demand for consulting services came to a halt.\u00a0Rather than staring at my computer (since we had no consulting projects), I attempted to strum up new business by joining the sales team. With that also being fruitless, I started to question why I was sitting behind a computer screen all day. I decided that I wanted to do something more service focused and help people (kids) who needed help.\u00a0I was accepted into many teaching programs and ultimately decided on the New York City Teaching Fellows (very similar to Teach For America) because I wanted to teach students in New York City, and this program gave me the opportunity to be a full-time teacher after three months of intensive teacher training. My liberal arts education at Trinity was valuable as I was accepted at all of the top colleges (BC, NYU, Teacher\u2019s College Columbia, Bank Street).\u00a0At Trinity, I had good relationships with a few professors, and they wrote great letters of recommendation for me.\u00a0One of my education classes had us volunteer\/tutor at Betances Elementary School in Hartford. It was a great experience not only tutoring but also being a big brother\/role model for the kid that\u00a0I worked with. It planted the seed in my mind that teaching could be in my future.\u00a0My coursework from Trinity also allowed me to pursue my master\u2019s in math education even though I did not have a math major.\u00a0. . .\u00a0I love both Trinity and my job as a math teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Rick Dubiel \u201977, P\u201906<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI graduated from Trinity in 1977 with a double major in psychology and English. (I used to be a reporter for the <em>Tripod<\/em>, too!) I made several career changes in my professional life, and the liberal arts education provided at Trinity helped me immensely.\u00a0As a psych major, I unsuccessfully applied for admission to clinical psych grad schools, which is more selective than med school.\u00a0So I started out in the field of counseling and social work. I didn\u2019t see much financial future there, so I made a career change into computer programming, which was more remunerative. Along the way, I picked up an M.P.H. degree and transitioned to clinical project manager work, then became a lead director for a managed care company. Thanks to Trinity, my writing skills were superior to that of the medical directors I worked with, and thanks to Trinity, I was able to make persuasive arguments for many money-saving initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Deb Smith Arthur \u201988<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI practiced criminal\u00a0defense and juvenile law for 10 years and then I shifted to academia. I am a professor at Portland State University and the founding director of the Higher Education in Prison Program at PSU.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Dyke N. Spear Jr. \u201957<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cOn September 1, 2023, I shut down my solo law practice that I had maintained and promoted for 63 years. During these 63 years, I handled over 2,000 legal matters. Some were relatively small, others attracted media attention including front-page newspaper coverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn April of 1961, I launched a parallel show business career as a concert and theatrical impresario throughout the United States and Canada, presenting such artists as Ray Charles, Simon &amp; Garfunkel, Maurice Chevalier, The Righteous Brothers, Louis Armstrong, and many more. Additionally, we went into over 300 cities with 20 different Broadway productions, including <em>A Chorus Line<\/em>, <em>My Fair Lady<\/em>, <em>Grease<\/em>, <em>Hair<\/em>, <em>42nd Street<\/em>, and 15 more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 130-city tour of <em>Oh! Calcutta!<\/em>, the most controversial show in American show business history, set off a firestorm of controversy because of its nudity and subject matter. We went into litigation in 29 of the 130 cities. There were warrants for my arrest in Atlanta, Georgia, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. We never lost a case, and I was never arrested.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen show business activities petered out, I put together a lecture on the UFO phenomenon and booked myself into 55 cities, going as far west as Aspen, Colorado. The lecture tour was the product of the lecture I did for my 50th Reunion in the physics auditorium. It attracted a capacity audience and was the best attended of the nine lectures presented that weekend. Because of the feedback received from my classmates and others, I became motivated to lecture around America.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI credit Trinity with nurturing my ability to always be self-employed and entrepreneurial and to enjoy three different career opportunities. The law practice and my lectures paid the bills. Show business made my fortune. It was never easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy life was always exciting and very rewarding in that I was able to do some charitable things and bring enjoyment to over 1\u00bd million of my audience patrons. To Trinity I will always be grateful for the opportunities granted me by my Trinity education, Phi Kappa Psi experience, and extracurricular activities in which I participated.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Carl Zimmerman \u201961<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s e-newsletter asked that question [Did you change your career path?], prompting me to write to you because my answer is \u2018yes.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy freshman English instructor and adviser, George Nichols, gave me an excellent bit of advice. He pointed out that if I intended to go to graduate school, I would then be focused entirely on my subject of interest, so I should take advantage of my undergraduate years to get the broadest possible education.\u00a0I took that advice, minoring in physics in order to take the minimum necessary number of courses in mathematics, my major field.\u00a0Otherwise, I hit almost every department\u2014a year of chemistry, a year of geology, a year of economics (with N.X. \u2018Jack\u2019 Oanh), a semester of psychology, a semester of harmony (with Clarence Watters, who also directed the Chapel Choir in which I sang for four years), the required year of freshman English (with guest appearances from John Dando), a year of engineering drawing, a semester of religion, etc.\u00a0The only department that I avoided was history, which I actively disliked at the time; that\u2019s rather ironic, considering that I am now a historian of sorts.\u00a0My grades were respectable, but not outstanding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSinging in the Chapel Choir provided a bit of pocket money (25 cents each for two rehearsals a week, 50 cents each for two Sunday services), as did working in the darkroom for the PR office making photographic prints. I learned to play the carillon and was assistant carillonneur of the College for three years; that field is still an important part of my life.\u00a0I also played flute in the marching band directed by Willard Green, whose name doesn\u2019t even appear on the College website, though we played at halftime for most football games.\u00a0But I didn\u2019t join a fraternity, and wasn\u2019t a particularly social person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking back on my college experience from a perspective of more than 60 years, there is only one course that was vitally important in itself\u2014a semester under Dr. Edmond La Beaume Cherbonnier, titled \u2018The Judeo-Christian Origins of Western Culture.\u2019 Although it was taught from an academic perspective, it had for me the benefit of resolving my intellectual confusion regarding Christianity so that I could settle firmly into a lifelong journey of being both a scientist and a churchman. The other courses provided me with a breadth of knowledge and a habit of clarity of thought that have served me well in all aspects of my subsequent life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the foundation, or starting point; but what about the career path?\u00a0I did go on to graduate school, in mathematics, which incidentally provided me with exposure to some of the earliest commercial computers but did not result in a degree.\u00a0(That\u2019s a different story for another day.) Consequently, I lost my draft deferment while the country was in the midst of the Vietnam War.\u00a0But I was able avoid the draft because the U.S. Air Force looked at my math\/physics background and offered to make me a weather officer. That became my first career, but only because the computer experience led me into a series of highly specialized meteorological jobs.\u00a0Even though the USAF eventually sponsored me for a master\u2019s degree in atmospheric science, by the time I retired (with the rank of major), I was a far better computer systems analyst than I was a meteorologist, so that became my second career. I then worked in an agricultural research center, in the U.S. Army program office for the Apache helicopter, and in the computer center of a large bank.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLooking back on almost 40 years of highly varied jobs that I held during my military and civilian careers, it seems to me that what Trinity did for me was to prepare me for a life of continual learning.\u00a0In none of those jobs was I totally prepared to hit the ground running on day one, but I quickly learned my way into each job and became fully productive within a very short time. Long ago I decided that the day I stopped learning would be the day I started dying, and I\u2019m not yet ready for that.\u00a0Now into my ninth decade, I\u2019m still busy expanding a website that is a resource for people all over the world, and I\u2019m still singing in my church choir and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus.\u00a0Although I have lost my dear wife of 55 years, I am still involved with our children, grandchildren, and other relatives.\u00a0And as long as my health holds up, I expect to continue to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you, Trinity!\u201d<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid;\">\n<h2>Which class\/professor changed the trajectory of your life?<\/h2>\n<h4>Clay Siegert \u201996<\/h4>\n<p>Professor Cindy Butos was my freshman seminar instructor (\u201cProtest Literature of the 19th Century\u201d)\u202fway back in the fall of 1992. Her impact on me all started with a C-minus grade on my first college paper in that class. (Yikes!) After that poor grade, I realized I must step up my efforts to become a better writer . . . and thankfully Professor Butos committed to guide me. Over the course of my freshman seminar\u2014and then later as a mentor for me when I was a writing associate in the Writing Center as a junior and senior\u2014I developed writing skills that served me well at Trinity and later in my career as an entrepreneur. Thank you, Professor Butos!<\/p>\n<h4>Tracy (Newman) Benham \u201981<\/h4>\n<p>I\u2019d like to honor two professors from my time at Trinity: economics professor Diane Zannoni and mathematics professor Robert Stewart. They were both excellent teachers, but more so, they were kind and patient\u202fand truly cared about their students. When I decided to go into education, they were two of my role models\u202fon how I wanted to be for my students.<\/p>\n<h4>Maura Griffith \u201917<\/h4>\n<h6>Recent Ph.D. recipient, UCL Institute of Archaeology<\/h6>\n<p>Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am not a quiet person; I tend to walk into a room voice first. I fully acknowledge that that\u2019s not everyone\u2019s cup of tea. Despite initial reservations about my chattiness and general volume level, doc (specifically not capitalized; Craig Schneider) took me on as a research assistant in his lab.\u202fI worked in doc\u2019s lab for three semesters, plus occupying an honorary research desk (next to my buddy, Paco the corn snake) while working on my senior thesis in classics. At a period of time when I felt most adrift on campus, having a space in the lab that was my responsibility helped me to ground myself.<br \/>\nDuring my time in doc\u2019s lab, I saw firsthand the sort of professor, researcher, and mentor that I hope\u202fone day to be.\u202fAnytime I needed help\u2014academic or otherwise\u2014I knew I could go to doc. As a researcher, I have inherited a hatred of improperly formatted citations, the patience to do things right, and the mantra \u201cpublished is better than perfect.\u201d As a lecturer, I hope to convey the same amount of passion for my subject, depth of knowledge, and willingness to spend as much time as needed to help to my students as doc did. I rarely get through my week without thinking about how doc would approach things.<br \/>\nBy having doc as a mentor and professor, I experienced things I never would\u2019ve imagined, from falling through a frozen-over lake up to my knees in \u201cMarine Biology\u201d to hiking in the Himalayas.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Advice for students, other alumni<\/h2>\n<h4>Celia Rodriguez \u201908<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cTake advantage of the career center and of the mentors you have at Trinity because you don\u2019t realize how much support we [students] have until we\u2019re not there anymore. Make decisions based on what you want to do, but know that you\u2019re going to make mistakes, and it\u2019s still going to be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Jay Sidebotham \u201976<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve found it\u2019s important to do what you love, what feeds your spirit, what gives you energy\u2014to do what moves you. In my experience, there are ways people reinvent themselves at all different kinds of stages, and keeping yourself open to that possibility is helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Thomas Hunter \u201980<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI would recommend vocational testing\u2014Myers-Briggs and especially the Strong Interest Inventory assessment. Also get out and talk to as many people in as many different fields or careers that might interest you. Do informational interviews either by phone or in person, and see what they have to say. Hear how they describe it, how they got into it, what they like about it, and any tips they may have for someone just getting into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Katie Harte Rosenblad \u201908<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cWhen it comes to deciding on a major, it\u2019s not the be-all and end-all, and it\u2019s not going to be a straight line, and that\u2019s OK. It makes it way more creative and fun. The other piece of advice is, in general, don\u2019t knock it till you try it. There may be opportunities that present themselves that maybe don\u2019t sound appealing, but unless you try it, you\u2019ll never know. Maybe you\u2019ll find a new favorite thing. Just try it, and maybe that\u2019s the skill set you were missing. Or you might have found your new passion, but you\u2019re not going to know unless you try.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Steve Salky \u201976<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cMy greatest piece of advice would be \u2018don\u2019t limit yourself to the classroom.\u2019 Go do things outside, and you will learn more in the real world and how to function in the real world that will serve you throughout your life in ways that the classroom can\u2019t. I\u2019m a big believer in that, and Trinity was a place where I could do that. Also, if there\u2019s a tangent you\u2019re interested to explore, talk with a faculty member. You might find that a piece of literature leads you down a path that is not related to the specific curriculum in that class, but explore that, take it, and run with it. Don\u2019t limit yourself to . . . the four corners of the syllabus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Kathy Andrews Regardless of how many years have elapsed since Commencement Day, the career paths that Trinity alumni once envisioned \u2019neath the elms are likely to change direction, at least in small ways if not momentous ones. 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