Aug. 7, 2015
I n planning CUA Magazine's special issue on careers, we put a call out through social media looking for alumni who love their jobs. We received so many responses that we could not fit them all in the print magazine. This web extra features several more great responses. Thank you to all who responded. We appreciate our readers and your engagement with the magazine.
Working in a museum as a professional fundraiser is a dream come true! Angela Venuti, B.A. 2009
Being a teacher of students from postgraduates to multihandicapped students has been so enriching to me that it gradually taught me what everyone needs to learn after school finishes - the process of becoming the human being who is authentic, and not...more. Joris Heise, S.T.L. 1996
I spent most of my career in development, in fact the past 16 years in higher education. Now I am the vice president of development for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that your efforts are helping more than 200,000 people a year. When dealing with my own family tragedies, it was help from others that got me through some difficult times. I hope I can always pay it forward. Megan Artz, B.A. 1992 I love my job as a risk management professional in D.C.! Every day I get to help people protect and grow their business. No two days are the same and I can leverage my CUA experience regularly. Ed Lyons, B.A. 1993
After receiving my degree in media studies, I went on to earn my M.Sc. in gender, media, and culture from the London School of Economics in 2012. I then worked as a contributing writer to some of the web's most well-read news sites, including The Next Web, The Guardian, Mic, and more. Currently, I oversee content strategy at Aha! - the world's #1 product roadmap software. There is no question that CUA changed my personal and professional trajectory. From my semester in the CUA Oxford Honors Program to my nomination for a Fulbright Scholarship, the school offered opportunities that I hadn't considered for myself before. Lauren Maffeo, B.A. 2011
I love my job as a real estate broker in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I work on a team that sells about $80 million worth of real estate a year. It is an amazing job and I could not be happier. Tim Rettaliata, B.A. 2009
For the past 13 years, I've been working for CustomNEWS, Inc., a small niche publisher focused on conference newspapers for associations and trade shows. It's fun, I travel a lot, and meet lots of great people. I graduated with a political science degree, but decided to pursue journalism after three years on The Tower . I worked at a weekly newspaper, at a trade pub, and in the sports department of a daily newspaper before I ended up at CustomNEWS. Jenn Waters, B.A. 1997
I love my job at the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration in the Office of Chief Counsel as an employment litigator. My career path was born out of the connections I made at Catholic University when I began interning at TSA in the summer of 2006. My summer internship at TSA was an exceptional experience - I took my first deposition and questioned witnesses at an administrative hearing at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). I stayed on at TSA for much of the next year and knew that I had a job upon graduation. However, rather than go directly to TSA, I clerked for a CUA alum, Hon. Brook Hedge, at the D.C. Superior Court. Today I work in the agency's San Francisco office where I primarily practice administrative litigation before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and MSPB. I love that I manage my own caseload and have been given the opportunity to jump right in to litigation. I work with an incredible group of attorneys around the country who are brilliant and will readily hash out ideas and share opinions. Because of the tremendous experience I had as an intern, I supervise the San Francisco office's internship program. I love mentoring law students who are just as fresh and eager to learn as I once was. Remy N. Savin, J.D. 2007
I don't have a job, I have a vocation, a calling, to lead companies, their leaders and employees to transform their business models. In doing so, some of the people I work with transform their own mindset and behaviors, which truly changes their lives. There is a strong element of spirituality in my vocation that makes the personal transformations possible. Joe Rafter, B.A. 1992
Having semi-retired from my previous job of some 30 years, I am now in a job that matches my passion: Bicycling. John Campanile, B.A. 1976
I teach for a Catholic school and I get to hang out with awesome kids. I met my best friend at my school and I work with awesome, dedicated teachers. Meghan Burnham Leslie, B.A. 2002
My job is always different, for our students constantly change. I still get to teach, and I try to bring the same dedication to values and excellence I experienced at CUA!
I just finished meeting with one of my very strong freshman writers. She is a mid-year transfer who did not have a good experience in the fall. She is a bit shy and has not readily made a lot of friends, yet. She is smart, sincere, and hard working, and she ended our writing meeting by telling me that God blessed her by putting her in my class. I thought the blessing was the other way around.I am the new dean of graduate and continuing students at North Central College. Since I earned my doctorate at CUA in 1995, I have moved through the higher educational ranks from teaching at a community college, starting a theatre program, directing the English and language department at a historically black university in Mississippi, to holding other positions at research universities and large online-focused universities. I have loved all these experiences, for I have worked with a wide variety of talented professors and administrators who have helped me learn and grow. Although I have been an administrator for almost 20 years, I still teach, and I still love teaching. No matter what my frustration, once I step into the classroom, virtual or on ground, I know that I am making a difference in the lives of others. I get to practice and develop the educational skills and knowledge I gained at CUA, I practice the ethics and values I learned at CUA, and I help guide others to confidence and success in their educational pursuits. I have the best job! Pamela Monaco, M.A. 1987, Ph.D. 1995
I love what I do as a Program Specialist with the Susquehanna Workforce Network (SWN). After retiring as an engineer with the US Army Environmental Command, I would not have imagined that I would be working in the workforce arena. Yet, I recently passed my seventh anniversary with SWN and look forward to many more. There is great satisfaction in seeing people overcome barriers in their lives and find new careers after having been out of work for so long. Joseph Ricc i
I love my job as Coordinator of the Otsego County Child Advocacy Center in Cooperstown, NY! It allows me to make a positive difference in the lives of children who have been sexually or severely physically abused, and it gives me the opportunity to work with other professionals who share my passion for helping children and families. Mary Clare Reitz
I'm a piano tuner and technician. I love this career and love being self-employed! Melissa Weidner
Director of Residential Services with Covenant House in Washington DC working with runaway, trafficked, and homeless teens and love every single day! Pam Lieber