SophoMORE Connections

SophoMORE Connections is an exclusive career conference offered to second-year students during winter break.

About

SophoMORE Connections is a two-day event specifically for sophomores. Engage in workshops, alumni panels, and networking events to identify and explore your career areas of interest. We’re bringing in our best resources to help you think about the most pressing questions you’re facing.

Event Details

Courtney Richardson '08
2024 Keynote Speaker: Courtney Richardson ’08, creative director at Droga5; founder of the Museum of Nail Art

The 2024 SophoMORE Connections program will be fully in person and registered students should plan to arrive on campus no later than noon on January 19. Please be sure to plan your travel accordingly. The event, housing, and food are free for all registered sophomores for the duration of the event.

This year's keynote speaker is Courtney Richardson ’08, an award-winning creative director at Droga5 and founder of the Museum of Nail Art. Courtney has been featured by outlets including PBS, Adweek, Bustle, and PopSugar. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated with a BA in educational studies and theater from Colgate University, an MA in mass communication and media from Howard University, and a professional certificate in women's entrepreneurship from Cornell University.

Schedule

Friday, January 19
1:30–2:45 p.m.: Check-in, Benton Hall
3–3:30 p.m.: Kick-Off Session, Chapel
3:45–5 p.m.: Networking 101
5:15–6:45 p.m.: Keynote dinner, Huntington Gymnasium

Saturday, January 20
8–8:45 a.m.: Breakfast and late check-in, Frank Dining Hall
9–9:50 a.m.: Alumni Industry Panel One
10–10:50 a.m.: Alumni Industry Panel Two
11 a.m.–12:20 p.m.: Facilitated networking
12:30–1 p.m.: Lunch, Ho Atrium
1:15–2:15 p.m.: Finding a Summer Experience or Interviewing 101
2:30–3:20 p.m.: Alumni Industry Panel Three
3:30–4:30 p.m.: Networking reception, O'Connor Campus Center (The Coop)

  • Jake Anderson ’07, AVP, Heitman
  • Nahla Azmy ’87, Senior Vice President, Li-Cycle Holdings
  • Story Bellows ’01, Partner, Cityfi
  • Amanda Bradshaw ’06, Director, People Operations, Great Expectations
  • Jane Brogan ’02, Vice President, Resiliency and Disaster Recovery Practice, Hill International
  • Taylor Buonocore Guthrie ’08, Professional Speaker and Facilitator
  • Dr. Becky Bye ’02, Associate General Counsel, Cue Health Inc.
  • Jonathan Byer ’08, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
  • Caroline Callahan ’11, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, The Family Institute
  • William Cawthern ’11, Director of Foreign-Trade Zone, Baltimore Development Corporation
  • Jack Clifford ’17, Art Director, Commonwealth/McCann
  • Kianna Cole ’99, Substance Abuse Counselor, Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Sean Connolly ’90, SVP, Chief Operating Officer, Castle Connolly Private Health Partners LLC
  • John Dabney ’92, Senior Vice President and Counsel, Paramount Global
  • Michelle Dawson ’10, Consultant, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.
  • Nicole Dienst ’22, Climate Change Analyst, Morgan Stanley
  • Robert Dorf  ’80, Consultant
  • Alex Drakos ’16, Marketing Rotational Manager, Pfizer
  • Edwin Durgy ’11, Manager, PSP Investments
  • Larry Durland ’02, Flight Nurse, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Ishir Dutta ’17, PhD Student, MIT
  • Ahmad Emad ’13, Senior Data Scientist, Google
  • Molly Emmett ’12, Lead Data Scientist, Atrium
  • Hannah Feldman ’10, Investigative Analyst, US Secret Service
  • Jill Ferris ’08, Vice President, Education and Interpretation, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
  • Jamie Foley ’94, CEO, Foley, Incorporated
  • Nick Freud ’15, Co-Founder, CampusReel
  • Ria Gazdar ’92, Executive In Charge of Production, Stephen David Entertainment
  • Veronica Genco ’11, Yield Management, Everyday Health
  • Melissa Graham ’91, Director, Chicago Architecture Center
  • Rich Grant ’02, Principal, Northlane Capital Partners
  • Bailey Graves ’16, Associate Director, Macro, A Savills Company
  • Jacob Greiff ’18, Associate Producer, The Drew Barrymore Show
  • Zac Hamilton ’18, Medical Student (MS3), University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
  • Erin Hatch Thomas ’10, Director of Policy Communications, The Boeing Company
  • Josh Haubenstock ’19, Associate, UBS Securities
  • Michela Hendell ’18, Head of Investor Relations, Ardinall Investment Management
  • Caitlin Hertzendorf ’20, Speech Language Pathologist, Hamilton Central School District
  • Leah Jenks ’17, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago
  • Robert Johnson ’94, Pilot and CEO, Avigate Aviation
  • Emily Johnson ’10, Director of Experiences, The Well
  • Mason Jones ’18, Operations Manager, Democracy Prep Public Schools
  • Ali Jordahl ’20, Software Engineer, Pega
  • Randall Joseph ’01, AWS Practice Manager, Eviden
  • Greg Kafaf ’12, Director Enterprise Strategy, Novo Nordisk
  • Emily Kahn ’19, Executive Director, The New York Preservation Archive Project
  • Paige Kendig ’04, Senior Producer/Director, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
  • Fred Klein ’96, Advisor/Investor (film, television, and connected fitness)
  • Scott Konicki ’10, Mathematical Statistician, US Census Bureau
  • Jared Lampal ’21, Senior Consultant, Analytics and Strategy, MarketBridge
  • Jeff Lessard ’96, President, Andromeda Real Estate Advisors
  • Lizzie Marino ’16, Senior Executive Assistant/Business Coordinator, CNN
  • Ryan Marynowski ’13, Speech Pathologist, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Nicole Metelski ’14, Occupational Therapist and PhD Student, Columbia University
  • Jack Metelski ’15, Vice President, Morgan Stanley
  • Chip More ’10, Senior Associate, Alston & Bird LLP
  • Jessica More ’10, Communications Manager, Cozen O’Connor
  • Aaron Morton ’03, Actor/Professor, Borough of Manhattan Community College
  • Julia Murphy ’99, Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merri
  • Monica Murphy ’16, Associate Attorney, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
  • Charlie O’Connell ’20, Credit Analyst, TD Bank
  • Elizabeth Oblinger ’10, Policy Specialist, TikTok
  • Brianna Owen ’20, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, New Bedford Community Health
  • Claire Pandaleon ’18, Assistant Manager, Donor Communications, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  • JP Paquin ’96, Partner, Head of Investment Management, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
  • Graham Partner ’09, Director, BMO Global Asset Management
  • Dr. Allison Ramsey ’01, Allergy Immunology Physician, Rochester Regional Health
  • Santiago Reyes ’08, Physics Teacher, Grove School
  • Courtney Richardson ’08, Creative Director, Droga5; Founder, Museum of Nail Art
  • Katie Roberts ’01, Vice President, Regulatory Assurance, Longenecker & Associates
  • Dr. Rob Rollins ’92, Sr. Director, Oncology Research and Development, Pfizer
  • Nazma Rosado ’96, Principal, Avion Consulting, inc.
  • Amy Saunders ’87, Head, Customer Experience and Engagement, Novartis
  • Lori Scanlan ’92, Senior Director, Marketing Technology, Sony Music
  • Michael Schonbraun ’96, Managing Director, Investments, Affinius Capital
  • Julia Segal ’20, Singer-Songwriter, Julia Segal Music; Teaching Artist, Treasure Trunk Theatre; Marketing Associate, Sona Energy Solutions LLC
  • Per Sekse ’78, Entrepreneur, CEO
  • Tushin Shah ’10, General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, Wrigley Management Inc.
  • Mrs. Clarissa Shah ’10, Director, Legal, LinkedIn
  • Lyle Smith ’09, Director of Data Science, Meta, Instagram
  • Peter Smith ’10, Director, Global ESG Solutions, Hines
  • Dani Solomon ’13, Product Designer, Meta
  • Joe Spina ’14, Senior Scientist and PhD Candidate, AbbVie
  • Dr. Brittany Strupp ’04, Manager of Interpretation and Docents, Buffalo AKG Art Museum
  • Chris Torell ’90, Area Environmental Manager, Heidelberg Materials Northeast, NY LLC
  • Allyssa Walsh ’08, Instructional Supervisor, Catapult Learning
  • Jamie Wasylenko ’01, Principal Scientist II, AbbVie
  • Luke Weeks ’00, US Lead Predictive and Behavioral Analytics, UBS
  • Gretchen Weiss ’05, Co-Director, Center for HIV and Infectious Diseases, JSI
  • Emily Witt ’98, Managing Director, Whistler Partners
  • Sean Young ’97, VP, Integrated Marketing Solutions, Deloitte Digital
  • Applied Sciences
  • Business Administration and Operations
  • Computer Science and Technology
  • Consulting
  • Creative Design and Performing Arts
  • Data Science
  • Education
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Environmental and Sustainability
  • Finance One
  • Finance Two
  • Government and Public Policy
  • Health and Wellness
  • Health Care
  • Law
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Media and Film Production
  • Museums
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Real Estate Services

Past Keynote Speakers

2023

Craig Dehmel headshot

Craig Dehmel ’90
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Distribution, IMAX Entertainment and Senior Vice President, IMAX Corp

2021

Jon Sendach '98

Jon Sendach ’98
Executive Director, North Shore University Hospital

2020

jon lopez

Jon Lopez ’06
Sports photographer and cinematographer

 

2019

Clarissa Shah

Clarissa Shah ’10
Commercial Sales Attorney at LinkedIn

 

2018

headshot of amy dudley

Amy Dudley ’06
Chief Spokesperson, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative

 

2017

headshot of jamil jude

Jamil Jude ’09
Artistic Programming Associate, Park Square Theater