On November 2, the MSL program hosted its first Fall Industry Associates Night. As we have discussed in the past, Industry Associates Night is the program’s premier professional development and networking event. This year, we decided to give students a taste of Industry Associates Night earlier in the program so they have experience networking with successful professionals from similar backgrounds. Alumni from various industries shared their MSL experience and how they used it to achieve professional success. Not only did the alumni talk about which courses have been the most beneficial to their careers, but they also provided advice to students about how to position themselves for the jobs they want at the conclusion of the program.
The evening kicked off with a panel discussion that included five alums living in the Chicagoland area and two alums joining virtually from other parts of the country. We were delighted to hear from: Victoria Brown, MSL ’17 (Nephron Pharmaceuticals, Director of Regulatory Affairs), Erwin Cruz MSL ’17 (W.W. Grainger, Inc., Director, Intellectual Property Strategy and Management), Matt McKay MSL ‘15 (Cabot Microelectronics, Sr. Contracts Manager), Allison Prorok MSL ’16 (CentralSquare, Sr. Manager of Strategic Initiatives), Jacqueline Schryer-Praga MSL ’18 (GE Healthcare, Consultant), Shunran Shi MSL ’16 (ITW, Design Engineer), and Jordan Stewart MSL ’16 (IBM Watson Health, Manager, Corporate Strategy). The advice the panel delivered students, please allow me to paraphrase, is that the MSL program enables entrepreneurially-minded professionals to achieve success in a wide variety of industries. If they are willing to work hard, they will find excellent jobs at the intersection of law, business, and technology, and prosper.
The alumni offered insight into how the MSL transformed their career trajectories. For example, Allison Prorok talked about why she choose the MSL program and how she is leveraging it in her current role. She talked about starting the MSL program as a way to differentiate her background. Now, because of the knowledge of business and regulation, she is leading the integration of the four companies that all merged into one. She attributes this to being open to a myriad of opportunities.
“Think with a mindset of what can I do to create something new that’s not there…you have the opportunity to create a position. Whatever it is you want to pursue, you have the means, you have the network, and you have the support to actually go after it.” – Erwin Cruz (MSL ’17)
Following the panel discussion, conversation continued at a networking reception. In addition to the panelists, three other alumni joined to help students network with professionals. Thanks to our three alumni networking mentors: Christian Lee MSL ‘18 (Navigant Inc., Life Sciences Consultant), Alexandra Moxley MSL ’17 (Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Clinical Research Project Manager), and Stephanie Rioux MSL ‘18 (Ladas & Parry LLP, Intellectual Property Legal Assistant).
We look forward to seeing all of you at Spring Industry Associates Night!
– Evan Goldberg, Director of External Outreach & Career Advancement
