The MSL program recently hosted its semi-annual Industry Associates Night – our premier professional development and networking event. The goal of this event is to bring in speakers from industries and companies that are relevant to MSL students and relate to the subjects taught in the program – these are often the companies and industries in which MSL graduates seek employment. The event featured a panel discussion and then small group breakout sessions that allowed for more focused conversations and networking.
The event featured 8 speakers who joined us remotely from all parts of the country:
- Craig Brooks-Rooney, Scientific Director, Costello Medical
- Alison Brunelle, Cybersecurity and Privacy Director, PwC
- Chloe Myshel Burke, Public Policy, AirBnB
- Stacci Cronk, Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager, Roche
- Michael Friedman, CEO, Hilco IP Merchant Banking
- Lara Saidman Kaufmann, National Director of Public Policy, Girls Inc.
- Eric Liu, Senior Legal Engineer, Ironclad
- Wendy Rubas, General Counsel, VillageMD
The panelists shared their career journeys and what brought them to their current roles; they also offered advice on how students might leverage the MSL degree to launch or continue a career in these fields. For example, Alison Brunelle, who works in the privacy field, discussed some of the career twists and turns that brought her to her current role in healthcare privacy. Stacci Cronk shared how she got her feet wet in regulatory affairs working at Pfizer, before she moved into the medical device area, where she now works on the advertising and promotion side of regulatory affairs. Describing her career journey toward policy work, Laura Kaufmann (reformed lawyer) noted that what she really loved about being a lawyer was the intellectual challenge of advocating for a client; her switch to doing policy work has allowed her to maintain the excitement and challenge of advocacy work, without some of the aspects of practicing law that she didn’t enjoy as much. Some of the speakers noted potential job opportunities for MSL graduates, and touted the advantages to employers of having employees who can see connections and wear multiple hats. The panelists agreed that the unique training of MSL graduates allows them to bring substantial value to the table. One of the panelists has hired multiple MSL graduates and calls them her “secret weapon.”
With each career-related event, MSL students get exposure to different professionals, each of whom has their own career path with its unique twists and turns. It is always interesting to learn about these different approaches and to explore some of the choices that are available to MSL graduates. Hearing experiences first-hand from our friends and partners across a range of industries is extremely beneficial to MSL students, and we are grateful to our panelists for sharing their stories and insights.
Following the panel discussion, conversations continued with small-group networking sessions.
For a look back at previous Industry Associates Night, check out our MSL360 blog recaps here.
