Season Three
During our third episode, Incorporating Skills, Interests, and a Growth Mindset to Determine Career Goals, we
chatted with Dr. Mihir Bhagat, Senior Consultant in Life Sciences with Guidehouse, as he reflects on his own career path and how it began in his doctoral studies. Mihir shares insight not only on his experience as a consultant, but how he sought opportunities to develop as a professional during graduate school and advocated for his professional development from the early stages of his PhD.
Mihir graduated from Northwestern with a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2021 and now works on strategy development and commercial excellence engagements for life sciences clients out of the NYC office for Guidehouse consulting. Being a strong advocate of mentorship and experiential learning for his personal and professional growth, Mihir was involved in a range of initiatives at Northwestern, including at MGLC, IGSSA, ADCA, GLAC, ACIR, Center for Leadership, INVO and the Kellogg School of Management, all of which motivated his transition to consulting. In his spare time, Mihir enjoys reading business news, going to the movies and catching up on his new year’s resolution of trying out a new restaurant every week.
In our second episode, Leadership Beyond Graduate School: Engaging with Professional Communities, we had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Jennifer Ferrer, Senior Manager of Alliance Management at Tempus. During our conversation, Dr. Ferrer, shares her journey and experience exploring non-negotiables and developing boundaries at different stages of her career. As an individual committed to growth and the growth of others, Jennifer discusses how she approaches service, leadership, and mentorship in professional organizations, as well as informal connections forged along the way.
An experienced scientist with a demonstrated history of leadership, innovation, successful grant writing, and effective science communication, Dr. Ferrer combines subject matter expertise with private sector experience. Skilled in molecular biology, microbiology, nanotechnology, and immunology techniques, she holds a Ph.D. in Biology with a focus on Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery; along with an MBA and Certificate in Business; and Master’s in Biotechnology.
We kick off the first episode of our third season with Marshall, Gerstein, and Borun’s Technical Specialist, Dr. Rose
Njoroge. In Applying Expertise and Seeking Growth, we discuss the job search process through different stages of her career, how she approached boundary setting through the pandemic, how she defines well being, as well as the challenges navigating the search as an international job candidate. Through our conversation we chat about adaptability, work place culture, and the importance of self awareness for success in work and life.
Currently, Dr. Njoroge applies her technical expertise in molecular and cellular biology, cancer biology, inflammation, and other biotechnology fields to drafting and prosecuting patent applications. She is also experienced in patentability, freedom to operate, and validity searches, and patent portfolio management. Prior to her role with Marshall Gerstein, Rose Serves as a Technical Specialist in the the IP Practice Group for an Am Law 200 law firm performing patent due diligence and patent portfolio management within biotechnology & life sciences.
Season Two
In our two part second season opening, PhD candidate Scott Cambo speaks to his experience as a non-traditional student. In part one, he shares his approach to integrating work and life as a grad student, partner, and parent, all while navigating the search process. Allowing us to follow him on his job search, part two of our conversation dives deeper into Scott’s approach to the search itself, and how he implements boundaries to ensure opportunities he explores are the right fit.
As a Design Research Fellow alumnus and a PhD student in the Technology and Social Behavior program, Scott Cambo explored the architectural, algorithmic, and interface design of intelligent systems, particularly those used for context-awareness and Health. He graciously agreed to come back for a follow-up interview after accepting a role as Data Scientist in Spring of 2020, to reflect on the year’s experiences.
In our sixth episode, One Year Check-in: Reflecting on Beginnings in 2020, Dr. Cambo discusses his new role with a growing start-up, Avalanche Insights, and strategies for managing the challenges of 2020. In a moment where the lines between work and life are virtually non-existent, Scott shares the his experience delineating new boundaries and approaches that work for his family, as well as the importance of workplace culture and communication to well-being.
During our Parents Who Lead Interview: Work/Life Through the Pandemic, we 
speak with Dr. Alyssa Westring about her recent book in honor of National Work and Family Month. In this episode, Dr. Westring speaks broadly to graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff about where to focus and take control professionally and personally during COVID-19.
Associate Professor of Management at the Driehaus College of Business, DePaul University, she is co-author of Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life. An award-winning educator and NIH-funded researcher, Westring shares her expertise on leadership, work/life integration and women’s careers in leading academic and popular outlets and is a frequent speaker at Fortune 500 companies. She has two school-aged children and lives in Chicago. You can watch our interview here, or listen to the audio anywhere you find the NUWorkWell podcast!
Niamba Baskerville, Sociology PhD candidate and current Optimization and Innovation Analyst at Kepler Group joins us in our episode Defining Your Needs to Focus Your Search. She shares her career exploration process, as well as how she structured her internship and full-time searches around her own criteria and motivators.
Prior to beginning with Kepler Group, Niamba completed a strategy internship with Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners. Her research involves qualitative methods, in which she collects, analyzes, and reports on a range of data to generate new insights about social phenomena. Now, she applies her understanding of media and cultural trends to help brands optimize their campaigns.
Dr. Kim Rapp, Assistant Vice President for International Relations, joins us in our third episode, 
Structuring Your Job Search. Through our conversation, Dr. Rapp shares how she managed career decisions as an advanced degree candidate throughout her professional path. She shares insight, having been on both sides of the hiring process, and offers advice for candidates on how to take control over the search, targeting positions based on fit, skills, and personal goals.
Kim has worked in international programs in higher education for over 20 years. Before coming to Northwestern in 2014, Kim was Executive Director of Stanford University’s Global Studies Division. Kim has lived and worked in several countries including England, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal. Originally from the East Coast, Kim completed her undergraduate degree in Communications and International Studies at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and her graduate degrees in African Languages and Literature (MA), Educational Administration (MS) and Higher Education Leadership and Policy Analysis (PhD) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her publications have focused on graduate education in the U.S., and her teaching experience has ranged from African literature to international research methods, but Kim remains most passionate about facilitating the international interests and research goals of others.
Season One
During Navigating the Job Search as an International Candidate, Dr. Zhang joins us to talk about balancing her full-time job search as a PhD, incorporating personal and professional priorities, and her status as an international student. She shares invaluable insight on her experience developing professional relationships throughout the process. Xiaomi is a recent Northwestern alumna, and former VPD group member in Materials Science. Prior to accepting a full time position with Apple, Dr. Zhang’s research focused on characterization of energy materials, especially thermoelectric and battery materials using S/TEM.
In Advocating for Culture Change as a Grad Student, Alvita Akiboh discusses her experience on the job market, in addition to her former role as Professional Development Coordinator in the History Department. We talk about her efforts to normalize open conversations around professional development, and wellness and mental health in particular, among graduate students and faculty in the History Department. A recent PhD alumna, her research focuses on the history of U.S. overseas colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific. Dr. Akiboh is currently a member of University of Michigan’s Society of Fellows.
In Cracking Consulting as an ADC (Advanced Degree Candidate), we chat with Rebecca Menssen, recent PhD alumna and current AD Consultant with BCG based in Minneapolis. Rebecca Menssen recently received her PhD in the Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics program at Northwestern University. Her research focused on developing new methods to analyze biological image data and extract relevant physical parameters underlying the system.
In Postdoc Leapfrog, we spoke with Lauren Woods about her past postdoctoral fellowship appointments and how she managed the transition from graduate student, to trainee, to administrator. Lauren Woods is Assistant Director of CIRTL at Northwestern. She helps develop, run, and evaluate CIRTL at Northwestern programming including the Searle Teaching-As-Research (STAR) program and Mentored Discussions of Teaching (MDT). Prior to joining the Searle Center, Lauren was a postdoctoral researcher at Davidson College. She holds a B.A. in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Population Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. CIRTL, or the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, is an NSF center that seeks to train STEM graduate students in order to develop a national STEM faculty committed to advancing effective teaching practices for diverse student audiences.
During WorkWell: Navigating the Academic Job Search, we were joined by Marlon Twymon, PhD. Dr. Twymon is a recent alum from Northwestern University’s Technology and Social Behavior program. He discussed his experience with the academic job search, interview and decision making process. His current research interests include studying the emergence of new collaborations through team assembly. Marlon merges perspectives from social networks, organizational behavior, and computational social science to understand this phenomenon.
Marlon recently began a tenure track position at the University of Southern California.
In our inaugural episode, we were joined by Counseling and Psychological Services staff Psychologist Olivia Woods for a conversation around maintaining well-being during the search as a doctoral student. Olivia shared stories from her job search processes after graduate school, tips for maintaining balance through the search, and resources on campus to help manage stress throughout graduate school and the job search process. Her training background is cognitive behavioral in its approach. However, she has supported supervisees from a variety of clinical backgrounds and theoretical perspectives. Her special interests include Black/African-American mental health issues and concerns; identity development; internalized stereotypes and stereotype threat; anxiety; relationship issues and concerns.