Stepping Out into the World

Whether they graduated in January or May, members of the Class of 2015 left Montclair State University with the skills they needed to step out and make their mark on the world by joining the workforce or furthering their education.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2015 report, U.S. employers will be hiring 8.3 percent more new graduates this year than last year. Red Hawks are already benefitting from this upswing by landing jobs in their fields.

Getting Down to Business

Business graduates are among those most in demand with employers, as Jaclyn Shoop and Manuela Lopez discovered.

Shoop, who received her MBA in May, will begin working as a tax consultant with Deloitte on her birthday in July. School of Business Career Services director Diane Freedman encouraged her to apply for the job listed on My Jobs, the School of Business career site.

“My education has prepared me for this job,” says Shoop. “My professors and the curriculum challenged me, but facing and excelling at this challenge gives me the confidence that I will excel at Deloitte.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree in three-and-a-half years, Lopez has already started work as an implementation associate at JPMorgan Chase.

“I’m responsible for coordinating all aspects of the setup of cash management products and services for commercial banking clients,” explains Lopez, who interned for the company last summer. Her internship and her education were instrumental in her landing the job. “One thing I was proud to talk about in my interviews was Montclair State and how prepared it has made me for my first full-time job,” she says.

In Production

School of Communication and Media graduates get the training they need to land jobs in highly competitive fields. Nina Baratti joined local news company SNJ in February as a reporter, after finishing her coursework a semester early.

Her job is varied: she sets up her interviews, goes alone to the shoots, does all the camera work and lighting, edits and exports her stories onto the SNJ website.

“Montclair State taught me each of these individual skills. My professors constantly stressed that you will be on your own and that it’s vital to know each and every skill,” Baratti says. “They were right!”

Television and Digital Media major Steven Melone began working part-time at WPIX in Manhattan as a per diem engineer just four days after completing his coursework last December. “I’m happy to be working in a field I enjoy,” he says.

Melone says the University paved the way to his job. “I was able to hone my craft by having so many opportunities on different projects,” he recalls. “And the community of students allowed for a great camaraderie and fantastic environment for learning, especially in production.”

Broadcasting major Brianna Seneca, who also finished in January, recently became a video/media archives assistant with NFL Films in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. “The coursework and training I received definitely prepared me for this job,” she says. Equally important were outside opportunities, like her internship in the New York Giants production department. “I was on the field during every home game at MetLife Stadium, assisted the cameramen, logged footage and helped with TV shows that aired on MSG+.”

Many Ways to Serve

Montclair State has long prepared teachers and human services professionals for successful careers. In June, Shavany Gonzalez, a Family and Child Studies major from Long Branch, New Jersey, joined Water and Sims Employment Services, Inc. As an employment specialist and job coach, she will help adults with disabilities find and keep employment.

“It was my internship site and they asked if I’d be interested in working there after graduation,” she explains.

Niobel Torres has been teaching ninth grade special education biology at Livingston High School since January. She values the education she received while earning dual certification in the University’s Master of Arts in Teaching program in Biology and as a Teacher of Students with Disabilities with a focus on inclusive iSTEM.

“Every day I’m able to implement strategies my professors taught me,” she says. “It’s been great to see my students succeed. My Montclair State education has let me give them the tools they need to succeed.”

Philosophy major David Glinbizzi was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in May. “I’ve always enjoyed solving problems and that is a very large part of being a leader in the U.S. Army,” he explains. While he credits Philosophy and Religion department professors David Benfield, Dorothy Rogers and Kirk McDermid with taking an interest in his coursework and helping him to shape and expand his critical thinking and problem-solving skills, he also feels the ROTC program has prepared him for future challenges.

A Firm Foundation

The job outlook for science majors is bright, as Geoscience major Steven Pepe has learned. He began working part-time with Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in Manhattan as an investigative geologist and has been working full-time since graduation. The firm has provided structural designs for foundations on such projects as the Freedom Tower and CitiField.

“I’m installing and monitoring geologic equipment like surveying stations and seismographs in the field, supervising bore extractions from construction sites and performing lab tests,” Pepe says. “Montclair State prepared me well by giving me hands-on experience with the geologic equipment I’m now working with in the field and in the lab.”

The Write Stuff

English major Lee Davis moved from part-time to full-time employee at Buyers Lab Inc. after graduating in May. “As research editor, I establish and maintain relationships with software vendors who update me on their products. With that information, I create editorial content such as blog posts and feature articles,” Davis explains. “Montclair State sharpened my writing and research skills. Without the advice and criticism from my professors, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today.”

Getting Smarter

A number of graduates will pursue their studies further in graduate programs. Psychology major Serena Gattuso will head to Columbia University to pursue a master’s degree in social work. “I knew I wanted a job in which I would be working directly with people,” she explains. “I want to go into clinical practice with families and children, specifically those dealing with chronic illness.”

Gattuso feels that as one of the nation’s top-ranked social work programs, Columbia will give her a diverse set of options. She says, “I definitely believe my experience at Montclair State prepared me well for the post-graduate experience. I made great connections with my professors, had opportunities to do research and serve as a teaching assistant and learned leadership skills.”

In May, Geoscience major Mariya Guzner began a research assistantship at the University of Minnesota’s College of Biosystems and Bioproducts Engineering, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in the Natural Resource Science and Management program with a focus on Forest Hydrology and Watershed Management. “I’m excited because it’s going to be a lot of traveling and field work, and the program is one of the top-ranked in the nation,” she notes. “I’ve been hoping to work in water resource science, so this is fantastic for me.”

Guzner feels that her participation in a student-faculty research project, the Research Experience for Undergraduates and the Science Honors Innovation Project, has prepared her for post-graduate success.

Chelsea Durocher will participate in the intensive, nine-day Friends Beyond Borders Teacher’s Social Justice Reality Tour in the Dominican Republic. The Sociology major and Dean of Students Award-winner looks forward to meeting with grassroots organizations working for global equality.

“The program provides such beautiful perspective and growth for a young leader and world-changer like me,” she says. “This opportunity could not have come at a better time in my educational journey!”

Making Music

John J. Cali School of Music students Katherine Sanchez and Carlos Bandera are furthering their studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

In pursuing a Master of Music degree in composition, Bandera is studying with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. “This is the kind of community a musician should be in,” he says, noting that his four years at Montclair State gave him the opportunity to have a career in music.

Sanchez will be earning a master’s degree in ethnomusicology. “I’m interested in ethnographic fieldwork and trying to understand why every group of people creates music in their own way,” she says. “I’ve been very fortunate to have had incredibly supportive advisors, professors and mentors at Montclair State, which really did prepare me for postgraduate study.”

Learning to Lead

“Dance is a culmination of discipline and knowledge cultivated over decades,” says Dance major Heather Pollak, who has been accepted by Shenandoah University’s master’s program in Performing Arts Leadership and Management. “Shenandoah cultivates the kind of meaningful work and professional growth I have established at Montclair State. Its program will allow me to dedicate myself to a vibrant cause in the arts that I deeply believe in.”

English major Doron Bryant will attend Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, in the fall to study for a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. “I’ve been offered a graduate assistantship in the office of student transition, where I’ll organize freshman and transfer orientation and plan workshop programs for students throughout the year,” he says.

Bryant transferred to Montclair State in fall 2013 from Essex County College. “The professors I’ve had these last two years have been phenomenal,” he recalls. “Words cannot express how much Montclair State means to me. It has made me the person I am today. I leave here knowing I can accomplish every one of my goals, no matter what the obstacles are.”