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Access2Alumni

The college's award-winning career mentoring and networking event, Access2Alumni connects undergraduate ARHU students with successful ARHU alumni to explore the variety of exciting and vital professional paths available to arts and humanities majors. Get career-ready at Access2Alumni.

Access2Alumni (A2A) is a career mentoring event that features insights and advice from successful ARHU alumni and is coordinated by the ARHU Chapter of the Alumni Association. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with alumni from various industries to discuss their career goals and ask questions. 

Access2Alumni helps students chart a path forward with support and assistance from former ARHU students who are now successful alumni. The event includes several small-group break-out sessions led by alumni. A2A is a great place to develop your networking skills—all of the alumni attending are friendly and want to help students succeed. This free event is open to all UMD students, regardless of major or year. ARHU majors are specifically encouraged to attend both the in-person and Zoom events.

2024 Dates:

Top Tips for Attending Access2Alumni

  1. Ask questions and share your career interests as well as your uncertainties. A2A is a friendly atmosphere to explore your career goals and discover interesting career directions. You don’t need all the answers—this is where you start finding them.
  2. Bring an open mind—explore a variety of career fields. You never know who you will meet or where their network might take you. You may be surprised to learn about doors to careers you never knew existed.
  3. Dress well, but prioritize attendance. Attending is more important than attire, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to dress to impress (business casual).
  4. Follow-up with the alumni you meet as well as those you do not. Alumni will enjoy hearing from you. Connect on LinkedIn and/or send an email to say thank you, ask further questions, request a resume review or inquire about a job or internship. 

Students - For career advising, contact Kate Juhl at kjuhl@umd.edu
Alumni - For information and involvement, contact Greg Schofer at gschofer@umd.edu

See below for the list of alumni participants from last year. Please come back closer to the event for this year’s list.

2023 Alumni Participants

Night 1: Tuesday, April 11 • IN-PERSON

  • Carlos Acosta '85 English, '91 M.A. English -- Montgomery County Circuit Court, Judge
  • Cynthia Alfaro '16 Communication -- Apartment and Office Building Association, Manager of Communication
  • Julie Bigham '14 French, '17 M.A. French -- Naval Sea Systems, Foreign Military Sales Case Manager
  • Hope Brown '00 English -- Calvert/Morgan Stanley, Chief Compliance Officer
  • Manique Buckmon '12 Art History -- Art Works Now, Senior Director of Programs
  • Kelly Colburn '18 M.F.A. Theatre -- Flying V Theatre, Artistic Lead
  • Carla Conway '86 Art/Design -- Office of Carla Conway, Creative Director
  • Emily Costa '17 Communication -- Rinck Advertising, Content Marketing Manager
  • Dan Cronin '90 Business, '92 M.B.A., '07 Ph.D. Communication -- Johns Hopkins University, Executive Fellow in Residence
  • Matt Douglas '10 History and Education -- Academic Counselor and Teacher
  • Miller Douglas '15  History -- Brown Advisory, Alternative Assets Specialist
  • Steve Fessler -- The Walt Disney Company, Entertainment Manager (ret.)
  • Anne Hendrick '19 M.A. Library Science, '15 Studio Art -- Everfi, Senior UX Researcher, Product Development
  • Latoya Jenkins '03 Communication -- University of Maryland Eastern Shore, VP for Enrollment Management and Student Experience
  • Veda Johnson '11 Communication -- U.S. Department of Commerce, Social Media Specialist
  • Jamie Lee '13 English -- Capital One, Director
  • David Leinwand '88 History -- U.S. Department of State, Staff Attorney
  • Randy Lord '77 Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies -- Actor, Producer, and Lawyer 
  • Leigh McDonald '17 M.F.A. Creative Writing,  '14 Psychology -- Bethesda Magazine, Marketing Associate, Contributing Writer
  • Lexi Neaman '13 Communication -- Uber, Senior Client Partner
  • Rachel Newman '19 Communication -- HumanTouch, LLC, Business Operations Specialist
  • Noah Niederhoffer '14 Jewish Studies & Journalism -- Journalist and Consultant
  • Kerry O'Brien '09 Spanish and Government & Politics -- The Glover Park Group, Vice President
  • Katharine Cord '14 Communication -- Tandem Sports & Entertainment, Vice President, Communications and Brand Strategy
  • Jeffrey Oguamanam '11 Communication -- Under Armour, Lead Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
  • Michael Olmert '62 English, '80 Ph.D. English  -- University of Maryland, Professor, Playwright & Screenwriter
  • Jessika Portnoy '08 Italian and Communication -- Journey On, CEO and Founder
  • Kit Roper '21 English and German -- UMD English Department, Academic Program Specialist
  • Jameson Roth '16 Communication, '17  Public Health -- McCabe Message Partners, Senior Account Manager
  • Rick Schmitt '77 Economics -- Journalist and Freelance Writer
  • Veronica Segovia '04 Communication -- AARP, Senior Audience Manager, Diversity Equity and Inclusion
  • Will Shiffman '97 Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies -- Shiffman and Shiffman, P.C., President
  • Ryan Swann '06 Communication -- Vanguard, Chief Data Analytics Officer
  • Alyssa Toro '91 Art, Graphic Design -- Connelly Partners, Senior Partner/Executive Creative Director
  • Ray White '76 History, '79 Music -- Library of Congress, Senior Music Specialist
  • Steven Williams '11 Philosophy -- U.S. Secret Service, Special Agent
  • Joseph D. Wilson '84 Radio, Television & Film -- Merrill Lynch, Vice President
     

*Participant list current as of 04/10/2023

Night 2: Wednesday, April 12 • VIRTUAL

  • Jordan Aaronson '16 American Studies -- Penguin Random House, Marketing Manager
  • Ilana Averun '16 Communication -- New York Yankees, Assoc. Dir., Brand Strategy & Major Events
  • Kaitlyn Belicose '08 Communication -- Evoke KYNE, Senior Vice President
  • Rita Cheng '91 East Asian Languages, '93 Business -- Blue Ocean Global Wealth, Chief Executive Officer
  • Jeffrey Cleveland '81 Music, '84 M.B.A. -- Red Team Consulting, Senior Capture Consultant
  • Ellen Coren '76 Communication -- Chesapeake Public Strategies, President & CEO
  • Obianuju Enendu '03 Economics -- Freelance Television and Film Executive
  • Tara Faulkner '92 Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies -- Jones Lang LaSalle, Director, Growth Marketing
  • Courtney Geduldig '97 English -- Micron Technology, Vice President for Public Affairs
  • Sabriyah Hassan '02 Spanish -- The Banneker-Douglass Museum, Program Director
  • Joel Hinzman '93 English, '93 Radio Television & Film -- Oracle, Senior Director, Government Affairs
  • Mika Malone '01 English -- Meketa Investment Group, Managing Partner
  • Michael Marcus '11 Communication, Business -- Colgate Palmolive Company, Associate Brand Manager
  • Christina Martin '04 Spanish, Business -- SourceUP, Founder & CEO
  • Keynote speaker: Jared Paul '99 Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies -- Faculty Productions, Chief Executive Officer
  • Jessica Schram '15 Communication -- Swiftarc, Investment Associate
  • Alexi Spector '16 Communication -- Buffalo Sabres, Social Media Manager
  • Kiara Tinch '12 Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies; Government & Politics -- Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Major Gifts Officer
  • Cora Wood '10 Communication -- Actor, Producer, and Software Engineer

*Participant list current as of 04/10/2023

Access2Alumni 2023 In-Person Event Photo Gallery

Access2Alumni 2023

2023 Access2Alumni Keynote Speakers

Past Keynote Speakers

2023: Randy Lord ’77, actor, producer & lawyer; Jared Paul ’99, music industry executive
2022: Erek Barron, US attorney for Maryland; Jimmy Roberts, NBC sportscaster
2021: Carol Brown; Charlotte Triefus; Rep. Jennifer Wexton, congresswoman
2019: Jason Reynolds, author & poet
2018: Brett Wein, sales executive, SnapFish
2017: Michelle Singletary, columnist, The Washington Post
2016: Adam Shapiro, actor
2015: Cary Hatch, marketing executive, MDB Communications
2014: John Kelly, columnist, The Washington Post
2013: Domonique Foxworth, former NFL player and analyst, ESPN
2011: Norman Steinberg, producer, writer, director
2010: Harlan Weisman, healthcare executive, And-One Consulting 
2009: Gail Berman Masters, producer and entertainment executive, The Jackal Group
2008: David Baggett, CEO and software creator, INKY
2007: George Pelecanos, author