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Uh yeah well you know there's a famous quote that Malcolm X said that uh education is our passport to the future and tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. Uh so I think formal education is a a gateway to not only you know higher earnings in a career but also expanding one's mind. Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will

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encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a f a favorite segment of the show I like to call Blue Jay Spotlight where we will get the chance to introduce to you one of our awesome Manor College students. Many students go to college to find a career. But student Vanessa Cauldron went to Manor College to answer a calling. In 2021, Vanessa's son Roman was born premature and later diagnosed with

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cerebral palsy. While many would have been overwhelmed, Vanessa defined resilience. Watching the medical teams care for her son, she realized she didn't just want to be a mom on the sidelines. She wanted to be the nurse in the room. Vanessa joined Manor's very first practical nursing cohort. As a single mother, balancing intense clinical's and her son's therapies, her joining her journey was a masterclass in perseverance. There were nights where she doubted her path, but her community

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wouldn't let her. From encouraging words from Professor Mike Landis to writing, "Believe," in a sign hung over her desk by the school librarian, the message was clear, "You belong here." This past December, Vanessa crossed the stage to graduate. Today, she just isn't navigating the medical system for her son. She is now a vital part of it. Her story proves that no matter the obstacles, with enough heart and the right support, you can turn your greatest challenge into your greatest

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contribution. Vanessa, thank you for showing all of us what it truly looks like to believe in yourself. You are an inspiration. Today's episode is sponsored by the Manor College Bachelor Degree in Public Policy. Don't just study the law, learn how to change it. At Manor, we transform your passion into a professional career. From crisis management to nonprofit leadership, our program delivers the expertise you need to lead in the public and private sectors. Small classes, hands-on internships, you will build the

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experience to launch into politics, law, or community service. Step into your power and find your voice. Earn your bachelor's in public policy at Manor College. Visit manor.edu to learn more. You belong here. Our guest today is a proud product of Philadelphia and a graduate of Dobbins Technical High School. His journey through higher education is a testament to the power of finding your footing and using it as a springboard for something even greater. As a first generation college student, he arrived at Manor College in the fall

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of 2008 to study psychology. While he only spent one year on campus, those two semesters proved to be a pivotal foundation for a lot more education to come. Today, he has taken that passion for understanding people and systems into the professional world. He currently serves as the director of content for the progress and poverty institute where he works at the intersection of complex social issues and public discourse. Please join me in welcoming Vernon Walker. Hi Vernon. Hello, Kelly. Thank you for the kind

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introduction and glad to be here. >> Great. We're so so happy to have you with us today. So, so Vernon, take us back to 2008. How, first of all, how did you hear about Manor College and why did you choose to attend? >> Yes, thank you for that question. Uh at the time I lived in northeast Philadelphia and I was uh considering options of going back to college because prior to starting at Manor uh I had uh took I had did like half a semester at community at uh community college in Philadelphia. And so two years later,

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you know, still was working in the intern, you know, deciding to uh figure out which college I wanted to go to. And then I received something in the mail. Uh my high school GPA was not the best because I was mostly uh focused on being a class clown in high school. Uh it wasn't really until my last year uh that I began to start to straighten up academically. Uh and with that context in mind, I thought it would be good to start off at a college with a smaller class size uh before going to a 4-year

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university. Uh obviously now Manor offers four-year degrees which are great but at at the time it was just associate degrees. So in the process of thinking about options I received that piece of literature in the mail as previously mentioned about Manor. So I went to go visit the campus. I didn't it wasn't too far from where I lived and I was thoroughly impressed uh with the campus setting uh and the admissions officer uh that I met. She was so friendly and made it really seem like a wonderful place

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and uh that's essentially how I arrived at Manor and then those two semesters that I spent that manner was really refreshing uh and really uh helped me uh unpack my love for learning if you will. uh and it was a fascinating fascinating time uh during that period and then also in the world what was happening it was you know uh Barack Obama was being sworn in >> uh a president and he had won the election and then was going to be sworn in. So that 2008 2009 year was very interesting. We had a global market

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crash and uh and you know just the housing crash and it was just so so so many different variables happening in the world at the same time. Wow. I I am a sucker for a good direct mail enrollment story, Vernon. So, that just makes my heart so happy to hear that you got something in the mail and it was impactful enough that it made you want to learn more. We um we still do direct mail to students and households and that's always the goal to get them to come talk to admissions and then obviously enroll. That's really great to

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hear. And you know, frankly, um, I have a hard time picturing you as a class clown. I only know you as like professional and, you know, successful Vernon. So, it's kind of funny to think about that you were a class a class clown. Any any good class clown related stories that you could share? >> Oh, >> from the high school days. >> Oh, well, uh, >> that's appropriate to share. >> Yeah. Oh, sure. Sure. Yeah. I had always would just hang out in the hallway and

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just focus on uh socialization instead of learning. Um and it wasn't really until I became a Christian in my senior year that I began to really take things seriously, academics seriously I should say. Uh and uh so yeah, essentially that's you know for the majority of my high school career that's what I was focused on just being a uh a clown of the class if you will >> social butterfly. >> Yeah. Yeah. And bringing levity into the situation at the expense of focusing on academics. But uh so yeah so but it was

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uh you know all things happen for a reason. >> Exactly. No, that's interesting. That's really kind of kind of cool to hear. Um, and now look at you now. You you have received multiple degrees. You're always going to school it seems like for the next thing. So education is always with you. Um, so let's talk about that for a minute. So you went to Manor for a year. Um, and then you have, you know, you went on to, I think it was Penn State for a bachelor's, right? Um, and then since Penn State, you've

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received two master's degrees and you're currently working on your third master's degree. So, obviously higher education holds a special place in your in your heart. Um, so talk about that. Why do you feel that receiving furthering your education is so important to you? And kind of what is your relationship um with higher education? >> Uh, yeah. Well, you know, there's a famous quote that Malcolm X said that uh education is our passport to the future and tomorrow belongs to the people who

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prepare for it today. Uh so I think formal education is a uh gateway to not only you know higher earnings in a career but also expanding one's mind. Now obviously uh we have quite a few intelligent people that uh that have not sought in the world today who that not have that have not sought out any formalized education. Uh but for myself uh yeah I just you know when I once I realized that I just loved reading and just loved acquiring uh more knowledge uh that's that's I think what led to the

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continued pursuit in higher education. Uh, and you know, it's uh, when I when I transferred to Penn State, I didn't quite imagine that, you know, I would spend so much time in school. Uh, but the the the the the results have been meaningful and and and has really really helped expand my mind. And we also, you know, we live in the age of technology, right? We live in the age where Google and it's easy just to pull up things on your smartphones or your computers. So, uh it is certainly

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easy to get access to knowledge. Uh however, I just like the uh classroom setting where you know it's in a structured setting and you know certainly fellowships will do that as certain fellowships will do that as well. Uh so essentially that's um you know that's that's that's what my theory has been on education that it is certainly the the passport port towards the future. >> Yeah, I love that so much. That's great. Thank you for for sharing. It's a it's a

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great quote from Malcolm X. Um I haven't heard it in a little while, so it was good to be reminded of that. Can can you tell us a little bit about the work that you're doing as director of content for the Progress and Poverty Institute? what is the institute and kind of um kind of give us the the organizational picture for that. >> Uh yes, the progress and poverty institute started in 1925 as the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. Uh in 2025, I'm sorry. Yes. And in 2025, the name changed to Progress and Poverty

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Institute. uh which is a a name of a book that uh a famous economist uh named uh Henry George uh he that's the name of his book and the the institute the the the the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation was founded to further the idea of Henry George uh and you know currently and one of the biggest ideas I should say is that uh he focused on land tax so he focused on the idea of taxing the land uh instead of property tax if you will. Uh so in my current capacity I serve as the director of content at the progress

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and poverty institute uh a nonprofit focused on land economics and public policy. In my role uh I lead our content and communication strategy making sure our research is translated into clear and accessible messaging for a wide range of audiences including policy makers, researchers and the public. Uh, a big part of what I do is helping connect complex ideas like land value taxation to real world issues such as uh, housing affordability and economic inequality. Uh, what I really value about this work is that it allows me to

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bridge research and real impact making sure that the work we do actually uh, reaches people and contribute to meaningful conversation uh, and change. And alongside my work, I'm currently pursuing a masters in organizational leadership uh at Brown University. Uh really continuing to build on that love of education foundation that I started at Manor College. >> That's great. It it sounds like so much of the work that you do is rooted in social justice. Um which which is great. We absolutely need more people working

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in in that realm. Um what is your perception or or or opinion of where the state stands right now for social justice? Um are we making progress? Um what still has to be done and kind of how can how can college students be educating themselves in in this because it is a a wide field, lots of different things to consider and it can get um overwhelming and daunting. Uh that is absolutely true. Uh prior to uh getting prior to starting at uh the Progress and Poverty Institute, I worked for several different environmental

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nonprofits in Boston. Uh I lived in Boston for the Boston area for 12 years and I really focused uh the last five or six years focused on environmental justice and climate change uh which is a part of the broad social justice movement. Uh so where we are now is certainly in a time of parallel and crisis in terms of a lot of federal policies have been rolled back. Uh a lot of that policies that were designed to help us make progress such as fighting climate like climate change and preparing communities for extreme

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weather. So under this new administration uh the Trump administration it had a lot of the policies have been rolled back. A lot of the voting acts rights uh policies have been rolled back. A lot of racial justice uh issues uh and policies have been rolled back for instance. So it's certainly a time where we are seeing challenging uh policies uh and efforts uh to undermine common sense policies rolling out of the White House. Uh however, I think that just as previous generations of social justice warriors,

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the civil rights uh fighters, the the the women suffrage uh advocates and the abolitionist advocates uh and so forth and so on. Uh we've hard to find the courage of our conviction to still stand up against tyranny and to still stand up against injustice. Uh and what's given me a little bit of hope is that states are looking to imp implement uh policies that are designed to address climate change, that are designed to address racial injustice, that are designed to address uh the immigration

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crisis. And while there is no really no big help coming from the federal government in those areas, uh there are state level policies and city and municipal policies across our country uh that is rooted in common sense and rooted in human decency uh and rooted in the idea that we're all tied in the inescapable government of mutuality and what affects one directly affects us all indirectly as Dr. King said. So uh I think that's that's what's given me hope in terms of students uh I

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think what students can be doing uh particularly undergraduate students I mean we know that graduate students are mostly focused in whatever professional degree program that they're enrolled in and they want to go in that profession but also graduate students is for people to find what makes them come alive and then whatever makes them come alive they should go do it and that's a that's a paraphrase quote from Howard Thurman who was the dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University which is uh one of my alma

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maters. Uh and essentially I think people should find what they're called to do and go do it. Uh because really we need the world to come alive with people who are activated by a particular social justice cause or if people aren't thinking about taking on a career in social justice uh perhaps supporting organizations uh nonprofits etc that are doing social justice work whether it's immigration work whether it's human rights work whether it's climate right work uh whether it's

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racial justice work whatever form of justice fighting that, you know, organizations are doing, they certainly do need dollars to support them. They certainly do need finances to support them. So, uh, for folks who might be thinking about, you know, careers in finance or careers in law, etc., uh, that might not exactly be on making an on the ground impact. Uh certainly you know volunteering or supporting financially organizations that are doing the work uh you know for instance organization such as clean water action uh for for

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instance which is a national uh nonprofit that's fighting on uh the implementation of clean air policies and clean water policies for instance. >> Yeah, that's that's great. I think what you said was um what you said that really sticks out to me when you talk about like find what activates you, find what passion you have and and lean into that, you know, not um not everyone's going to fight everything all at once, right? Or or you know, but there's certain things that might specifically

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talk to you because of something that maybe is from your childhood or from your past or um whatever that might be. But I I really think it's important work that you're doing and I think it's so impressive and and really motivating to see that you're someone who continually is hungry to learn more um is going to these great institutions to to do that while also um having a career, having you know a life and doing that as well. Talk about that a little bit. talk about how has it been

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balancing um being a grad student for for quite a long time and also having a career and and like going to school and managing you know a little work life balance. How do you how do you find what works best for you in that kind of area? >> Uh yeah, thank you for that question. Well, uh I think you know time management is very important. uh and I think one of the things that I found to be helpful is to set a certain amount of time to devote to academics to personal life to uh to uh faith-based work etc. Uh so I found

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it to be that time management is important and also just you know after having been in school for you know a couple couple couple after have being in a couple different programs you kind of get the sense of how to develop what works and uh because certainly you know these are trying times and uh self-care is important uh and so I also build in time for self-care and just just also making sure are prioritizing, you know, having self-care because it's easy to get stressed out between school and work and

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the state of affairs and our world, etc. So, uh yeah, it's it that's that's I think one of the ways that has helped me find that balance is through prayer and meditation. Uh and uh that has really helped being been my uh north star to kind of help find the equilibrium and balancing everything. Yeah, that that's absolutely great. Um, so Vernon, what advice would you give to Manor College students who are just starting out? They're just, you know, they're they're you in 2009. They're

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early in their journey. They don't quite know what the future holds. Um, they might be filled with excitement. They might be filled with a little bit of senioritis where they're kind of wanting, you know, college to be done. Um, they don't want to write any more papers or take any more tests. But what advice would you give them as someone who's been there, lived it, and now you know on the other side? >> Yes, thank you so much for that question. One piece of advice that I would give man students starting out is

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to really focus on building a strong foundation uh both academically and professionally, academically, professionally and personally I should say. uh because really the habits you develop early like discipline, time management and how you approach challenges will carry long after graduation. Uh and I would also say don't feel like you have to have everything figured out right away. Uh because life is a journey and it's okay to explore different paths because each experience helps you learn more about

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what you're interested in and where you want to grow. Uh another important thing is to take advantage of relationships whether they're professors or mentors or peers. Uh because those connections can open doors and provide guidance in ways you may not expect. Uh and finally be intentional about your growth. Uh look for opportunities to develop skills, take on responsibilities, and challenge yourself because those experiences really shape your confidence and direction over time. >> Yeah, that's that's great. I think um

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the part that like don't be too hard on yourself. You know, it's okay. You're not going to have it all figured out is really important. A lot of students sometimes, particularly our students who are in our career paths, you know, their dental hygiene, their vette, they they do have a career kind of focused trajectory, but oftentimes they get into that career and they they want to maybe tweak things or go in a different direction. And it can be really stressful to think that, oh, I've done

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all this studying and all this work. Um, but that it's okay. It's okay. And that's kind of what college is for also. It's that you're here to help you figure out like what you don't like as well, just as much as what you do like. You know, I like to tell the story when I was a college student myself, I was studying I studied communications. Um, and I in my college career had four different internships. >> And I'm really grateful that I had those four internships because they taught me

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what I didn't what I didn't like. Um, I really thought I was going to go into the world of magazines and luckily I didn't because magazines died out pretty quickly. But at the time it was actually around 2008 and um, I really I just loved magazines. But I had two internships at different magazines and that taught me very quickly I do not want to work in magazines. So >> it's just as much about learning what you don't like as what you do. >> Um, Vernon, thank you so much for being

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with us today. You are truly an inspiration. I wish you nothing but the best with your your current degree that you're pursuing at Brown. How cool to go from Manor to Penn State to um I think TUS and then Boston and now and now Brown University and Ivy League school. That's that's really remarkable. We're we're so proud of you. Um we wish you nothing but the best and definitely keep us in touch with what's going on with you and and we'll do the same. >> Oh, that sounds good. and thank you so

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much for the incredible work that you're doing and and leading over at Manor and you know I'm really proud that Manor is continuing to excel in many ways and you know having more degree options to offer students and also uh for students that love it so much they can now earn their bachelor's degree at Manor. So that's really fantastic. >> Yeah, it is. It's really great and we we have some talks about some master degree program offering soon. So if you want if you want that fourth masters, you know,

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you can always come back. >> Oh, yeah. I gotta keep that in mind. But yeah, I think I'll be I think I'm done after this third this last >> I think you're done. >> Oh, I'm done. >> As you as you should be. >> All right. Well, thank you, Vernon, so much. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram, Manor College. And that's a wrap on

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another episode of The Nest. Stories about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here always.

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Don't stress yourself out. Probably anything you go through in college, other people have also gone through and have also figured it out. So, don't stress too much. Take advantage of your resources. Hello, Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I am your host, Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College, you belong here always.

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Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment of the show I like to call Did You Know? Where we will share some fun facts about Manor College that you may or may not know. Did you know that Manor College offers a peer mentor program which is designed to support first generation college students as they begin their academic journey? This program pairs incoming students with experienced peers who serve as guides, helping them stay engaged with their studies and navigate the challenges that sometimes a first year

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college experience can bring. Research shows that programs like this play a major role in helping students persist and then ultimately graduate. Manor College currently has 10 peer mentors, each working working with a small group of students. The program has seen a tremendous response since launching in fall of 2024, supporting 67 mentees since its beginning. Mentors are matched with students based on their majors, from practical nursing to psychology to sports management and beyond, and they connect in meaningful ways, whether it's

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through text messages, study groups, or even grabbing meals together. These mentors help show that at Manor College, you truly do belong here, and our community is always here to help you navigate college. Today's episode is sponsored by the Manor College Bird Feed. Did you know that some Manor College students struggle with food insecurity? Manor College is proud to be an official PA hunger-free campus. Our bird feed food pantry provides a vital lifeline offering non-p perishable foods and toiletries to those in need. But we

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can't do it without your help. Your donation of canned goods, dry goods, or financial contributions help us keep the shelves stocked and ensure that no one in our campus goes hungry. Learn how you can help by visiting manor.edu/birdfeed. That's manor.edu/birdfeed. Today's guest is a true Northeast Philly success story and a testament to the power of starting strong. Having gone to Father Judge High School, our guest began their college journey right here at Manor College as a first generation

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college student by studying liberal arts to get a solid foundation. Taking that momentum further, they transferred to La Salle University. Today, they serve as a human resources specialist at International Raw Materials. Please welcome to the show, Carlos Contente. Hi, Carlos. >> Hi, Kelly. How you doing? Thanks for having me on. >> Yes. Thank you so much for being with us today. I'm excited to talk with you. Last season, we had your your other half on the show, Jessica Strickland, and I'm

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excited that now that you guys are married, we can talk to you as well. And we'll get into a little bit of that your your Manor Match story a little bit later. But Carlos, can you start us off by sharing how did you first hear about Manor College and why did you ultimately decide to attend? >> Yeah, thanks again. Thanks for having me on. Uh, so the start of my Manor journey is pretty simple. Uh, I was going to Father Judge High School, the best high school in the city of Philadelphia. Um,

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and they had at the time a dual enrollment program with uh, Manor College. I was a first generation college student, so I didn't have like a legacy through my parents or anything and was somewhat struggling with the idea of where to go. Knew I wanted to go. Wasn't really sure where what that was going to look like. Um, and then one day in home room, I heard the announcement about, you know, you can do dual enrollment through Manor and take a couple of gen ed classes and if you are interested in learning more, reach out

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to I forget who was one of the teachers at Judge I think was the contact point. So, uh, I reached out to him and I signed up for I don't even remember what, maybe US history one, something like that. Um, and I remember I think I ended up taking two or three courses over junior and senior year. Uh, and the whole time, at least when I started, I was like, this works, but I'm not going to go to Manor. Um, and then eventually I was just like, you know, it's not that far. I'm already

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here. We can kind of ease into it. So, that's how I ended up applying and getting into Manor. I honestly um I kind of get pretty set on things, so I can't even remember if I ended up applying anywhere else my senior year if I was just like, I'm going to go to Manor and figure it out later. But, uh it all worked out. I went to Manor. I had a great time. Um yeah, that's great. I love I love a good dual enrollment story for you know that's really people just think like oh yeah I'll just get ahead in high school and

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take some classes but I'm not actually going to like go to that college I'm going to go somewhere else but um I'm glad that you were able to kind of like settle in and be like no I'm going to get my start particularly as a first gen college student like you said your parents um didn't really have that legacy or foundation to to share with you you were the one doing that so uh a school like Manor is perfect for that over 60% of our students today are first generation college students. That's

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really important to um our demographics and our culture. So for you, Carlos, as a first gen college student, you know, navigating higher ed can really feel different and culture shock. What was kind of the biggest um piece that you didn't really expect or the biggest hurdle that you had to overcome as a first gen college student? Oh, >> biggest hurdle. That's a good question. I don't know. I think the biggest hurdle maybe figuring out the financial aid aspect, but everyone I got a scholarship to Manor and then

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everyone else was so helpful that I don't think it ended up being as much of a hurdle as it could have been. Um, >> yeah, >> I think what's helpful in these situations sometimes is you overthink it in your head and then you get there and you're like, "Oh, this isn't that bad." and then you kind of just get swept up in the flow of it and next thing you know you're just going through it. So, uh maybe the figuring out the financial aid piece of it, especially um

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you know like your parents help you or they pay for your grade school, your high school or you go to public school, whatever it may be and then all of a sudden you kind of have to figure this out. But um thankfully between my guidance department and high school and everyone at Manor, it wasn't too much of a hurdle to get sorted. >> Yeah, that's good. figuring out finances and understanding financial literacy, particularly in a college setting, it is challenging. It's confusing. You hear

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scholarships, you hear grants, you hear federal versus non and private, and it's all these a lot of terminology. Um, so I'm glad that you were able to navigate that and, you know, obviously be able to attend. Um, I want to talk about, you know, you studied liberal arts, which is is a great degree. it's, you know, pretty general and gives you that foundation to then maybe go into different specific areas. Can you talk about like why did you choose liberal arts and kind of what was your mentality

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on where you wanted to go with that degree? >> Yeah. So, uh I had always my parents had pushed me to go to college for a very long time. So, I always knew I was going to go um to college. And then I was very close with my cousin George uh who was a history major. And then I grew up a huge history nerd. So, I always knew that regardless of how things shook out and wherever my career path might take that I was going to study history in college. And so, obviously, there's not a history degree at Manor. So, liberal arts was

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kind of what folded into that. So that's why I ended up studying liberal arts. Um, and obviously your original career plans kind of fell apart and I ended up doing other things, but that's one of benefit into kind of the way the world works sometimes. So >> such is life. >> Such is life, right? Um, >> such as life, >> but that's okay. Uh, but so I think liberal arts and history provides a well-rounded foundation. um as you said and I think it's good to be

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able to have those critical thinking processes that you pick up through those studies as well as just a good humanities background so you're kind of wellversed well spoken well read um I think building I think those kind of building blocks are essentially the purpose of college in a way so it all it all works out um and I think studying something you're actually interested in is important and you'll probably get the most out of it that way um just probably contrary to everything Jessica said, I'm

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sure, but that's okay. Um, and this is one of the benefits, I think, of not having uh a college legacy through your parents is you get a little bit more >> freedom doing what you want, right? So, they weren't like, "No, you have to study accounting." You'll be like, "Okay, sure. You can that's fine." It all works out. >> Good point. Yeah, that's a good point. I think what you what you said about building blocks is really important and it does give you this foundation in the

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humanities on how to write, how to speak, how to think, how to articulate, how to be diplomatic and how to you know um be an adult, be a professional and obviously you know at Manor we have this this kind of mix of like very career focused programs where like you are going to be a dental hygienist, you are going to be um LPN and then we also have liberal arts and business and sports management and things that are a bit more fluid and uh flexible in their in their you know careers and what you can

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do with them. So it's really neat that we have kind of both and it makes for a very vibrant campus community. Um but you're right it's funny you know your wife Jess who also went to Manor had a very kind of different path. She's like I like numbers. I want to be an accountant. I want to make good money. You know very black and white. And you were kind of more like kind of in the gray bubble we'll say. Um, but since you brought Jess up, let's talk about that. So, I hear that Manor College gave you

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something much more meaningful than just a diploma. Can you kind of tell us the story about how you met your future wife on campus? >> Yeah, so Jess and I both went to Manor. Uh, she went to Ben Salem High School, so we didn't know each other through high school. And we met Aunt Manor, I think only towards the end of our freshman year, which would have been like, uh, 2010, 2011. So, I was asked to help with the graduation ceremony in some capacity. I forget exactly how. And so, was Jess. So,

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that's how we met. Um, and then I think the next year we just saw each other in the cafeteria and were like, "Oh, I remember you from the graduation thing and started hanging out that way." Um, and then, you know, developed a friendship. We both did the Model Y team. So, we both went to Boston that year, I think it was. and then both graduated 2012. I think originally she was supposed to go somewhere else. I went to La Salle uh but I think originally she was supposed to go somewhere else and then

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plans developed that she also ended up going to La Salle. So had that kind of small Manor connection. So we spent a lot of time at L uh hanging out at La Salle and then you know started dating that way and then grad school early career and then eventually marriage. >> I love it. I love >> I hope that lines up with the story. >> That lines up very well with Jess's story. Yeah, I think the um I'm trying I was as you were talking I'm like comparing the two in my head and I think

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the only detail that just had a few more details about the graduation when you both were asked to I think carry flags >> and then it was like a Catholic I mean graduation is part of the Catholic ceremony. So there were some Catholic related things that you guys knew what to do. >> Um she was saying that you guys were were into that a little bit >> but yeah you you were spot on. Very good. She'll be she'll be proud. Good show. >> So, you were active in Model UN. We

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unfortunately don't have Model UN anymore. Um, but can you kind of tell us like as someone who is involved with Model UN, do you ever find that those skills in negotiation, in diplomacy ever come in handy in in your work as an HR specialist? Any kind of likeminded things coming into play there? >> Good question. So diplomacy, sure. I mean, I started doing it in high school, so diplomacy amongst high school kids is probably a little bit different than what it looks like in the professional world, but I think um

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laying those seeds are is good. And then getting to do it on a college level u where you're competing against people who are actually studying at um kind of the big foreign service schools and know their stuff really well was also interesting to see. So sure the diplomacy and the kind of writing and research aspect of model UN was good as well but I think one of the things that goes under appreciated especially as a high school and then a college student um is it does give you extra exposure

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to kind of just the globe because you get assigned um or for people who may not be familiar with it right so you get like a debate topic and then you're assigned a country and you have to kind of research the country's position on that topic um and represent that faithfully. So, it gives you exposure to other things going on in the world and other I think kind of cultures and things you might not be able to pick up on if you weren't specifically told to research um you know what does Brunai

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and Darc Salam think about this, right? So, kind of getting some exposure that way and I think it just helps make you more well-rounded, right? and kind of adding your view to or picking up views on things you might not have views on. Um even to this day sometimes stuff comes up and I'm like oh yes that's in Tanzania or like this is that and it's like why do I know that? Well because it was I looked it up when I was a freshman at Manor. That's why I know it. So I think that's probably more the

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beneficial aspect than maybe the the actual diplomacy part of it. >> Yeah. Yeah. It makes you more worldly. Um, and as someone like you said, you were a history nerd. I'll use your words. Um, I feel like that ties in well with, you know, just kind of that um, interest that you have as well. So, tell us about your career. You you currently are an HR specialist at international raw materials. Tell us what your role means and does and the kind of work that you guys do. >> Yeah. So, uh, it's funny. I always say

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is that when I people say I work at International Raw Materials or I say that I feel like um like if you watch the old Sean Connery James Bond movies where his cover is like he works for Universal Exports. That's why I always feel like no one's going to believe that I work for >> Wait, are you secretly James Bond? >> No, I'm not that talented. But it's it's like the name of the company, right? Um anyway, so International Raw Materials, as you can probably guess, uh does

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shipping and logistics for raw materials across the globe. Uh so it's a smaller team in the headquarters in Philadelphia. So I'm a human resources specialist. Uh so I primarily work in learning and development and then a little bit of talent acquisition. So that's one of the good things about smaller teams. You can kind of have your hands in multiple pots. um but primarily heavy on the learning and development and kind of safety training compliance. So I started that job about 3 years ago

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after working for a startup company for a long time which is where I met Mari your former co-worker as well that we were talking about earlier. >> Um >> yeah so >> if you want me to go all the way back sorry I forget the exact scope of >> No you don't need to go all the way back. Um but that that's great. And do you see yourself staying into into the HR kind of role in the future? >> Yeah, I think um I don't really have any plans to get out of it, but um I think

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there's a lot of ways you can specialize and I think learning and development kind of lines up with what I was interested in doing originally. So, uh it does work and I don't see myself getting out of that field for the time being, but it'll be interesting to see how it develops, right? and things we know than things we don't know. >> How has um this AI craze and you know obviously it's it's here. It's here to stay. Um how are you using AI in your role? >> Well, that's a good question. So, I've

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slowly started using it more and more. Um originally kind of just the initial things of, you know, can you help me make this email sound better? Um, and now kind of leveraging it a bit more to dig through things that I might not remember exist before, uh, putting my foot in my mouth. So, uh, really using it more as an as an assistant more than anything else, which I think is probably the best way to use it. But, uh, it develops so quickly. So, we'll see how everything goes. But, um, I think it'll

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be okay. Yeah, that's how that's how I'm and I'm personally using AI as well, kind of as a little assistant, a little it's like a little intern to like help me do um admin kind of work, busy, you know, rewrite emails, make this sound more polished, but take these few things and make it into a spreadsheet or make me a graphic that explains this, you know, piece of data. Um I frankly haven't quite figured out how to use it in more ways than that or we haven't invested into like AI software. So, um,

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but it's developing so fast that in a year the answer to that question might be totally different. I just don't know, you know, it's kind of wild. >> I will say unlike Jessica, I'm not good with numbers. So, if AI can just handle all my numbers, that that would really be the key use of it for me. If we can just delegate that, I think I'd be good. >> Yeah, for sure. That sounds great. Carlos, I did want to talk for a minute about um someone who was a mentor to you

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when you were a student at Manor because this person has been a mentor to a lot of people, a lot of students, a lot of employees at the college and we just um we just were able to honor her this past November as our evening with Manor gala honoree. and she's a current board member. Uh Jane Zegestowsky and I know that you had a special relationship with her and and just tell us about how she made an impact on you and tell us about you know your relationship with her. >> Yeah, so Jane was just a good boss to

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have because I worked with her as a student worker or work study or whatever it might have been called when she was um assistant dean for academic affairs maybe. Now I can't remember. >> Yeah, I think that's that's right. Yeah, >> something along those lines. So, I was her work study for a year, maybe a year and a half. I think it went well. Um, and Jane was just a good boss and a good, I think, guidepost for someone who, like I said, didn't really have any higher education experience in their

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family. Was kind of able to serve as a sounding board and and guidepost for those experiences. >> Oh, that's great. I definitely think we we have work studies um all all the time. different offices have them and I always find that the students who are the work studies obviously like they get an inside look at those offices at those people that they work with and it tends to be a very mutually beneficial relationship for the staff that gets to work with them or the faculty um but also for the student and I really think

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all of us who work here who've been here for a little while can share stories about students that we've had in the office has a work study and then they turn to an intern and then maybe we hire them and so on and so forth and it's always really special. So I'm glad to hear that that was kind of your experience with Jane. So let's settle the debate besides education. What's the one thing that a father judge grad misses the most when they are out in the professional world?

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Is it the father judge like brotherhood? Is it something else? What's And also what makes Father Judge um have this great amount of pride? You guys always have such great pride. >> That's a good question. I don't know. It was just a a lot of fun. It was four years a lot of fun. I was originally supposed to go to um Bishop McDevitt and I if I remember correctly, I think my mother was under the impression that that was also a single gender school and then she found out it wasn't and quickly

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put the kibosh on that adventure. So that's how I ended up going to judge. um which worked out for the best. I just had a lot of fun. I thought it was good four years. I feel like I learned a lot. Um obviously and I think everyone that was there I had good banter, good fun with. So, uh I just think it was a good experience. Um overall, I can't really >> I think the brotherhood is strong. It's that brotherhood. It really is. >> Maybe um >> that's cool. >> Something else judge.

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>> I don't remember. But that's all right. >> Yeah, it's all right. That's that's really cool. All right, Carlos. Well, last question for you. What advice would you give to college students today kind of you've been out of it for a little while now. What advice would you share with them um to help them and encourage them to keep persisting through? Uh, well, one, I think I'm probably gonna get a lot of anger from parents that watch this, but I think the soft

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skills are really kind of the most important things you pick up in college. So, pursue your interests, study what you want to study, and pick up the kind of the broad knowledge and the soft skills. Uh, but really also don't stress yourself out. Probably anything you go through in college, other people have also gone through and have also figured it out. So don't stress too much. Take advantage of your resources. Um and for the very much part for the big part things will work out okay. >> Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Soft skills are huge. I

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think that's really important. Um, you know, when you look back at your college days, yes, you remember classes and things that you learned, but you really remember the people who were around you and the the moments, the fun, meeting your spouse, meeting your best friends, you know, those kind of moments. So, college is kind of a home for that as well. So, great advice. Thank you so much for sharing that, Carlos. Thank you for being with us today. Always a pleasure to talk to you. Best of luck to

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our newlyweds. And >> thank you. >> Um, congratulations again. We're so happy for you guys and thanks for being on the show. >> Thanks for having me. Take care. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on social media, Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest, stories about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here

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always.

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So I think for me the experience was community, family and just the investment that a lot of the teachers made. >> Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer a vice president of marketing and communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment

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of the show I like to call Blue Jay Spotlight. This week, we'll be highlighting Alexandra Simmons, a junior at Manor College from Cheltenham High School. Simmons is a member of the mental health club, Manor College's dance team, student senate, outdoor track, and a presidential ambassador. Simmons also is on the fall 2025 deans list. Learn more about our Blue Jay spotlight right here. Hi, my name is Alexander Simmons. I'm a psychology major at Manor College. I am currently a presidential ambassador, peer mentor, a

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co-captain on the dance team, a secretary for the mental awareness club, and I do track and volleyball. I chose psychology because I want to help guide people through life's challenges and difficulties. My favorite part about Manor is the community and friends that I've made so far along the way and staff and faculty that are always willing to help you. advice I would give for uh incoming Manor students would be to just take one step at a time and make new friends. Manor is a very much community-

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based college, so everyone's willing to help and guide you through the college experience. Manor College, you belong here. Today's episode is sponsored by the personal and social skills leadership certificate at Manor College. In today's workplace, social and personal skills are more than just soft skills. They are the key to your next promotion. Master the human advantage with Manor College's personal and social skills leadership certificate. This flexible four-course program is designed

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for working professionals who need high impact training without a high impact price tag. Courses are just $750 each. Or you can save more with a discounted bundle for the entire certificate. It's a small investment for a massive career leap. Don't just keep up, get ahead. Classes are hybrid and designed for your busy schedule. Apply today at manor.edu/leader. That's manor.edu/leader. Our guest today is a Philadelphian native and a proud graduate of Cardinal Dougherty who took his first major steps into the tech

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world right here in our backyard. While studying at Manor College, he didn't just sit in the back of the classroom. He immersed himself into the campus community, honing his leadership skills and getting his hands dirty as an intern in the IT department. After earning his associates degree in information systems in 2007, he took that foundation and headed south, transferring to the University of South Florida to further his knowledge. He credits much of his early trajectory to the impact of

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mentors like Norma Hall, proving that the right support system can take you from a local intern to a seasoned professional. Please welcome to the show, Joe Speziale. Hi Joe. >> Hello. Thank you for having me. It's good to be here today. >> Yes. Thank you so much for joining us from sunny Florida. I am a little jealous of your your climate um compared to the blizzard that we're having right now in the Northeast, but that's that's okay. I'm grateful that you get to enjoy

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it. Um can you start us off by sharing how did you hear about Manor College and why did you ultimately choose to attend? >> Yeah, so apologies in advance for the weather issues uh up north. You know, it is bright and sunny down here, so I apologize in advance for that. >> Rub it in. >> But uh >> yeah, sorry. Sorry. So, um, yeah, so Manor College, uh, first off has really been a major point in my career in just in my journey, uh, to where I'm at today. So, I definitely credit Manor for

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a lot of how I've gotten here today. To answer your question, when I was in high school at Cardinal Dougherty, there was a sort of program that you your senior year of high school, you could basically go to Manor College and take classes there. And it was an it was a chance to accelerate your two-year degree where essentially spend a few classes in, you know, your senior year of high school at Manor and then you go to Manor for a year, year and a half, get your associates quick quickly and then

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transfer out essentially. So for me, um, what I really liked about Manor initially was the opportunity to get out of high school and take some college classes, uh, before I was even in college and, uh, just kind of change it up and change a pace and, uh, you know, learn while before I got out of high school. So that's that's that was my introduction. >> That's awesome. So that's an interesting um we call that dual enrollment where high school students can take college classes and kind of kind of do both at

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the same time, get ahead in college but while obviously finishing high school. So that's really cool that that was kind of your introduction and and it it frankly it worked exactly as it's supposed to doing the goal of dual enrollment is to help the colleg's enrollment and get some really great students um taking advantage of that. So, I'm really excited to hear that it did that for you. That's that's really great. So, take us back. What was your Manor experience like? What were you

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involved with? What you know, what were your classes like for you? What do you remember from that time? >> Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing I noticed was just how small and how much of a community it was, right? When you when you hear the words college and when you, you know, think about taking college classes as a high school kid, you expect probably like a sprawling gigantic, you know, environment. And so what was really uh fitting for me was just coming in and just realizing the community and the small kind of family

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feel that you had from Manor from day one. I mean I think uh what I realized right off the bat that I really liked was just the sort of immersive nature of the classes whereas like I'm not in a room with you know 90 other students trying to get the teachers attention. I I felt what I really liked was it like everything in life, you you kind of you take what you give and you give what you take and so on. And I think um for me, I I wanted to learn as much as I could and in the sort of information systems world

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while I was at Manor and I think the teachers appreciated the that that sort of insight that I wanted to to learn and they spent a lot of time with me after classes and just giving me motivational conversations and you know what's the art of the possible. So I think for me the experience was community, family and just the investment that a lot of the teachers made uh in terms of you know guiding me, giving me advice and kind of helping me throughout the course of my career. >> Yeah, that that small hometown feel is

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something that hasn't necessarily changed in the last you know 20 or so years. Um it's still there. It's still very much who we are and what we like to talk about. We call it um are you belong here culture. You know, students get to know faculty, faculty get to know students. I always like to say that we we know way more than just your name because a lot of schools will say like, "We know your name." And I'm like, "Oh, we know way more than just your name." Um, we know your dreams. We know your

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any problems. We know any challenges we and we are working on helping you. So, it's great to hear that you kind of had had that. Um, tell me why did you choose to study information technology? Have you always been interested in technology? Was this something that you just thought was a good like business move? Um, what about technology really excites you and kind of made you want to choose that as your career path? >> Yeah, I think uh honestly I went into high school with uh literally my eyes

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wide open. I I had no idea, you know, when I was younger I was always like uh the traditional I want to be a doctor, a bus driver, like it was the most random stuff basically. But uh for me, I wanted to see what subjects and and and classes that I like actually enjoyed learning about. Uh so I remember distinctly in high school, I just really liked the co the computer classes. Like I I enjoyed learning about computers. I enjoyed learning about, you know, emerging technologies and all those other things

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that were going on at the time, which it's a long time ago at this point. Um, but in general, I think for me, I just I just really had a had a passion for those classes and that always stuck with me. So when I got to my senior year, I felt like it was a good opportunity to to marry the passion I had with a great career because one thing about me is I obviously am career driven and I want to make good money and I want to have a great career and at that time and even today honestly like computers it is is

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just one of those industries that there's just always going to be an opportunity to be successful and have a a long career. So, I would say that those were the things that were the most important to me as to why I selected that path. >> I was going to say, are you do you feel like you chose the right path being able to retrospectively look back and say like, all right, if I could tell um you know, 17-year-old Joe, like, yeah, yeah, man, pick technology. You're going to be okay. Do you think that was the right

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move? >> Yeah, 100%. 100%. I mean, I wouldn't be where I'm at today without it, right? So I think uh it was one like I don't think there's any path I would have changed in my journey from Manor to today. The only thing I probably would have changed is I initially transferred as a computer science uh major into USF and I would have probably changed that to management information systems. That's the only change I would have probably made from the from the get-go. >> Right. Right. Well that that's that's a

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fair there's always edits. You know what I mean? There's always always edits in life. So So let's talk about that. How did we how did we go from Philly and and kind of then down to to University of South Florida? And I guess like how how was it culturally going from like Cardinal Dougherty Manor very like Philly Grit kind of vibes to um transferring all you know down south to uh University of South Florida. >> Yeah, it was it was awesome. I mean uh so the thing that I was blessed to be

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validictorian at Manor College which I felt like opened up a lot of doors for me in terms of opportunities to transfer out. So uh that was I was blessed to be able to achieve that and like I said uh a lot of applications that I had were successful and I got some scholarship opportunities and so on from local you know schools like Drexel and so on and then you know to to schools like USF. I think for me, I love the warm weather if you can't tell. I mean, I'm still here in Florida all these years later. And I

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just remember as a kid growing up just really loving the warm weather and like the sunshine and all that. So, that always stuck with me uh as a kid. So, I wanted to I just knew I wanted to go to Florida of some some regard. So, I applied to every UF school there was. USF, UF, UNF, UF, UCF, USF, like literally every Florida school there was. Uh, and USF was one of those schools that gave me a scholarship opportunity out of state and it was it was actually a transfer out of state scholarship they had. So, um, when I

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went down there, I fell in love with the campus. Uh, I'm a lacrosse player and I I met some of the lacrosse guys when I went down there to visit. So, uh, it was kind of just a match made in heaven, you know, when I first stepped on campus and decided to to go there and it's been, uh, like I said, don't regret it all. Love USF and it's been quite the journey ever since. So, >> Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's that's awesome. Um, so it sounded like your sites were like Florida. I'm going I'm

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going where the warmth is where it's not going to have, you know, these these issues with snow and weather and we're going somewhere nice and that's that's awesome. I love that you also talked about a transfer scholarship. That's really a lot of schools either don't offer transfer scholarships or they just don't you don't know about them enough. So, that's really good to hear that like that's out there. That's real. and particularly for schools like Manor

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where we have a lot of programs that you do need to transfer out to continue your education. Um, luckily now in 2018 we started offering bachelor degrees. So a lot of our programs now we have an associate and a bachelor so students can stay here to get that. But um that's just really important to hear that there are transfer scholarships out there and that people should look into it because that could really be the difference between you know where you go. That's really good to hear. >> Yeah. And and like to answer your

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question you said about the experience how different it was right. It was a massive culture shock. Yeah. uh stepping into a campus where the two buildings were the school at Manor College to a USF is one of the biggest campuses in the United States, right? So I I went from you know 14 to 20 people in a class to like hundreds of people in the class, right? Uh, so it was really, this is a true story, my first ever, you know, experience at at USF. I got all my classes assigned to me, so I didn't do

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any research. Ra, my professor was really cool back then and everything. So, I didn't get a chance to do that. >> So, I remember my first class was pre-calculus with um, early morning, like probably 7 a.m. class, something crazy. And I remember my first exam I got like a 38 on the class on the exam and I I absolutely like panicked like I freaked out and I was like I just freaked out. Um luckily that was not the uh story of the rest of my USF career education wise. But like you know it was

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a good it was sort of like a reality check uh wakeup call and um you know I remember that distinctly and the feeling that gave me but it gave me motivation too to at the end of the day. So >> Right. Yeah, totally. Um, I would say like o there could not probably be more opposite type of institutions between Manor and USF. So, that's really neat that you were also nimble to like I'm going to manage both. I'm going to, you know, get out of my comfort zone and I'm going to make this work. That's really

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cool. So, let's talk about the work that you've been able to accomplish at Microsoft. You've been with Microsoft for the last 15 years. um I believe currently global customer success director. Can you kind of tell us in in layman's terms what that means and what has it been like working for such a an empire of a of an organization like Microsoft? >> Yeah, it's been it's been amazing. I mean um so what I do today is a global customer success leader in our downstream business. What that

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essentially means is I lead a team of AI and security cloud architects working with the largest global companies in the world basically right so uh that's really the the the best way to describe it so we are working with all the biggest global companies in terms of their AI deployments helping them with agents and co-pilot and chat and everything else in between so we're doing some really fun and exciting things right now with uh some of those companies u in terms of my journey Yeah, I mean what a journey it's been, right?

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15 years for me, uh on February 28th. So, uh pretty pretty proud of that accomplishment. Um you know, I came here as a college kid. I literally graduated from USF and I stepped foot into Microsoft literally a couple days later and I've been here ever since. So, the journey's been unbelievable and uh you know, the company's invested in me and my career and my growth and um you know, it's made me kind of who I am today. So, so I'm really grateful for the journey that it's been to this point and a lot

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of growth, a lot of changes, a lot of challenges, a lot of ups and downs, but you know, here we are today. >> That's that's awesome and so cool to hear. You know, a lot of a lot of people particularly nowadays don't stay, you know, at organizations for as long as they used to. And um so to have 15 years at a place is really special and something that you definitely should be proud of. Um, I like asking this question to all of our guests about their jobs. Um, what's like a myth or misconception

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about your work that maybe people assume that like you spent all day doing this thing and you're like that's not true or something that you just want to like debunk, something that um, we want to set the record straight. >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean listen, I think everybody when they hear Microsoft, they assume that you just know everything about every technology possible from like the printer to the to internet to everything else in between. You know, obviously we're very specialized here.

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We try and uh know as much about the overall technology stack as a whole, but like in terms of our business in general, we're obviously pretty specialized in the areas we work on. But you know, when you hear Microsoft, everyone always says Bill Gates. Bill Gates hasn't he's like not even I don't even think he's on the board anymore if I recall correctly. But you know there's this like everyone just has their assumptions about Microsoft and what you do and like unless you really ask me

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what I do like you sort of did you probably just assume that I'm just like almost like a tech support kind of guy I'm guessing and that's what my parents tend to think still to this day. Right. God bless them. >> Right. Right. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So we're not just tech support we're we're we're not just like a sales a sales rep for Microsoft. where you had something, you know, else were doing. >> Have you met Bill Gates? Do we know Bill Gates? Is this something that we've

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we've seen him at a company picnic or anything fun like that? >> Um, or is he just kind of a figurehead? >> He's just a figurehead. I I have not met him. I mean, I've met a lot of like Satia Nadell, the current CEO. I've met him like in passing. U Steve Balmer, who's the Clippers owner, he was the he was the CEO before. Uh Satia, I've met him a few times. He's quite the showman. uh very charismatic, very energetic. So that he he brought the energy. So >> you know, it's it's crazy just how much

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change uh not just Microsoft's been through, but just the entire industry's been through in in the 15 years, right? From from literally uh bringing people and companies to the cloud, you know, from on premises to now this AI revolution that is front and center in everybody's mind. Uh it's been quite the evolution, quite the journey, and we're still kind of evolving, you know, dayto day. So >> Oh, yeah. It's it's it's insane. AI has really taken over um you know everyone's

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industry. Even in here in higher education we we are we use AI um and know in the marketing office here we use AI and in Photoshop and different softwares that we're we're making um you know designing things but then also our students are using AI. So, we know how to figure out ways to catch them using AI when they hand in papers and assignments, but also try to teach them how they can use AI to help them with their assignments. It's not just all bad. Um, trying to find ways to put in

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the correct prompts and and what's, you know, how to site AI and in your academic papers and stuff like that. So, it's it's definitely it is it is everywhere. Um so actually so you started as an intern at Manor in the IT department. Um what is something that you you're working with now that like your 2000 self would have been like this is science fiction. This is not real like you know what I mean? What's something that you're like no like we're we're not that far.

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>> Yeah. I mean uh yeah. So shout out to Paul Van Ryan. uh he he was a big inspiration for me in terms of my uh just IT computer career. He was the head of the IT department. I sat in sat next to him in the chair rolling around, you know, swapping out servers and things like that uh for for many years at Manor. Um I would say just the the access to information uh on a whim, right? So, like back then if you wanted to learn how to like, you know, run Cat 5 cable or or like swap out a disc, like Paul would have to sit

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with me. I would watch him. He would show me how it's done. You know, he try to memorize what it was. Nowadays, I literally can just open up my phone, type in anything, right? Show me how to become a an expert in in building a Cat 5 cable, for example, right? Like, and I can learn within, you know, five seconds or basically. where I can literally pull my phone out and, you know, source it while I'm doing the job, right? So, I think for me it's pretty awesome. Like Google was there and all that, but like

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it's just not the same, right? Context search is so different than like actual conversational search when you're actually just like getting right to it. So, for me, I think just the access to to information and knowledge and how quickly I can consume it and find what I'm looking for. I would say that's been the most mind-blowing mind-blowing thing for me. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think I think I agree with you completely. Like that would be for me too. Like I've never could imagine

00:21:14
that like I could have so much so quickly, so easily, and also so tiny. Like the phones are small. They're not, you know, you don't need these giant, you know, things. And I remember like my my first like computer desktop, you know, it was a it was a whole thing. It took up a whole desk. It was large and I couldn't do much on it, frankly. So now it's so cool to have these little these little things in our pockets um for the most part. So that's really neat to hear. So Joe, what would be some advice

00:21:43
that you would share with college students today, particularly Manor students today to kind of encourage them to keep on their their college journey as someone who's been there, done that, live through it, and can now kind of self-reflect. >> Yeah. I mean, without being too cliche, right? I think like you got to figure out what strikes a passion in inside your body when you're doing it, right? Like I would never tell somebody to chase something that they don't have passion about because then you're just

00:22:12
going to be sort of miserable. Like don't chase something just for the money or chase something just for the the title. Do something that like when you're in it, you're like getting energy out of it, right? So for me, as I mentioned, um you know, I just always got energy out of technology and computers and all that. So for me, it was a natural progression to to to this to this career, right? So I would say when you're in school and when you're navigating like what you're going to do

00:22:34
with your job with your career like make sure that you think about what are those things like wow in that one class I really enjoyed that topic or that I really liked learning about this I got an A in this one class because of whatever it was right so that's usually going to be sort of the the catalyst to to what you probably want to do and then you got to be very intentional with your time and with your energy. So, you know, in terms of like what you want to do, just go out there and and talk to all

00:23:03
the people that have done it already. Uh, you know, find mentors in those spaces. Find, you know, listen to podcasts like this, you know, people that have been through it. Ask questions. I I think I'm always really impressed by the students that you go out there and ask questions. How'd you get there? What did you do? What was the, you know, what was the standout factor for you to break through? And so on so on, right? Like even at Microsoft, I was a kid from Philly, went to Manor College, you know, went to USF. I was

00:23:31
competing with people that went to Harvard and I all the Ivy League schools, right? Like I still still to this day, I'm just a USF guy, right? Uh went to Manor for a couple years. So, you know, you got to figure out what your unique characteristic is in terms of your career journey and your college journey. And then the last thing I would say is you have to stand out from the rest. Um, if you're doing the same thing everybody else is doing, you're not really doing anything unique. So, like,

00:23:57
you know, for me, I haven't talked about on this podcast, but I guess I'll get to it now, but I'm I'm gonna be actually starting a new career here shortly. Not a new career, but a new job at a new company uh where I'm blessed to be the head of customer success at this company. But anyway, how I got this opportunity was literally just a cold LinkedIn message. >> Just a straight up cold LinkedIn message to to to someone in that business. Uh, as I've been, you know, looking through

00:24:19
other job opportunities, just as I got to this point in my career, almost 95% of the interviews I've gotten were just from cold LinkedIn messages, not through putting my resume out there on a job board. So, I give you that just as a a thing to think about in terms of like you want to stand out and do and be unique to everybody else because there's a million people trying to take your job, take that spot at that school you want to go to, right? And and you just gota you got to find a way to stand out.

00:24:46
>> Yeah. Yeah. That's great. I love what you said particularly about um like asking for advice, asking questions, having mentors, and it made me think of we have a student uh I guess an alum. His name is Kareem. And Kareem graduated last year from Manor and he was an IT intern. And now he's working at at Manor full-time in the IT department. And when I think of someone who seeks out mentors, asks questions, really humbles himself, it's I think of Kareem. Kareem is someone when he walks around and

00:25:18
being an IT guy, actually, he's kind of um we had him on the show and when I asked him the the myth busting question, he says, "People think we're basement dwellers in IT." He goes, "We're not. We're social butterflies. Like everyone in it, we have to go out. we have to go fix people's stuff and like we have to then talk to you and and and Kareem does that but every time he comes to like you know fix something on your computer or fix a printer or whatever you have

00:25:45
little chitchat but he always asks you questions like how did you first find your professional style or how did you navigate a promotion or how did you like and it's so and he takes out his phone and he starts writing notes and I just love that and such good advice that you shared and it's in line with what I see Kareem living out. So, huge shout out to Kareem. But just like ask questions and write down notes and find mentors because um those people then are going to become your advocates and they're

00:26:16
going to help you get that next job or meet that person. Um you know, college is really about making connections and then finding ways to use those connections to help grow your own, you know, your own career. That's really what it's about. So that's that's great advice. Thank you for sharing, Joe. >> Well, Joe, we wish you nothing but the best. Best of luck in your next endeavor professionally. I know I always enjoy following along with you on LinkedIn and seeing what you're you're posting and

00:26:46
what you're doing. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful no matter where you end up there. Um, thank you so much and we wish you nothing but the best. And like I like to say to our alumni, you belong here always. >> Thank you for having me. Shout out to all the Manor family out there. wish you all the best of luck with your your careers and and college and all that good stuff. Thank you for having me. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and

00:27:11
subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on social media at Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest Stories about life after Manor College. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always.

[00:00:00 - 00:01:06] Yes, people want to know how Vegas is, but it wasn't just the students. It was the instructors, the nuns, and everybody. So, make this experience one that you in 20 years can come back and sit down and talk about. Hello, Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I am your host, Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at

[00:00:36 - 00:01:42] Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment of the show I like to call did you know? Where we will share some fun facts about Manor College that you may or may not know. Did you know that Mayor College is expanding and renovating its dental health center thanks to local share account grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. A grant is for $600,000. The funding will help add new dental stations and modern equipment, allowing

[00:01:09 - 00:02:14] the college to serve more than 1300 community patients each year with high quality dental care at roughly half the cost of a private practice. Founded in 1979 and later transformed into a teaching facility in 1995, the dental health center plays a dual role providing essential low cost care especially for seniors and uninsured neighbors while training the next generation of dental hygienists. Dr. Jonathan Peri, Manor College president, said that the project will have a meaningful and lasting impact in

[00:01:41 - 00:02:42] the community surrounding the college. We are proud to serve so many of our neighbors and provide more high quality, low cost dental care for years to come. Today's episode is sponsored by Manor College. We believe you deserve an education that feels like home. We offer associate and bachelor degrees in high demand fields like business, psychology, and practical nursing. Our small class size means that your professors know much more than just your name. You get the personalized attention you need and

[00:02:12 - 00:03:16] to truly thrive. Discover a supportive environment just outside of Philadelphia where success is built one student at a time. It's more than just a college. It's a community. Ready to find your place? Visit manor.edu today to explore your options and see why you belong here at Manor College. That's manor.edu. You belong here. Our guest today is a powerhouse leader in higher education who proves that the foundation you build early can take you anywhere. Originally hailing from the bright lights of Las

[00:02:44 - 00:03:49] Vegas where she attended Shadow Ridge High School, she traveled across the country to join the community here at Manor College. During her time there, she was a true force on campus, not just in the classroom as a liberal arts major, but on the field and on the court as a dual athlete for both our women's soccer and basketball teams. She credits much of her early growth to the mentorship figures like Miss Anne Kiczula, Frank Ferrell, and Coach Robert Reeves. After earning her associates degree in 2008, she took that momentum

[00:03:16 - 00:04:22] back west, eventually graduating from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Today she has come full circle in the world of academia. Currently serving as the campus president at Unitech Training Academy for the Baton Rouge campus where she uses her experience to lead the next generation of students towards her own success. Please welcome to the show Britni Smith. Hi Britni. >> Hi. >> Thanks for joining us today. It's such an honor to talk to you. >> No problem. Thanks for the invite.

[00:03:49 - 00:05:08] >> So take us back Britni. How did you first hear about Manor College and why did you ultimately choose to attend? >> So, I was a late recruit for basketball surprisingly and I had a trainer in Vegas and he asked me where I wanted to go and I was like, I want to go back east and we found a school in Maine and my mom was like, that's way too far. So, I was like, well, we have family in Philadelphia. So I told my trainer Philadelphia it was between Manor and Chester chestnut I don't remember it starts with

[00:04:28 - 00:05:45] a C and so I I was talking to coach Rob very often and something happened with the other institution and I called Coach Rob and I asked him like is there still a position for me to come and play basketball cuz I really wanted to play and he made it happen and I was there in September of 2026. So, >> all right. >> Wow. I'm glad I'm glad you came. So, basketball was really the like driving force to get you to to to come to Manor. Um, so what was your experience like as a student? Obviously, as a student

[00:05:07 - 00:06:10] athlete, managing and balancing school work and practice and kind of doing all those things together. What was it like for you? >> It was a fun time. I had some really good teammates my freshman and sophomore year, but they made it very easy. They I was the only one that really wasn't from the Philly area, so everybody sort of kind of took me under their wing as their little sister. Coach Rob was very influential. It was a good time. It was We were all our first quote unquote first time away

[00:05:38 - 00:06:47] from home. So, we all stayed in the dorm. Everybody went home on the weekends. So, I was one of the few that stayed in the dorms on the weekends or I went home with my teammate slash roommate slash now best friend Millie. So, it was a fun time. I enjoyed it. The instructors always called me, everybody called me Vegas actually when I was there. So, that was a talking point. So, it made the two years go by very fast while I was there. It was a nice little family away from family. >> Yeah. Oh, that's so funny. Um yeah, a

[00:06:12 - 00:07:10] lot of our student athletes today still um stay in live in the residence hall in St. Joseph at Hall and that's a pretty common thing to do, I would say. Um >> the weekends. Yes. >> Mhm. And yeah, go home on the weekends or go home with friends and things like that. So that's definitely still pretty true to our our residents life now. But you also played soccer at Manor. Was that something that you planned on doing or was that something that you just >> Oh, I was fast. I was literally just

[00:06:41 - 00:07:48] fast. And the coach was coach Campbell. So, they needed some soccer players and a couple of us basketball players went and played soccer. So, our goalie was a soccer player. I mean, a basketball player, Morgan, who was on the basketball team. She was like midfield. It was a couple of us. It was four of us. And Appalonia was on there, too. I think Appalonia was on there. I could be wrong, but yeah. Oh, that's cool. That's so cool. So, that's so funny that h how was it different like culturally being

[00:07:15 - 00:08:13] like from West Coast now into Philly? Did you have any like culture shock of things that they're like, "Oh, I didn't realize this was this was how Philly is or were you kind of expecting that?" >> A little bit. So, I do have family that lives in Philly. So in my younger years, we would come and visit my grandmother's side of the family. But it had been an extended amount of time since I came. And I think one of the one of the first things that was a cultural shock for me

[00:07:44 - 00:08:40] was they didn't have cars. So everybody rode the train, the No, not the train, the bus, and the sub. And I had never did any of that. So we were I was like, "So where's everybody's car at?" And they're like, "We don't have cars." And I was like, "Oh, so then how do you get around?" And they're like, "We ride the bus." So one of the times we got on the bus and I saw everybody swiping something. So I took out took out my debit card and I swiped my debit card

[00:08:12 - 00:09:15] like another and they were like definitely not what you do. And there was there's a bus pass and I was like, "I don't know about these things, you guys." So the bus driver thought it was funny and they let me ride for free. But that was pretty much when it came to the cultural shock. Um, the food is always good there. So, and I'm I mean from Vegas, you get a a variety of food places. So, that was pretty much the same. But little things that made me miss home, but it also made me

[00:08:43 - 00:09:41] appreciative to learn how, you know, how others have grown up in their backgrounds. >> Yeah. Oh, that's funny about you swiping your debit card and not being a bus pass, right? No one no one told you. How would you know? >> No. And I think that was the first time I rode the city bus. So, and I told every I was like, "The only bus I ride is the yellow one to school and from home." >> I was like, "I haven't done that in years because >> I got a car." And

[00:09:13 - 00:10:02] >> they're like, "So, you had a car?" I'm like, "Yeah, everybody had a car. You guys didn't have a car getting to school?" And they're like, "No." I was like, "Oh, >> no. They take the bus." Yep. They take like the the city bus to school sometimes. >> So fun. Millie holds that over my head still to this day every now and then. >> Oh, that's great. Yeah. So, it sounds like you um you made some friends during your time at Manor that you still

[00:09:37 - 00:10:43] >> are friends today. K. Tell us more about that. >> So, we were sort of kind of a tight-knit group in college and then we sort of kind of, you know, expanded, but obviously we expanded. We all went elsewhere, but there's a couple that I still keep in contact with. Millie's son was actually in my wedding a couple of years ago. He was our ring bearer. So, I'm the closest to Millie. I talked to Coach Rob several times throughout the year. We have, let's see, I keep in contact with Tash. She was on

[00:10:10 - 00:11:13] the basketball team. Brandon, he was a phenomenal basketball player when we were in Manor. some of the guys from the from the basketball team you keep in contact with, see how their families are growing and how they're, you know, going through life. So, it's always a good time to catch up. And then a couple of years after I left, we used to have alumni basketball games. I don't know if they have them now, but I definitely will not come to Philly to play basketball now. I haven't picked up a ball in years, but

[00:10:41 - 00:11:36] that's how a lot of us kept in contact. we would all make sure that we would all go back up to Philly for the alumni game. >> Yeah, that's awesome. That's good though. It's good to stay in touch with people and for weddings and, you know, new new children and families and all that stuff. That's so cool to see. That's one of my favorite parts about um higher education and just college. You know, obviously you get a degree and and it prepares you for a career, but it

[00:11:08 - 00:12:08] also gives you those friendships that you really can't get anywhere else >> I've ever had in life starting at Manor. Like I still have friends from high school and elementary and middle school, but some of the ones that have truly stuck with me are the ones that I started at Manor Campus. >> Right. Like if you can make it as a friend living in like a very small room together for a few years, that's good foundational, you know, friendship right there, you're going to be okay. You can

[00:11:39 - 00:12:32] make it through other stuff. >> Yes. Um Millie offered me oodles and noodles. As soon as my mom got into the car to drive off, I was about to cry. Yeah. >> And she was like, "Do you want some oodles and noodles?" And I was like, "What is that?" And she was like, "Ooodles and noodles." I was like, "I don't know what that is." And she was like, "Come on, Vegas. I'mma show you." And so when it was a pack of ramen, I was like, "Oh, you should have

[00:12:05 - 00:13:11] just said ramen." Yes, I I do want some ramen. >> Oh, that's a good friend right there. So, um, tell us a little bit more about what you're currently your role is at Unitech Training Academy and what exactly is Unitech Training Academy because I do think it might be might have some similarities to um, us here at Manor. >> So, Unitech Training Academy is a career ready college. So, we can get students in the career field between 6 to 12 months. We do have certification

[00:12:38 - 00:13:51] programs. So at my particular campus we have massage therapy, EKG, phlebotomy, medical assistant, pharmacy technician, dental assisting, and did I say massage therapy? I think I did. >> So it's five five programs and it's pretty much for anybody as long as you have graduated high school or received your GED. We know that sometimes the two-year institution or the four-year institution isn't for everybody and sometimes people need to just come in, get those skills, and get right into the

[00:13:14 - 00:14:32] working field. And we do get to offer that to our Baton Rouge community. We actually have six campuses in Louisiana all around. Um, if you're not from Louisiana, just know that we are located in like Alexandria, West Monroe, Lafayette. We have an online division. So that's for anybody regardless of location and New Orleans. And then what do I do? I do the operations piece of the campus. So I am the campus president. So the staff jokes and says it's like the principal's office and

[00:13:53 - 00:15:00] we do have some similarities but pretty much I do operations here for the campus. Um, everybody is falls under my leadership. I genuinely have a heart to make sure that the student has a great experience here and they're able to transfer those skills out into the community. So, I honestly love what I do. I love to see the students start and finish and grow in that Manor and then get to see them out in the community when we are doing community events or even when I'm going to my doctor's

[00:14:27 - 00:15:27] office. Uh, one of our alumni actually works at my daughter's pediatrician's office. So, it's great to see her once a year just to see that she's still in the field. >> Yeah, that's awesome. That's so cool. So, it sounds like um, you know, Manor, we have we have two-year programs, we now have four-year programs, we have we have dental assisting, dental hygiene. Um, we just started a practical nursing program. So we have a mix of some career ready programs but also you know

[00:14:57 - 00:16:03] traditional business and psychology, computer science and those kind of things. But but you Britni you started as a liberal arts major right? >> I did. I did. >> Tell tell us about that. What made you want to study liberal arts and how have you felt like that degree has kind of helped you um kind of navigate your own career? >> So for the longest time I really wanted to go into psychology. I've loved psychology. I took psych AP in high school and I had one I had two amazing

[00:15:29 - 00:16:55] instructors, Coach Denham and Mr. Ael. And they sort of kind of got me ready for undergrad in for psych. And how I got to this side of the campus is I can't even explain it because after I got my undergrad degree in psychology, I full-fledged went into athletics and I got my masters into sport administration. So if you would have asked me like 6 years ago, would I be on this side of the campus? No. Cuz I loved athletics. I love the operations of athletics. But somebody offered me a position to come on the we call it the

[00:16:13 - 00:17:21] other side of campus when you leave athletics and I've absolutely loved it. Um it has grown me. It has shaped me. It has shown me where I need to grow and I I I love to see the students and be influential in their journey. >> Yeah, I can I can see that. You can tell in the way that you talk about it that it means a lot to you and it's something that you don't take for granted. You know, you really those students journeys are very important to you and that's really cool to hear.

[00:16:46 - 00:17:56] >> Yes. I do have a question. Is the dental hygienist are they still in the dorms? >> Yeah. Yeah. The dental health center actually, it's funny you brought that up. The dental health center is still in the it's in the basement of St. Joseph Hall where the res hall is, but we just received a very large grant >> um which is is really phenomenal. It's um over half a million dollars from the PA Department of Community Economic Development and it's to help create a a

[00:17:22 - 00:18:15] stronger modern, you know, different equipment, updated equipment in dental health center. >> We had a couple of friends that went through the program. So, >> yeah, >> congratulations on that. I'm happy to hear that. >> Yeah, it's exciting. You know, the dental health center has been around since 1979. Okay. >> Um, and it became a teaching facility in like the mid90s, I think 95. So, it has always been like this dual purpose. Like part of it is like truly a dental health

[00:17:48 - 00:18:47] center where anyone can walk in off the street if they're uninsured and they can get a cleaning. Um, but also it's a teaching facility. So it is for our students to practice and train to become a dental hygienist or a dental assistant. So um having updated equipment in there is going to be really um just really game changing for us because it is outdated and it will help us be more efficient, help us serve more people, help our students work on equipment that they're probably going to

[00:18:18 - 00:19:22] then be using later on in the field. So we are really grateful for that. >> Congratulations. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's exciting. So, I want to talk to you a little bit about some of the mentors that you mentioned um who were influential. Obviously, you talked about coach coach Rob Reeves >> um but also Miss Anne Kiczula and Mr. Frank Ferrell. I want to share with you about Miss Anne real quick. Miss Anne um she we just celebrated this past December her 70th year working at the college,

[00:18:50 - 00:19:55] >> right? and that was really special for us to do and she was she was really honored and we did a few special things around the holidays for that. So she's been with the college since 1955. Okay. >> Um longer than most people's lifetimes. It's pretty pretty amazing. And then Frank Ferrell. So, like how now that you're on the other side of the desk as a president, like how do you try to replicate that type of mentorship that you got to students or um colleagues that you interact with?

[00:19:22 - 00:20:34] >> So, let's start with Miss Anne. First, I owe Miss An apology. I forgot to put my card in the mail. So, I'm sorry, Miss Anne. And I was supposed to send her pictures from the wedding. I'm sorry, Miss Anne. Oh, make sure you get those items. But Miss Anne was a true gym at the college. I she I want to say she worked switchboard when I was there and she would always greet us, always ask us about our day, always wish us luck for whatever sporting event that we had. But she she went out of her way to make sure

[00:19:57 - 00:21:14] that we knew that she she knew our names. She kept up with us even since we've been gone. If you call Manor and you hear Miss Anne, she can identify you by your voice. So, she still calls me Vegas if I have to call for a transcript, which I did a couple of years ago. So, with that being said, it makes you feel like you're not just a number, but you're a person. And even almost 20 years later, wow. Um, she still remembers you, and I am appreciative of that. Now, for Mr. Frank. Frank was one of my instructors.

[00:20:36 - 00:21:50] I do apologize. I do not remember what he taught, but we definitely enjoyed his class. And then we became friends on Facebook and he checks in with us, you know, says happy birthday. He's very responsive when you um when you reach out. So when it comes to those moments that lets you know that you weren't just a student in his class, like he truly cared and is happy to see where we're growing in life almost 20 years later. So it's always a good thing. >> Yeah. Yeah. They're they're both um

[00:21:13 - 00:22:19] great great people and um you know my my office is pretty close to Anne's front desk counter area. So I I hear her often say to students um you know she checks in with them. She asks them how was your test or what do you got going on? And >> definitely we actually had her on the show. She was our first episode of the the season here in 2026. and you know and someone who um I've had the pleasure to be very close to her over I've worked at Manor since 2012 so it's been been a

[00:21:47 - 00:22:46] while but like it wasn't until we sat down on a podcast together and I asked her I said an like why do you always make coffee cuz she always has coffee on her counter in a big percolator and she makes a batch in the morning and a batch in the afternoon and I said like why do you always make coffee like why not just get a cure egg why not you know what I and she goes, "Well, I make coffee so people will come and they'll talk to me and they'll slow down and they'll have a conversation with me so I can get to

[00:22:16 - 00:23:16] know them more." And just like hearing that was like, "Oh my gosh, this woman is is the best." You know, >> she's the sweetest. She truly is a gem and she makes Manor College what it is. exemplifies Manor College. So, I'm forever grateful for, you know, just her saying hi and talking and talking to me. And then throughout the years when we do call back, sometimes I have called just to talk to her and be like, "Hey, Miss Anne." And she still calls me Vegas. And

[00:22:46 - 00:23:43] that's where we are. So, I probably need to call her and say hello. >> Yeah, she she would love it. She would love to hear from you if and when you get the time. Um, so Britni, I like asking I like asking this question all of our guests, but what's like um something about your your job and your career that's like a myth that you want to debunk? Something that people assume that you do or that you spend all your time doing and you're like, that's really not true. What's something that

[00:23:14 - 00:24:23] we can kind of myth bust a little bit? >> As a campus president, my office is not the principal's office. It it genuinely isn't. I am here to help you to your next step through whatever avenue that has to be. And you don't have to be scared to come in here. So, I think that's that's pretty much the myth. But the students and the staff know that I I like to have a good time. Sometimes we might have music playing in the hallway and my favorite genre of music is '90s R&B. And if we

[00:23:49 - 00:25:03] have that playing, you are gonna see me do a twostep, sing the song, especially the adlibs. And it it's nice to know that it's nice for people to know that you're just as human as they are. Regardless of your title, your title is something that is between 8 to five, but outside of that, you are still authentic in you. And I want everybody to know that. Like I I'm a goofball. I'm a sports head. I love to laugh. I love to have fun. I love to get to know you for you. And I would like for people to get

[00:24:26 - 00:25:39] to know me for me. >> I love that. That's great. That's really, really good, good myth busting right there. >> So, as we kind of wrap up our show today, what advice do you have for Manor students who are currently in their their journey in their experience? Um, as someone who's lived it, been there, done it. What advice would you give them? >> My advice for a Manor student would be to just flourish. You know, get to know somebody that doesn't sit at the table with you. Um, one of my

[00:25:02 - 00:26:07] one of my best memories is just actually saying hi and talking to people. Like, yes, people want to know how Vegas is, but it wasn't just the students. It was the instructors, the nuns, and everybody. So, make this experience one that you in 20 years can come back and sit down and talk about and and help the next generation of Manor students. >> Yeah. And Manor's a great place for that. Like Manor is small. It's personal. You can find new people to talk to. You don't have to stay in your

[00:25:35 - 00:26:40] bubble. You know, there's always new faces in the cafeteria, the gym, or anywhere. That's really good advice and I hope students um who are tuning in will will take that to heart because it really it takes some perspective to see that it will have an impact later on in your life. >> I agree. Um just coming from where I from the west coast to the east coast, you have to be fairly open and know that they're not people are going to say the same words that you say just a little bit different. So just being open and

[00:26:07 - 00:27:09] welcoming. It was it was a fun time. It was a great time. It was a learning time. And I I'd do it all over again minus the oodles and noodles. I don't think I would want to to as much as I had to while I >> live on live on ramen again. Right. >> Yes. I wouldn't do that. >> Well, Britni, it's been such an honor to talk to you. I I truly love talking to our alumni and hearing their stories because every time I talk to an alumni, everyone's story is different, but

[00:26:38 - 00:27:43] there's always so many similarities I hear story after story um of feeling like they belong at Manor, feeling that Manor nurtured them and and gave them a foundation to um to learn and to grow. And I I hear that through your story as well. And and also I just want to say thank you for being like a living embodiment of our mission. You know, our mission is to prepare students to serve society effectively and compassionately and and you're doing that. So, thank you so much for being like a walking,

[00:27:11 - 00:28:12] living, breathing testament to what we do here at the college. It's really it means a lot to us and um we just can't thank you enough. >> Well, thank you so much. I hope you guys have a great day and it's always great to be a Manor alumni. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram at Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest Stories

[00:27:41 - 00:27:53] about life after Manor College. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always.

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Don't be afraid to ask anything really, especially in your career, because the worst that can happen is you're going to hear no. But, uh, it's it it's actually a good thing to hear no and realize maybe this place is not for me. Uh, but ask about opportunities. Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer vice president of marketing communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will encourage, inform, and

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inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment of the show I like to call Blue Jay Spotlight. This week, we'll be highlighting Brandy Torres, a freshman at Manor College from Northeast High. Torres is a member of Manor College's baseball team and was on the fall 2025 deans list. >> Hello, I'm Brandy Torres. I'm a freshman here at Manor and I'm from Northeast Philadelphia. I feel like I belong here

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because of the constant outreach I'm getting from all my professors and the tight-knit community really does allow me to just connect with everybody. I feel like every day I walk through the hallways, I'm able to just have a tons of conversations with all my classmates. Right now, it's a tie between developmental psych and the industrial history of Philadelphia. Professor Buechel is like a stand-up comedian. And Professor Morrison is just a genius. So, I just love picking his brain. He knows the answer to any

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question you could ask him. Manor College, you belong here. Today's episode is sponsored by Manor College's open house. Join us at Manor College in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania for our spring open house on Saturday, March 7th at 10:00 a.m. Open house is a chance for prospective students to come visit campus, meet faculty and staff, meet athletic teams, and learn what it is like to have life as a Manor College Blue Jay. Plus, have lunch on us. If you're interested in our open house, head to www.manor.edu/visit

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to sign up for the event. We can't wait to see you. Our guest today was born in Ukraine before he eventually found his way to Philadelphia and walked the halls of Northeast High School. As a first generation American college student, he balanced a full-time career with his studies, proving that grit is just as important as a syllabus. During his time at Manor College, he focused his energy on studying business administration with a concentration in computer science, working closely under the mentorship of

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his faculty adviser, Norma Mahal. After earning his associate degree in 2004, he navigated the complex world of higher education, learning firsthand the vital importance of choosing reputable institutions. Today, he serves as the sales tools and automation architect at Pure Storage. Please welcome to the show Eugene Glik. Hi Eugene. Thanks for being with us today. >> Thank you Cali. Hello to you as well. >> So take us back. How did you first learn about Manor College and why did you

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choose to attend? >> So it's it's an interesting story. In high school, I got involved with a program called Youthworks and uh there was a uh Manor faculty member that was part of the staff running that program and uh besides education uh they were also taking us across uh the state looking at different schools and colleges. This is how I learned about, you know, Poly Family, Bloomsburg, Manor. And ultimately that program is what led me to to Manor uh to apply for a scholarship at Manor being

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accepted and uh having a rather successful couple of years, though maybe some of my instructors would disagree. >> That's great. What a great program. You know, something that I kind of equate it to today, we have a thing called dual enrollment where you could have like a college professor teaching in a high school class and you can get credits in high school for um college. Um, but I haven't heard of anything of what you just described that's like modern day um what we have where they like they take

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you across and they take you to multiple schools and kind of take you on tours. That's really neat. So, do you remember what was it about Manor comparing to the other schools that you saw that like stood out? What were the some of the factors that really played into you choosing it? >> Sure. So, while I always knew that I'm a techie at heart and I've been I've been doing what I'm ultimately still doing since I was 13, uh, Manor uh allowed me some some room to actually

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decide what my career will be. I didn't know uh whether I will succeed in college. Uh I I was an average high school student. Uh I was still learning what adult life is and uh I I had to work. I was already working uh before coming to Manor and balancing school and life was very important and Manor was only 15 minutes away from home so that also helped. Uh but in general it was a smaller school. Uh the staff was very friendly. Uh and uh my soon-to-be adviser was very uh accepting of my horrible sense of humor when I was

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there for an orientation. So uh it just felt right. >> That's great. That's great. It was convenient. It was flexible. Friendly. Um all things that even now 22 years later still hold true. For sure. What was your what was your job that you had while you were a student? >> So I I had a multi multitude of jobs. Uh when I started I was uh installing uh uh Dish Network uh with my father. I was uh running a couple of gas stations as an assistant manager and later I while still at Manor I actually started

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teaching in technical school which was an interesting uh step in itself. Okay. So, you've you've done you've done it all already and you don't even have a degree. That's that's >> that was uh >> Yeah, >> a thing I had to get. >> Yeah, that was impressive. You know, um Eugene, our students today, 85% of them are working while in in college. And of that 85%, about 50% are working full-time. So, it's very common for our students today to be kind of doing what

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you did. They have jobs, overnight, dog walkers, caretakers, um all sorts of different jobs, restaurants, waitresses, um some are day, you know, work in daycares. So, it's it's really common for our students to need flexibility. It's not like a wishlist item. It's like I I need to have it. Um, so it's really neat to hear that your story still kind of resonates with what our students are are going through today. So, what was your Manor experience like? What was it like for you? And what was your what was

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your classes like? And kind of what was take us back. What was it like for you as a student? >> Oh, my actually my first day uh I uh figured out where the learning center is. I don't know if it's still there on the first floor, but made my way over there and I uh made my first friends by accidentally confusing which computer is mine and which is the person next to me and power cycling that one. Uh that was uh an interesting stressful experience but uh everybody was very friendly, everything was easy to find

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and um really it it felt very different from Northeast High because as you know Northeast is a huge school with like you barely know your classmates. >> Manor felt nothing like that. Pretty sure everybody I met on my first day and second day were the people I spent the next two years with. >> Sure. Yeah. Absolutely. >> Their challenges and my challenges were very similar and we learned to work together. >> I love that. Yeah, definitely different than Northeast High where it's just like

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a sea of people all the time. Manor. I always like to say like we don't just know your name, we know things about you. You know things about us very much like a family for for better and for worse. So it's a good thing. Um our our our tagline now is you belong here. And we we adopted that back in 2017 and I hear time and time again that um it really rings true for many people. they do feel like they belong here because of that close-knit, you know, feel that they have on campus. So, why did you

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choose to study business administration and then that concentration in comp sci? I know you mentioned that you've always been a techie at heart, but what about um business and comp sci that really was like, okay, this is going to be my focus, my career. >> So, I always knew that at some point I will be running a business, which I did many times over the last 20 years. And I knew that I was lacking a a certain foundation. >> Well, tech is easy. You start you start in tech, especially in consumer tech,

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and uh you spend a couple of months, couple of years, but you get good at it. It it just happens organically. The business side of things, well, that doesn't just happen. The mistakes there cost you real money real quick, uh and have very serious consequences. So BIS business courses to me were very logical and I'm I'm very happy that I went that way because even if you don't end up running a business, all of these concept transfer over. They they literally transfer over to your normal day-to-day

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life and it just works, >> right? It's practical. it's it's it's going to be helpful in some way somehow and and you know that's really neat. Um and and it's something that kind of stand the test of time. You're going to learn concepts and values and things that like will work right away might not pull into play until 20 years down the road. So I think that's really good for anyone who wants to study business or business administration. So tell us about the work that you're

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doing today Eugene. Um you're working at Pure Storage. Um and you kind of have a longer title sales tools and automation architect but what what does that mean and uh tell us more about that. So Pure Storage, let me first tell you what it is. We we kind of make uh data storage systems all flash-based, really fast, enterprise grade. Most people never hear about such things. Uh and actually uh I I want to make a point that a lot of people don't get uh to see enterprise technology until they're out in the

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field. And that's something that they really should be exploring on their own if they're planning to go out and and work at mid to large scale enterprises uh in IT. Uh so actually what my title means is that I look at business requirements and uh using product knowledge uh knowledge of the development processes and knowledge of how the sales process works and uh I translate that into development requirements work with software developers. I oversee development. I do user acceptance testing and I collect

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feedback from uh many salespeople about how their experience is, what can be improved and it's a continuous improvement process. That's what that means. Um, in in general, it's it's really just removing time that salespeople spend trying to read compatibility documents or figure out if what they're selling customer is going to work out of the box. So, it's it's on me to know all of those things and know where the information is and then make sure that they don't while

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they should know it, they don't have to. >> Okay. Wow, that's interesting. I've never heard of kind of this the storage um data center kind of enterprise like you were discussing either because I'm just not in that field. But how have you found is AI in the world of AI changing this? And do you work with AI in in that sense or I'm forgive my ignorance, I'm just not sure. I imagine it would have >> been all over it, but I'm not sure. >> I I'll start with with with the the

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basic definition of what the cloud is. it's someone else's server or in this case it's a bunch of other equipment. So yes, uh I do touch AI a little. Uh it it is all the rage right now. Uh the the hardware that uh I help put out in the field actually is the foundation on which uh the data that AI uses sits. Um data centers in themselves uh are actually a very interesting topic which uh I feel that uh IT students are not getting enough exposure in. >> I I don't think there is a a single

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school out there that prepares somebody to actually work in a data center. um while they keep growing uh they keep being everywhere and that's that's something that I think is a good place for people to independently study but it's also something for uh IT programs to consider. Um I didn't even know data centers existed when I got into this career and they already did. So >> why why do you think that higher education and maybe tech schools are are not focusing on that to teach?

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Why do you think it's just a just um a misalignment or something like what's what's your thought on that? >> So it's a number of things. one, you will find that finding somebody who is a data center professional uh that is that has time to teach that that's not a thing because these these people are very busy. Uh the other thing is um education programs lag behind what technology is. simply impossible to have an education program that is going to take a student and have them ready to work in a data

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center. Uh it just it's just too dynamic. So it I I know I've been through for instance uh taking a a curriculum through the PA Department of Education. By the time you're done going through that process, >> technology has run away from you. Uh it's it's just that dynamic. Um and the other thing is I I think just like I didn't know about the relevance of this field uh even many corporate IT people miss how relevant it is and how much more relevant it's becoming.

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Do you feel like this is a field that is just starting and it's going to grow or um it it's been growing and it's just it needs more it >> more young professionals in it? >> It it has been growing at a at an extreme pace. If you look at something like Ashurn, Virginia, uh, and you take a look at the history of Google Maps, you're going to see data center on top of data center just they keep popping up and popping up and with AI being introduced, things keep accelerating. The limiting factor for

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data centers, believe it or not, is our power grid. >> Uh, in certain European countries, there's a moratorium on new data centers uh being built because of power. And we are running into power transmissions issues and there's there is more demand than what our country's grid is built for. >> Okay. Interesting. Yeah. So that's a limiting factor right now or or an opportunity to to get different different types of energy to it. >> Um really interesting, Eugene. Thank you

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for sharing that. And I think that's something that um people need to be thinking about and finding ways to create certificates or degrees so that we are preparing young professionals to go into this field because it sounds like it's a good opportunity. Um and potentially untapped. >> Yeah. Yeah. Professional certifications exist. There's plenty of them. Uh but you have to know about them and also most of them require some level of experience. Uh, I'm I'm going to bring up VMware

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certified professional. That is not something you're just going to go and pass with no experience. I mean, you could, but why would you? Uh, it's uh a a curriculum for for a data center tech is something that should exist. It's just it's it's inevitable that we're going to get more of them. They're going to be in everybody's neighborhoods. As much as I perhaps don't like that one's going to be in my backyard, but it will be a good example is Ashurn, Virginia. Like

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if anybody wants to look at the dynamic, they can look there. They can look at Vegas >> and see how many data centers are there. They're they're they're situated around where uh infrastructure for ISPs and infrastructure for power converge. >> Gotcha. Do you know how many or are there a lot in Philadelphia or in like the Delaware County area? >> In Philadelphia, uh you would never guess uh where they are. Uh for example, on Broaden Spring Garden, there is three. Uh

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>> so they just they don't they don't stand out as different in a sense. They just kind of blend in with just, you know, buildings and >> they can be in an old building. They can be a brand new warehouse type building. it. >> It people people repurpose buildings all the time. And >> yeah, if if you go around Broad and Spring Garden, see if you can spot them. They're very easy to spot if you know what to look for. You're looking for backup generators, large cables coming

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out of the ground and a lot of hot air being blown into the street. >> Sounds like a fun like road trip game. Like spot the data centers. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um that's cool. If if these are fresh built ones, they're they look just like a warehouse. If this is something that uh historically happened somewhere, they're they're in these high rises, they might be on multiple floors. >> Yeah. Nice. Wow. That's interesting. So, um Eugene, you know, as college students

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are are going throughout their their experiences at Manor and in other institutions, and you know, you've been through the college process now. Um what would you say is some advice that you would give to particularly Manor students today based on what you know? >> The people you meet are important. Uh my first software development job was uh found through my uh classmate at Manor. Uh these people are going to stay with you all your life if you treat them well. And this network is very powerful.

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um build it, maintain it, and uh it'll do great things for you and you will do great things for it. Uh the other piece of advice is don't be afraid to ask anything really, especially in your career, because the worst that can happen is you're going to hear no. But uh it's it it's actually a good thing to hear no and realize maybe this place is not for me. Uh but ask about opportunities, suggest things. Uh you will be surprised how many times uh somebody will listen to you and say, "Well, that's a great

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suggestion. How about you research it more and pitch it to me?" Uh this happens a lot more than people think. Uh just just be open to asking, be open to actually getting an unexpected answer and uh just be dynamic. The days of staying somewhere for decades, I mean there's places where you can do that, but that time really is gone. And uh you want to realize quickly whether the place you're working at is not dynamic, is not keeping up with the times. Uh and you want to find something

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that suits you. And the other thing you really want to keep in mind is really be true to yourself. If if the place you work at doesn't feel right, start looking. >> Yeah, that's great. I think um all of that can kind of tie back into like what you first said about you know knowing knowing people and keeping in contact and um make good connections because you never know when those connections could come in handy when searching or when um you know finding a new opportunity or um I read something recently someone's

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someone's post I think it was a a coach and he was like meet people and then make connections based on the people that you meet like always be a connector within folks because that's how people tend to like you because you're that person who's going to find them and help them and you know um be really thoughtful around that. So I think that's great advice Eugene. Thank you for sharing that. Eugene, we wish you the best of luck in the rest of your career and know that Manor is always

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here cheering you on and as we like to say for our alumni, you belong here always. Thank you for spending the time with us today and we wish you nothing but the best. Thank you and I hope for Manor's continuing success. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes of our alumni by following Manor College on Instagram, Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest, stories

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about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here always.

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I always like to tell students that, you know, find the right home for you. Um, when that's you're looking through the college admissions process, it is cliche, but when you land on that campus that you want to go to, you're going to know that it's the right spot for you. Hello, Blue Jays, and welcome to the nest, stories about life after Manor College. I am your host, Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications, and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this

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podcast will encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College, you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a segment of the show I like to call, did you know? Where we will share some fun facts about Manor College that you may or may not know. Did you know that there's a new opportunity for Manor College graduates at Neumann University? On January 29th, 2026, Manor College and Neumann University announced an agreement that provides the opportunity for at least

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three Manor graduates per year to earn a master's degree at Neumann. Neumann's programs include forensic accounting, cyber security, business and organizational leadership, education, forensic psychology, and sport business. This exciting program is a pathway for students at Manor College to receive continued education at an institution that has similar values. It is a place where students will feel comfortable, familiar, and will flourish. For more information, check out Manor College's

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latest post on the news section of our website at www.manor.edu/news. Today's episode is sponsored by the Manor College Bird Feed. Did you know that some Manor College students struggle with food insecurity? Minor College is proud to be an official PA hunger-free campus. Our bird feed food pantry provides a vital lifeline offering non-p perishable food and toiletries to those in need. But we can't do it without you. Your donation of canned goods, dry goods, or financial contributions help us stock the shelves

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and ensure that no one in our campus goes hungry. Learn how you can help by visiting manor.edu/birdfeed. That's manor.edu/birdfeed. Our guest today is a true staple of the northeast Philadelphia community and a proud product of Franklin Towne Charter High. When he first arrived on our campus, he dove head first into the full college experience, pursuing an associates degree in liberal arts. He didn't just attend classes, he led from the front. Whether he was guiding prospective families as a student

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ambassador or leading the charge on the pitch as a captain of the men's soccer team, his impact was felt across the entire campus. After graduating from Manor in 2018, he took his talents further a field, earning his undergrad degree at Shenandoah University before completing recently his master's degree from Neumann University. But as they say, all roads lead back to the blue and white. Influenced by mentors such as John JD Dempster, Joe Dr. Joe Gillespie, and John Simila, he decided to return to

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the halls where it all began. Today, he serves as a vital bridge for the next generation of students as a Manor College admissions counselor, athletic liaison, and the assistant woman's soccer coach. Please welcome to the show Damian Schweizer. Hi, Damian. >> Hi, Kelly. Thank you so much for having me today. >> Thanks for being on. and I'm so excited to talk to you and you're someone who h was at Manor then went to other institutions and then you found your way back. So I always love those kind of

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like coming home stories but take us back. How did you choose Manor? How did you find it and kind of what was it like making that decision? >> So growing up I was always a soccer player. So sports had a big uh decision or was a big part of my decision and luckily enough uh I had some interconnection to Manor right away. Uh my dad and JD actually went to high school together. They played soccer together at Lincoln High School under uh Mr. Patton who was an assistant coach at Manor at the time uh when I was a senior

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in high school. So that connection right away kind of made Manor a interest of mine. And then I came to campus after talking to JD a couple times. He was at a couple of our Franklin Towne games. And then he finally got me out on campus. My first time on campus, uh, I felt that you belong here slogan when I walked down the steps to enter Miss Anne, who is still here today, uh, greeted me right away with, uh, open arms, knew my name, which was something that in the recruiting process I didn't experience

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before. So Ann greeted me, gave me a cup of coffee as I waited for JD. And from that moment on, I just kind of knew that Manor was going to be the spot for me. >> Oh, that's great. I love that you had kind of like a prior connection and you had an idea that this might be a good place, but then when you actually came, you were reassured like this is actually a good spot for you and what you just described as like your your you know your opening um scene there coming down meeting an getting coffee. Has that

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changed today? Is that that's still pretty much what happens um at Manor? you know, which is kind of cool to think about. Here we are like a decade later and that hospitality has pretty much stayed pretty consistent. >> Yeah, I get a little flashback every single time I'm I'm meeting with a prospective student for a tour and I watch them come down and kind of do the same thing. I have that flashback of myself putting myself in those shoes, walking down those steps with my dad

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and, you know, seeing JD in the admissions office, which is a little different now, but uh it's still really special, >> right? little little deja vu there. That's so cool. >> So, how was it transitioning from high school sports to college athletics and then obviously like being a a team captain and having that experience? What was that like? >> It was it was definitely difficult. Um, it's very eye opening when you go from being the best standout to your team to

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going to college where college athletics is usually the best player on the best team in every single high school. So, you're basically uh raising your competition levels and really being put with people who you can compete with, who are going to push you every single day at practice. and it's not as easy as that, you know, high school level soccer or any sport. So, you know, you're with a bunch of all stars. Um, and it's really special to, you know, even get to that level of college, whether it's Jo

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to division one. Uh, it's all hard. Not that many athletes get to experience it. So being fortunate enough to earn my spot on a team was really special and it was fun to learn and compete with a lot of these a lot of my teammates. >> Absolutely. It's hard. It's fast. Everyone's like bigger, faster, stronger, you know, so you really got to step it up there to compete. But that's so cool that you had that opportunity to do that. So now you're an admissions

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counselor at um at Manor, but when you were a student, you were an ambassador and you gave tours and you kind of you kind of were like a little bit of a counselor then. So you probably have given a lot of tours in your day. What is like a hidden gem that you always include on your tours that like is kind of a special Damian touch to giving a great tour here at Manor? Uh, one thing I always like to uh, point out is when I bring a student into one of our classrooms, I always like to speak upon my experiences in the classroom

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since I was a student here. And the story that I always bring up is about Leslie Weinfeld. Uh, she is still a math teacher here today. And growing up, math was not my strong suit. I am not a numbers person. I'm more of a talker. I'm more of a visual. So numbers never necessarily crunched in my head. Uh and right away uh Leslie is very honest and upfront. So she asked us first day of class who likes math and who doesn't like math? And me being young, I right away raised my hand. I was like, I don't

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like it. Now I was one of probably three students who are actually honest in the class because I think they thought it was a test. Um, but she knew right away from that point on that I was someone who was going to need a little bit more care and a little bit more help throughout uh the subjects that we were learning because I was someone who didn't like it. So, I was easily frustrated and I was someone who would give up right away if I didn't understand it. So, Leslie took the time to really make sure that not only was

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she, you know, making sure the class was staying on track, but I was understanding what she was saying. Sometimes that left me, you know, staying after class 10, 15 minutes really to figure out some things that I didn't understand or if even if that was, you know, giving me a pretest or a practice test so I could use it as a study tool. Um, so that little touch is something I always like to bring up to students because that's not something that you're going to really get anywhere else.

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>> No, no, that's special. Not only can you tie in your own like experience as an alumni, but then you're showing faculty support, faculty care, kind of the culture that we really are proud of and want to make sure that we're like not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk. So, I think that's a great that's a great hidden gem to keep saying on your tours. I I love that. I did not know that. Um, so let's keep talking about kind of your education a

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little bit and then we'll then we'll get back to to athletics. But so you started with an associates in liberal arts and then you transferred to Shenandoah and then eventually you just got your masters at Neumann. How has like a broad foundation helped you um in pursuing your education? >> It's definitely an interesting track. Um when I got to Manor I wasn't necessarily sure what direction I wanted to go in life. I knew that soccer was something that I wanted to do and I knew

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that if I wanted to stay on the soccer field, I needed to have good grades. So, the best advice I got from my counselors here were, you know, take the classes that you know are going to be acceptable for any type of program. So, when you do figure it out, you are able to jump into that and run straight ahead. So, I started to, you know, float around, have some ideas. I uh took a couple psychology classes, took a couple business classes, and I think I took one education course to really try and figure out where I fit in the best. And

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business, uh, is exactly where I think I was most comfortable. It's a lot of talking. It's a lot of one-on-one networking and making connections with people, which is something that I find very easy to do. So, I found myself loving business. So, once I kind of felt that it was right for me, I kind of ran with it. When I got my bachelor's degree, I really thought that was going to be it for me with schooling. Uh, I never thought I would be going back to school to get a master's degree. And

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when I started working here at Manor, a lot of our leadership, uh, Jessica Zsoldos, who isn't here anymore, and Dr. Gillespie, John Simila, who at that time wasn't a director, he was just an admissions counselor like myself. Uh they really saw potential in me and that I could really grow in this business or this industry and as well as other opportunities that may come across uh my path in life. So, they really pushed hard for me to consider going to get a master's degree. Once I kind of put my

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foot halfway in the door, I started talking to some people that they arranged for me to talk to at Neumann and eventually with discussing it with my family, we kind of made the decision that it was right for me to go back and it was a very very good decision on my end. >> Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, think about it. In the last 10 years, you've gotten an associates degree, a bachelor's degree, and now a master's degree. that is pretty, you know, incredible. So, you should be really

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proud of yourself because that's really cool to have. And I'm glad to hear people were pushing you and mentoring you through that cuz it's a great thing to have and it will definitely come in handy, you know, in life. No one can ever take it away from you. So, that's really cool that you were able to do that while also, you know, working full-time. I know you do a lot of coaching um at Manor, but elsewhere as well. So, it's just it's a good thing to do for you. For sure.

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>> I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about um some of the athletic work that you do at Manor as a coach, but also as an athletic liaison. This is something that is a part of your title. So, obviously, it's really important to the work that you do. Can you explain what um being an admissions counselor, athletic liaison really entails? >> Yeah. So what I do is if there's a prospective student who is interested in playing a sport here at Manor, what I do is I will walk them through the

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application process of what is needed to actually get accepted into the college. Once you are accepted into the college, it's okay, great. How can I now connect you with the coaches and help you navigate finding your spot on the team? So, if you're interested in uh basketball or baseball, women's flag football, really all of the sports here, what I do is I walk you through that process. I get you connected with your coach. And then I'm also here to kind of help you and mentor you what it's like

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to be an athlete and, you know, a student athlete because academics definitely comes first, but we also want you to do well uh on the field as well. >> Sure. Sure. So, you're like the athletes goto person and not just for soccer. It could be any sport. >> Any sport. >> That's great. I love that. So, by day you're admissions counselor and by afternoon evening your assistant women's soccer coach. How do you balance having like a recruiter mindset and then getting into a coach mindset? And does

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one help the other? I think they definitely uh balance each other out and I think I use tactics from my admissions job on the soccer field and I definitely think the coach comes out of me even when I'm walking uh students through the admissions process because in you know reality we are coaching in a way we are you know telling them the next steps how to you know get these things in when they need to be in. So you really are instructing and guiding them as much as you would do on the soccer field or

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baseball field, me specifically soccer. Um so I definitely they go hand in hand for me every single day. Um I think coaching here at Manor under Tom is a very unique thing uh because Tom and I have a lot of the same ideas uh and we bring a lot of the same energy to the soccer field. So we're very welcoming. We always want new girls to come out and try out. Even if you've never played soccer before, uh we want you to come and learn. See if it's something that you can enjoy. So that open arms mindset

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kind of reminds me of what we do here at Manor, especially in the admissions. We're the first face you see when you come to Manor College. So that you belong here slogan really starts with us. So, we want to show that not only, you know, as you're going through the admissions process, but Tom and I want to show you that on the soccer field, you know. >> Yeah, absolutely. They definitely go hand in hand and you and head coach Tom Gi certainly have a good rapport with uh with the girls on the team. So, so

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Damian, I like to ask this question of all of our alumni and about like what is a myth or misconception about the work that you do that you want to debunk? something that people assume that you do and you're like that's just not true or the the you know it's maybe exaggerated something that you want to set the record straight. >> Um and I would just say this about all of the colleges and college prospects. Um we don't just read transcripts. I'm not going and looking at a transcript

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and deciding if Manor is a good fit for a student based off of their GPA. Yes, there are requirements, but just because you don't meet those requirements doesn't mean the conversation is over. We can definitely have a deeper conversation to figure out if there was, you know, some struggles that you may have affected your education or if something just wasn't going right in your high school experience. So these things, you know, students can be afraid sometimes to really throw themselves out

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there because they don't think they're good enough or their grades are good enough. And that's not something that is a worry here at Manor. We're an open opportunity that if you come and be honest and, you know, really open up to us, we're going to open up to you. >> Right. We're not just looking at one thing. We're looking at a whole picture, a whole person. That's great to hear. I'm going to pause this real quick because my computer is dying and I don't

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want to lose any of this. So, I'm going to pause it. So, Damian, obviously you've met a lot of Manor people along the way. You've had mentors as a student, as an employee, as a colleague. Um, but what is like the main advice that you give to students whether they're coming to Manor or not, they're college kids. um what's advice that you give them kind of time in and time out that you know is is really true and close to your heart. >> I always like to tell students that you

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know find the right home for you. Um when that's you're looking through the college admissions process, it is cliche, but when you land on that campus that you want to go to, you're going to know that it's the right spot for you. Uh, I always tell students who are here visiting, when I'm out at college fairs, that, you know, start making a checklist of things that you really like when you're visiting a college. Some colleges are going to have a lot of the same things, but there's going to be one or

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two things that really makes them different. And also start thinking about some of the things that you don't like at schools. Um, having this type of checklist really makes it easier for when you find that school that you think is the one. If the things you didn't like, they're not there. They're not existent at that school. And the things that you really liked at other places are there, that's your spot. And I think, you know, remaining open and not, you know, just going to the first school

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that you think you like is your school. I think take your time figuring out where your next four years are going to be. >> Yeah, it's a big decision. It's a lot of your really like pivotal years that you're going to be spending there. So, make sure it's the right thing for you. Not everyone wants a small close-knit community. You know, some people want a bigger campus or a city campus or something else. So, that's really good advice. Making a list is very helpful.

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Um, thank you so much for that. Okay, we're going to play a little uh calling it a 215 quickfire. So, these are all Philly related questions for you to answer um as kind of a a go-to like North Philly person. Um so, kind of we we'll go through these quickly. So, best spot for a cheese steak. What's your favorite go-to spot? >> So, right now it's Marmaris. It's in trevose, so right outside of the city. But, uh, ask for Veto or Phil. Make sure they're making your cheese steak and

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it's going to be delicious. I promise. >> Okay. Mama Russos. Um, are you getting a Wawa Sizzli? Are you getting a soft pretzel? >> Uh, Sizzli. >> Okay. Are we going to the beach or are we going down the shore? And what's your shore point of choice? >> Down the shore 100%. And it's Wow. >> Nice. Did you see that there's um people are ice skating on the Wildwood beaches right now? >> I did. And so my my mom and brother live down there full-time. So uh when I heard

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that I, you know, had to check in and make sure it wasn't my brother out there. >> I saw that video and I was like, "This is wild." Oh my goodness. It's crazy. All right. So growing up in Northeast Philly, did you use crayons or did you use crayons? >> Crayons. Crayons. All right. Do you prefer a union game at Subaru Park or an Eagles game at the link? >> This is going to be a tough one. I I do love the Eagles, but I am a Union fan through and through. March 1st is their

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home opener and I already bought my tickets. >> Okay. All right. Uh, Gritty or the Fanatic? >> Philly fanatic. >> No brainer for me as well. All right. Can you use the word John describing something about Manor College in a sentence? >> Uh, it's Manor College is a good John. >> All right. I love that, Anthony. We got to clip that right there. That was good. >> Um, and what is one thing that people get wrong about Northeast Philly? >> Um, that's a good question. I would say

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that people describe Northeast Philly people as crazy. Um, I think crazy is a little bit of a harsh word. I would just say we are fully committed to our sports, to our families, and things that we love. >> Passionate, right? We're just passionate. All right. Well, Damian, thank you so much for joining us today. It has been a pleasure to get to talk to you and just to get to know you a little bit more and um we wish you nothing but the best and uh as we like to say, you belong here always.

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>> Thank you. Thank you so much for having me today. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on social media at Manor College. And that's a wrap on another episode of The Nest. Stories about life after Manor College. Remember Blue Jays, you belong here always.