Life After Ursinus: Recent Episodes

Ursinus Alumni

Life After Ursinus is designed to help alumni navigate life in their personal and professional world post-graduation.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of Ursinus College and its employees.

In this episode, our host, Johnny Myers ’19, sits down with cookbook author and journalist, Anupy Singla ’90.

Anupy and discuss the process of writing a cookbook and the inspiration behind the recipes, as well as Anupy’s time at Ursinus and how her liberal arts education was vital in leading her on to the path she is on today!

Born in India and raised outside of Philadelphia, Anupy grew up visiting her grandfather’s childhood village in the heart of Punjab. She first learned to cook traditional, spicy Punjabi-style food from him. This passion compelled her to leave daily reporting to teach her young girls how to appreciate good Indian food and blog about it on www.indianasapplepie.com - now also the name of her company.

Anupy has also written for the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and other newspapers and magazines. Her newest book, Instant Pot Indian, came out at the end of April.

In this episode, our host, Johnny Myers '19, sits down with Christian Sockel '93, the Assistant Head of School for Institutional Giving at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA. They discuss the ways in which Christian's career trajectory was shaped by his Ursinus experience, as well as the power, and common misconceptions, of philanthropy and its impact. Christian is a vital volunteer for Ursinus. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees as Chair of the Advancement Committee. In addition, Christian chairs the Philanthropy Committee, which seeks to educate fellow alumni, parents and friends of the college about the importance of philanthropy.

· Robin explains their process of writing and the process of getting a book published.

· Robin dives into their thoughts on genre and the many research projects that have inspired their books.

· Robin discusses the banned books problem and how they handle criticism and roadblocks in their career.

· Robin shares about common themes that links their work together and why it’s so important to them to write about messy characters.

· Robin recalls their experiences at Ursinus and how being involved with GSA, the Ursinus English department, Lic Soc, and the Lantern helped set Robin up for success.

· Robin gives advice to anyone in the Ursinus community wanting to become a writer.

In Episode 14 of the Life After Ursinus podcast, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Katie Morello ’08, a feature producer at NFL Films. One of Katie’s largest projects was her work on the HBO series, Hard Knocks. Hard Knocks is a reality sports documentary series that follows an NFL team through their personal and professional lives. In this episode of the podcast, Katie shares her passion for football and filmmaking and reflects on her journey from UC to Emmy Award-winning feature producer.

· Katie talks about her 9-season run working as a feature producer on the TV show Hard Knocks on HBO.

· Katie shares about the most emotionally challenging times during her career as a filmmaker.

· Katie dives into how career path in filmmaking was informed by her upbringing and schooling and how her relationship to filmmaking changed along the way.

· Katie reveals some of the key storytelling elements she uses every day to make compelling stories.

· Katie discusses what it really takes to be a good filmmaker.

· Katie explores her career and the transformative effect that it’s had on her.

In Episode 13 of the Life After Ursinus podcast, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Vinny DiMeglio ’09, a corporate real estate broker and investment salesman. Vinny helps real estate owners find tenants, buy and sell buildings, and runs his own business through JLL. In this episode, Vinny discusses the ins and outs of commercial real estate trends including how outfitting office space affects employees, why big companies are moving their headquarters, and how he leverages social media to create new opportunities for himself. Vinny emphasizes how his transformative experience at Ursinus laid the foundation for his success and shares tips from along his journey!

Vinny dives into how the pandemic transformed the conversations around office spaces.
Vinny talks about his thoughts on outfitting office spaces to accommodate the mental and physical wellbeing of employees.
Vinny discusses the multitude of reasons many companies have been moving their office space to different states and what the differing strategies are depending on the company’s goals.
Vinny examines what WeWork and other office sharing space companies mean for his business.
Vinny tells us how he leverages social media strategy to grow his business and how everyone can use social media to create new opportunities for themselves.
Vinny shares what his vision is for the future of the commercial real estate industry.
Vinny about his transformative Ursinus experience giving tours, studying abroad, and being involved in Greek life and athletics.

· Cynthia dives into her journey founding her company, ViaCord.

· Cynthia explains how her Ursinus education and fellow classmates and professors helped her achieve her goals and how she uses the lessons she learned at Ursinus with her employees.

· Cynthia provides tips and advice for the adventure of business and entrepreneurship.

· Cynthia talks about the difference advising on the boards of both for-profits and non-profits.

· Cynthia explains her work in founding Patient Rights Advocate.org, an organization that focuses on advocating for transparent hospital pricing.

Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) "Inspired"

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode of the Life After Ursinus podcast, host Johnny Myers ’19 chats with singer, actor, published writer, and award-winning songwriter, Kendal Conrad ’14. We get to know Kendal’s unique style of songwriting, what it’s like being a full-time musician, and how her career has blossomed post-Ursinus.

In the first episode of season two of the Life After Ursinus podcast, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Zach Shamberg ’10, the president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA). Zach discusses his vital role in advocating for Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents and their care providers, the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s population as it ages, how the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, and how Ursinus prepared him to face it all. Music: bensound.com

In this special season finale, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with the 17th President of Ursinus College, Brock Blomberg. President Blomberg brings experience in academia, government, and economic policy to Ursinus, but shares how he didn't always envision becoming a college president or leading an institution through a global pandemic.

In this episode, President Blomberg reflects upon how the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic changed campus life and details the pivot UC leadership made in response: creating and launching a virus task force, tailoring the student experience to ensure the safety and welfare of our campus, and investing in comprehensive weekly testing for students, faculty, and staff. He also discusses the college's recent successful Keep the Promise campaign, elaborates on plans to elevate the campus and surrounding Collegeville community as a destination location, and shares his personal experience navigating the challenges and achievements of this past year.

In this episode, mentor/mentee Michele (Benfer) Moyer ’90 and Delanie Rogers ’23 take over the Life After Ursinus podcast to chat about networking in your industry and beyond, resources for alumni job seekers, and how to pivot in the pandemic. Currently serving as director of development for individual and planned giving at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa., Michele also teaches a first year course which helps students both acclimate to college and work on developing a career plan. Delanie, a member of the class of 2023, imparts her own wisdom as a media and communications studies major and rising student leader on campus.

In this episode, host Kevin Cox ’15 sits down with Michael Agiorgousis ’13 to discuss how he makes physics easier to understand through storytelling. Michael dives into the technical-driven world of research, explains the advantages of being a good storyteller in STEM is critical to his success, and credits his time at Ursinus to helping him craft his writing and presentation skills.

In this episode, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Sabir Peele ’08, who owns his own men’s style and lifestyle blog and website, Men’s Style Pro. Sabir credits the networking skills built at Ursinus that have propelled him to build relationships with big names like GQ and Esquire Magazine.

Sabir talks about how an Ursinus classmate encouraged him to create a men’s style blog, which led to the spontaneous creation of Men’s Style Pro. Ten years later, Men’s Style Pro has stayed true to the idea of how to help the everyday man dress.
Sabir has shown his blog’s versatility, from working with big names like GQ and Pharrell, all the way to the ever-affordable Walmart, all while drawing in over 60,000 views on his platforms a month.
Sabir shares how his interest in fashion trickles down to his roots working at his grandmother’s dry clean business in Germantown (Philadelphia, Pa.).
Sabir analyzes fashion trends of the past and present, and gives us insider perspective on styles making their return in today’s fashion industry, and addresses the fate of brick-and-mortar stores in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the COVID-19 pandemic, the most essential accessory is the face mask. Men’s Style Pro has partnered with Henry Mask, one of the original organizations to create a face mask brand. Every mask purchased supports masks for frontline workers in need, and helps you look great while protecting others.
Sabir talks fatherhood while managing his brand and business, and how to juggle wanting to support a family while enjoying the little moments along the way.
Sabir traces his journey back to Ursinus which helped him to curate his own brand, reflecting on the principals of independence and drive he learned from faculty and advisors. He shares how it’s all shaped into his passion to help others build their brand, as well.
Ursinus roots run deep - Sabir even designed his freshman roommate’s tuxedo for his wedding.

For the first time ever, Ursinus goes global - all the way to Doha, Qatar where 2009 alumnus Andrew Clark shares his experience in digital marketing in the Middle East. Now based in Baltimore, Andrew discusses how taking a leap of faith and persistence paid off.

Coming in November: Ursinus goes global - all the way to Doha, Qatar! 2009 alumnus Andrew Clark shares his experience with digital marketing in the middle east, describing how taking a leap of faith and persistence pays off. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode of Life After Ursinus!

In this episode, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Danielle Harris-Wright ’10 who discusses her journey from Ursinus into higher education as an admissions counselor at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and, eventually, into secondary education at Imhotep Institute Charter High School through Teach For America. Danielle discusses her passion for helping students in Philadelphia become college- and-career-ready, the implications of COVID-19 on the field of education and the intersection of her experience teaching Africa & Ancient Civilizations and the present-day race relations in America.

Please note: The following episode discusses COVID-19 and contains information which some listeners might find upsetting. Listener discretion is advised.

In this special COVID-19 themed episode, Drs. McCoy and Hussaini discuss how the novel coronavirus has impacted their professional spaces and the medical community at large.

Dr. McCoy discusses the impact of COVID-19 in her role as Chief Medical Officer and how a pandemic has impacted medical operations at Cape Regional Health Center.
Dr. Hussaini discusses the impact of COVID-19 on her residency training program.
Drs. McCoy and Hussaini discuss moral distress during the pandemic: on physicans, patients, and family members.
Drs. McCoy and Hussaini describe the difficulty of treating the novel coronavirus from the “peak” of the virus in their respective communities, to the unknown of how to treat symptoms, to how end of life protocol has shifted.
Drs. McCoy and Hussaini end the episode on a positive note by sharing their favorite memories at Ursinus College and how being a Bear for Life has carried into their life beyond Ursinus.

In this two part episode, host Johnny Myers '19 sits down with Dr. Zeba Hussaini '14 and Dr. Andrea McCoy '82 to discuss their careers in medicine, how Ursinus prepared them for medical school and their professional careers and the implications of COVID-19 on the medical community.

Tune in on July 1 for Life After Ursinus episode 3: Women In Medicine featuring Dr. Zeba Hussaini '14 and Dr. Andrea McCoy '82.

In this episode, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with John Stemler, former Ursinus biology student turned master brewer at Free Will Brewing, who shares everything from his favorite craft brew, to how to stand out in a competitive market, to what it’s like to own a business.

In this episode, host Johnny Myers ’19 sits down with Phil DeSimone ’12 to discuss his role in the partnership with adidas and Carbon to create the next breakthrough footwear, the first mass production process with revolutionary 3D printable materials, paving the way for custom high performance shoes.

Phil highlights that the entrepreneurial road is not always a smooth one.
Phil discusses what it's like to be the co-founder of a growing company alongside his father, Joe DeSimone '86.
Phil weaves his Ursinus education and knowledge of business models - talking up the importance of scale and volume, with the science involved in Carbon's 3D printing approach using light and oxygen to create materials in a matter of minutes, revolutionizing the shoe industry through their partnership with adidas to create custom performance footwear.
It all started at Ursinus - phil talks about how people shaped who is he is today, from faculty members such as Professors Becky Evans, Brian Marks, Steve Bowers, Scott Deacle, Houghton Kane, Joe Melrose, Ronald Hess and Vic Tortorelli.
Phil's advice: changing your mind during your undergraduate coursework is okay, how important "trial and error" is when it comes to career paths and sometimes finding out what you don't like leads to your true passion.

Phil DeSimone '12 shares his excitement for Episode 1 of Life after Ursinus

In this episode, we sit down with Phil DeSimone, class of 2012 to discuss his role in the partnership with adidas and Carbon to create the next breakthrough footwear, the first mass production process with revolutionary 3d printable materials, paving the way for custom high performance shoes. Listen to the teaser trailer now!