The Piper Center for Vocation and Career

Applications Accepted: April 2nd – April 17th, 2012
Shadow Experience: ONE DAY (negotiated between host & mentee) during the month of June, 2012

Below are the job titles, organization names, alumni class year & roles of the 2012 St. Olaf alumni ShadOle host.

Arts

Alumni Host Site: Abbie Betinis Music Co., LLC
Job Title: Composer & Sheet Music Publisher
Major: Music
Job Role: I’m a self-employed composer and run a small publishing company for my sheet music. I’d like to host a music student who’s interested in the business of being a full-time classical musician. My roles are composer, editor, copyist, publisher, and publicist. I have three offices in Saint Paul, but work primarily from my home office, where I am project manager of musical architecture and design, music licensing, text & permissions requests, sales, marketing, customer (i.e. conductor)-relations, drafting contracts that look legal to musicians, CEO of water boiling and tea-bag steeping, website design and maintenance, brand development, social media coordinator, database manager, coordinator of rehearsals & brainstorming sessions, and avid concert-goer. (i.e. I actually have my dream job). More info at www.abbiebetinis.com. June projects include rehearsals with Dale Warland, exhibiting at Chorus America, and preparing my company’s presence at NATS.

Click here for instructions on how to apply for this ShadOle opportunity. All applications are due Tuesday, April 17th.

Business

Alumni Host Site: Ameriprise Financial
Job Title: Director, Advice & Wealth Management Field Implementation
Major: Economics
Job Role: Ameriprise Financial is a large diversified financial services firm. We have around 10,000 financial advisors across the country. We also have a large corporate presence, with divisions and subsidiaries that distribute investment, insurance, banking, and annuities products, etc. My broad department is responsible for advisor training, coaching programs, advisor field events, as well as implementation. Our implementation work brings the field advisor audience and the corporate groups together to increase the effectiveness of our top firm initiatives. That includes getting appropriate advisor input as initiatives are developed, ensuring that new products or services are fully prepared before launching, driving communication tactics, and many other things. In my role I manage people, budgets, projects, and most importantly relationships across many areas of a Fortune 500 company.

Alumni Host Site: Automotive Concepts Industries
Job Title: Owner and founder
Major: Political Science
Job Role: I work in a fast paced business environment. I manage 8 different businesses everyday. Tasks include daily meeting with the heads of each business unit. I also personally manage a financing company that writes loans for car sales. ShadOle experience may include observing planning meetings and numerous interactions with customers and vendors.

Alumni Host Site: Best Buy Co Inc
Job Title: Director, Services Strategy and Business Development
Major: English, Political Science
Job Role: I am the Director of the Services Strategy Team. The Services Strategy Team partners with Executive value growth opportunities, to drive business model choices to deliverleaders to identify highest growth, and to build/maintain an innovation roadmap aimed at fundamental business model transformation. The results of our work ensures that BBY achieves sustainable competitive advantage, builds a more capable organization, and secures profitable incremental growth.

Alumni Host Site: Best Buy Co., Inc.
Job Title: Demand Planning Manager
Major: Mathematics & Economics
Job Role: I manage a team in charge of forecasting, ordering and replenishing the right amount of inventory to the right locations at the right time. Demand Planning teams are broken out by product category and manage inventory for stores across the entire US, Puerto Rico and our BestBuy.com website. My team manages the Home Audio, Accessories and Furniture products. We work with multiple internal teams along with vendors in planning appropriate inventory levels to meet customer and shareholder needs.

Alumni Host Site: Boston Scientific - CRV
Job Title: Principal Financial Analyst
Major: Economics/Accounting Emphasis
Job Role: My primary responsibilities include coordinating Planning and Forecasting activities and Management reporting for the Cardio Rhythm Vascular Group at BSC. The CRV Group is made up of four divisions, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Interventional Cardiology, Peripheral Interventions & Electrophysiology. My main customer is our General Administrative Officer, for whom I support in preparation of Management Board Presentations, Financial Results and Key Metrics. I also support our Divisional Finance Directors, by serving as a liaison between the CRV Group and Corporate Finance.

Alumni Host Site: Cargill
Job Title: VP Global Trading, Manager for Animal Protein
Major: Biology
Job Role: I work in a risk management and trading role with the Cargill Beef, Pork, Poultry and Egg business to develop and implement good risk management process and approach. Also provide guidance on hedging and trading strategies for those business both in the US and globally. The job is equally a leadership role for the businesses and active guidance and counsel on the risk management strategies. In addition, I work with large customers who desire risk management support and hope to leverage our expertise and competencies.

Alumni Host Site: Carlson Capital Management
Job Title: Principal/Managing Director
Major: Classics/Theology
Job Role: As Managing Director, I am responsible for direct client contact as well as operational efficiencies within the organization. Prospective students will get a 30,000 foot view of how a registered investment advisory firm that specializes in wealth management services operates. They will understand our structure, our client base, our value proposition, the strength behind our processes and people. And, they might even get a complimentary lunch at Hogan Brothers!

Alumni Host Site: Century College
Job Title: Executive Director, Century College Foundation
Major: Psychology & Religion
Job Role: I am responsible to oversee all aspects of fundraising for Century College. A sampling of these activities are the following:
- Donor related activities, such as fundraising events, individual meetings for stewardship and gift cultivation
- Communications – electronic, direct mail, campus news (how your gift is making a difference, stories of scholarship recipient success)
- Community outreach to businesses, civic leaders and corporations (preparing the work force of tomorrow through collaborative partnerships)
- Data analysis – to better understand donor giving history and motivations
- Grants to private and corporate foundations in support of student scholarships, campus programs, and facilities

Alumni Host Site: GdB
Job Title: Director of Strategy
Major: English
Job Role: Partner with creative and account management peers to develop disruptive ideas at all points of customer contact. Orchestrate brand planning, strategic planning and analytical activity for accounts within the agency. Identify opportunities to constantly improve the quality of thinking applied to client business. Collaborate with senior clients and give them deeper insights into the dynamics of their business through the development of disciplined and thorough sales, marketing, and consumer analyses. GdB is a full-service marketing and advertising agency based in Minneapolis. Current clients include Airborne, Anytime Fitness, AmericInn, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, Hamline University, Michael Foods, Nuveen Investments, The Science Museum of Minnesota, Summit Brewing Company and Zebco fishing gear.

Alumni Host Site: IBM
Job Title: Client Executive
Major: Economics
Job Role: Providing account management, executive relationship, and commissioned sales to 7 clients in the Twin Cities. I provide the connection between the vast array of IBM hardware, software, and services and executives at my client organizations. I coordinate resources, find technical specialists, and package IBM solutions for my customers. I started with IBM in 1984 after graduating from St. Olaf, and have worked with IBM 4X over the last 25 years (interspersed with mommy-track, running a micro-finance non profit, and working for other technology companies). IBM is a fabulous company, with over 435,000 employees in 170 companies.

Alumni Host Site: Project Resources Corporation
Job Title: President/Chief Pion
Major: Biology/Holistic Health
Job Role: I work in the president of PRC, a small electric power plant developer, overseeing all of the company’s corporate functions as well as project development functions. Daily tasks include negotiating deals, working with outside law firms on drafting project agreements, reviewing company budgets and forecasts, and providing project development support to our small development team of 3 people. ShadOle experience may also include an afternoon observing new power plant site visits, depending on schedule/timing.

Alumni Host Site: ProVation Medical
Job Title: VP of Innovation
Major: Mathematics and Economics
Job Role: I am the founder of ProVation Medical and have been involved in numerous roles over the years within the organization. Currently, I am focused on driving innovation within our organization by leveraging the products that have been acquired by our parent company (Wolters Kluwer) over the past few years.

Alumni Host Site: Summit Hill Consulting, LLC
Job Title: President
Major: Economics, Mathematics
Job Role: I lead a small, business strategy consulting firm called Summit Hill Consulting, which I founded more than 10 years ago. We work with CEOs and executives to help them define and implement business strategies. Our work includes market research and analysis, competitive research and analysis, strategy formulation and implementation management, including process redesign, merger & acquisition projects, and business development (deal making with customers and partners). We do this as directed by and for the benefit of our clients. My clients range from small start-ups to multi-billion dollar corporations. Currently, I have two long-term engagements. One is for a local wireless technology company with several hundred million in revenue. The other is for a start-up with new eco-sustainable agriculture technology.

The specific content of the shadowing will depend upon the student’s interests and background, as well as on the state of my consulting engagements. I anticipate the shadowing to include an analytical or market research exercise, joining client meetings and assistance with developing work-product for my clients.

Alumni Host Site: Target Corporation
Job Title: Buyer- Owned Brand Foods
Major: Political Science and Spanish|
Job Role: I lead a team of 12 technical experts to create Archer Farms and Market Pantry products for the 1700 Target stores that have either Deli and/or Target Café sections. This begins with competitive shopping trips to grocery and convenience stores, meeting with vendors, reviewing financial data, and team brainstorming to understand what the biggest opportunities are. It next moves to partnering with vendors to understand who is capable of creating this product safely and cost effectively. We then review and eat the product to ensure it is up to our standards! Finally, we test the product on potential guests to understand their appetite (pun intended) to purchase the product and ensure the packaging is up to legal specifications and looks good. I also work a great deal with partners such as store operations to understand how we can be operationally efficient in the stores.

Alumni Host Site: Thomson Reuters
Job Title: Corporate Trainer
Major: Psychology
Job Role: I participate in the rollout of financial programs used by employees within my company. I also create training materials, as needed (ex. Job aids, user guides, eLearning, manuals, etc.). And, I conduct in-person and distance training sessions for employees around the globe. To accomplish the above, I adhere to Instructional Design principles for adult learning.

Alumni Host Site: U.S. Bank
Job Title: Accounting Manager
Major: Home Economics – Foods and Nutrition
Job Role: As you might guess from comparing my major with my current position at U.S. Bank (i.e., there are probably not many Home Economics majors who end up as accountants in a bank), I have had a number of different careers, achieved through additional education and years of experience. My position at the bank is in the retail credit card area, and I spend most of my day working with business line, Corporate Accounting, and bank staff and management on accounting-related questions and issues. I am really the “accounting expert” for this area of the bank. And my job is actually not as boring as it sounds; there are always new projects and new accounting guidelines to be implemented, employees to be motivated and supervised, and various other fire drills that regularly arise in the department to assist on, so the days are actually quite fun and interesting. To think a liberal arts education thirty-five years ago was the beginning of all of this.

Alumni Host Site: White Bear Area YMCA/White Bear Lake Area Schools YMCA Aquatic Center
Job Title: Aquatics Director
Major: Biology and Norwegian
Job Role: As the aquatics director I supervise one full-time position, 2 part-time coordinators and a part-time staff of roughly 90 employees. Our facility is the third largest aquatic center in the state with 12 lap lanes. We provide swimming lessons to over 800 children during the summer and we have a summer swim team of over 80 swimmers. During the school year, we have approximately 400 children in swimming lessons every 7 weeks, a swim team with 140 swimmers and we work with the school district to provide swimming lessons for all of the second graders. In addition, we are the home pool for the White Bear HS boys and girls swimming and diving teams so we provide practice and meet space. A typical day for me can include any or all of the following- planning a branch wide event (either including the pool or not), ordering supplies, speaking with the various principals, checking in on the beach, explaining swimming lessons to parents, monitoring swim lesson registration, publishing the pool schedule, teaching swimming lessons, talking to members, reviewing monthly financial reports, scheduling staff, creating marketing materials…. The list goes on.

Click here for instructions on how to apply for this ShadOle opportunity. All applications are due Tuesday, April 17th.

Nonprofit/Education

Alumni Host Site: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development
Job Title: Graduate student, Research fellow, Course instructor
Major: Psychology, Biology, Physics
Job Role: I am a 4th year student in a non-clinical Ph.D program in Child Psychology. My primary role is conducting research within two labs: collecting data with children and families, processing and analyzing data, and writing papers and presentations. I completed the coursework for my degree over the first three years of my program. I have taught two undergraduate courses at the U of M and would be happy to talk about my experiences teaching at the college level. I will finish my degree in May 2013 and plan to transition to either a post-doctoral research or assistant professor position.

Click here for instructions on how to apply for this ShadOle opportunity. All applications are due Tuesday, April 17th.

Technology

Alumni Host Site: GE Capital Americas, Fleet Services
Job Title: Telematics Analyst
Major: Speech and Theater
Job Role: IT Project Management: work with internal and external customers to design, plan, implement, monitor, and enhance customized computer reports that are automatically generated. Data science and analysis: review large scales (terabytes) of raw vehicle data (fuel use, location, operation, design, etc.), driver demographics, customer demographics to identify trends and scenarios that will generate cost savings opportunities for customers. I also work with our Hispanic diversity council, and volunteer organization planning events. My company does business-to-business fleet vehicle financing and management.

Alumni Host Site: Luther Seminary
Job Title: Senior Director of Technology
Major: Biology
Job Role: I supervise the whole information technology function on campus, manage the departmental budget, build and maintain relationships across campus, and develop and execute the campus IT strategy.

Alumni Host Site: McKesson Provider Technologies
Job Title: Software Engineer Advisor
Major: Asian Studies, Mathematics
Job Role: A software engineer developing software for hospitals (primarilly for surgery). The software is written in Java/JSP/GWT and runs as a web based thin client application within the hospital's intranet. Depending on the point in the project, my job entails working with a cross functional team to design or construct features for the exist products. Additional duties include diagnosing and fixing issues in the existing software.

Alumni Host Site: The Corporate Executive Board (Iconoculture)
Job Title: Web Developer
Major: Mathematics
Job Role: I am currently retooling an existing web site (www.iconoculture.com) with Microsoft ASP.NET MVC using C# (originally the site was written in Microsoft ASP.NET using C#). The web site itself uses Microsoft SQL Server as its back-end database. It also makes use of Microsoft FAST as an search and indexing server. The web development team is made up of one system architect, four web developers, one web designer, one quality assurance tester, one IT support person, and a manager. This opportunity is most suited for one interested in computer software development. The individual will experience the processes and procedures that I use daily to complete a computer programming task in a corporate environment. It is an indoor, sit-at-desk type job.

Click here for instructions on how to apply for this ShadOle opportunity. All applications are due Tuesday, April 17th.