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Alumni Guest Post: Ty Shaw ’09

Kicking off our Alumni Guest Post series for the Spring Semester, Ty Shaw ’09 discusses how his post grad life led to his current role as a Business Development Consultant at Oracle!

Ty Shaw '09

Job prospects were few and far between when I left “The Cross” in 2009.  America was in the midst of the modern day great depression.  I soon learned the importance of humility, perseverance and strong networking–or as I say, making new friends and embracing old ones.

During my senior year I had one solid job prospect in an industry and location I didn’t want to be in after college, so instead of taking the job, I chose to go back home to Denver, CO.   At the time I was so wrapped up in my own ego and my sense of entitlement that I could not truly understand how tough the economy was.  I was fixed on the thought that I had a great degree from Holy Cross (which I did), and that was all I needed to land a good job.  I was sadly awakened when I spent almost my first year after graduation working with a staffing firm (temp. agency) to keep my resume/skills current.

During that year with the staffing firm, I was humbled.  I could not find permanent work, and I had sent in around one hundred applications and hadn’t landed any interviews.  My dad soon came to me and said “Son, you have to get around the movers and the shakers.”  So that’s what I did, networking became a part of my daily routine.  And I can’t stress enough how important it is to meet people doing things that you think you may be interested in because most companies don’t waste their time looking at resumes where there is no referral with it.  I began to connect with Holy Cross alumni in Colorado that I found off the Holy Cross alumni website, and I joined meetup groups (meetup.com) so that I could mingle with people that were doing the work I wanted to do.  Each networking experience helped me to realize that the best networkers are those that make genuine friends.  In this world we can never have too many genuine people in our lives that want to help and are open to being helped.

After networking in Colorado (and a few jobs later), I thought getting back to HC for a spring football game would be a good idea for me to reunite with old friends and teammates.  And I was right! Going back to HC is what led to my current opportunity at Oracle.  A Holy Cross teammate and friend told me about openings at Oracle and how he was recently hired—and this connection helped lead to my current job.

In my role, I am working as a Business Development Consultant (BDC) for Oracle.  I am responsible for prospecting into companies that have technology issues.  On a day to day basis, I perform in-depth research on these companies to gain a deep understanding of their business.  Also, I am researching to see how Oracle can add value to what they do.  Most of the companies I work with are public so I am able to read their 10k reports to understand their business and see if we can help.

Once I’m done researching companies online that I want to call into, I find people within the company to speak with.  There are a plethora of prospecting tools Oracle has available to BDC’s to use in order to find the right person in a company to speak business with.  The number one goal is to first build rapport with the prospect, and after connecting on a humanly level, I go on to better understand that person’s role inside the company they work for.  Then we get down to business, I ask questions to see if we can add value, and if there is a business pain I proceed to set up a next call to help facilitate the sales process.  My main job is pre-sales, so I do the research, find the business problem and build the relationship before facilitating the rest of the sales process with my sales team.  I also provide advice to my sales team on how we can drive business in their territory based off of the research I find.  Ultimately, I am in the business of helping the customer first and driving revenue second.

My opportunity at Oracle wouldn’t have been possible without my new-found sense of humility, perseverance, and the Holy Cross Alumni community.  The lessons that I have learned are things that I hope that you all can take with you before graduating.  Think long and hard about what you want to do, what will fulfill you, where you want to live, and what kind of work you will be proud of.  In nearly being out of college four years, I’m just now feeling like I’m heading down a path to fulfillment.  A Chu!  Chu!  Rah!  Rah! For Holy Cross!

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Alumni Guest Post: Priscilla Lam ’12

Next up in our Alumni Guest Post series: Priscilla Lam ’12 discusses her role as a clinical research coordinator in the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute!

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Priscilla Lam ’12

I could not have been more ecstatic when I received a phone call from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA) during senior week with an offer to be the new clinical research coordinator in the Center for Neuro-Oncology. Without any hesitation, I immediately accepted the job offer even though I was informed that the start date of my job would be June 4th (exactly 9 days after graduation!). Everything felt like a whirlwind, but I was very excited to begin a new chapter of my life in Boston.

It is hard to believe that I have been working at Dana-Farber for over four months now. Dana-Farber is an outpatient clinic that is directly connected to Brigham and Women’s Hospital (inpatient). I absolutely love working here. Sometimes it feels like I never left Holy Cross because I work with three other Holy Cross alums in my department and I am constantly running into Holy Cross grads from all years working in various disease centers at Dana-Farber.

The responsibilities of a clinical research coordinator differ slightly depending on the disease center. In Neuro, the majority of the patients I work with are Glioblastoma patients. I am responsible for knowing several clinical trials and being familiar with protocol requirements. Our primary responsibility is data entry and management. We are responsible for entering medical/surgical history information, lab values, concomitant medications, adverse events, etc. in the database for each clinical trial participant for sponsors to review. We have monitors (a representative hired by the sponsor, usually from a pharmaceutical company) come in once a month for every clinical trial to review our data and ensure that all data are properly documented and captured. They issue queries and we are required to answer these queries in a timely manner. Research coordinators are essentially the primary point person between the industry sponsor and the research team at Dana-Farber. We also have regulatory responsibilities such as submitting Serious Adverse Event reports to the Dana-Farber Internal Review Board and the industry sponsor. Other duties include preparing research tubes/kits and flow-sheets for nurses, shipping samples, requesting pathology, scheduling clinic visit appointments and MRIs, [and] communicating with patients, ordering labs, being in attendance when physicians screen/consent patients for potential trials, reviewing provider notes to ensure that there is proper source documentation for data, and organizing/prepping patient charts to be ready for monitor visits and future audits.

Most of the research coordinators work in the Longwood Galleria offices while clinic is in the Yawkey Building. Every day is different. This is not a typical 9-5pm job. Things come up spontaneously and each day is completely unpredictable. Generally, clinic days tend to be busier because that is when our patients come in for visits. I learn something new every day. This job can be challenging and demanding at times, but overall very rewarding. It is interesting to see research from a clinical perspective and being part of the research care team is fulfilling.

Clinical trials give patients a sense of hope. Clinical trials investigate specific experimental drugs not yet approved by the FDA and explore novel cancer therapies, as well as implement standard of care treatment in hopes of finding new and effective treatments for patients.

My favorite part of this job is being a contributing member of the research team and having the opportunity to experience full clinical exposure. I also take much pride in being able to work at an institute that offers state-of-the-art treatment for patients, with renowned physicians and experts on brain tumors, and a team of compassionate individuals consisting of neuro-oncologists, researchers, nurses, and PA. I could not have asked for a better place to be after graduating from Holy Cross. Everyday, I find myself inspired by patients, their families, and the support and care that clinicians provide to patients. This job has definitely helped reinforce my dreams of pursing a future career in medicine. I cannot thank the Holy Cross faculty, staff, and alumni network enough for opening my eyes to the opportunities that can be had working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Dana-Farber.

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Alumni Guest Post: Will Brown ’11

We are excited to announce that our Alumni Guest Post series is back for the 2012-2013 academic year!

First up: Will Brown ’11 will be sharing his experiences as a Physics teacher with Teach For America!

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Will Brown ’11

When I look back at my four years at Holy Cross, many things stand out to me: long hours in class and science labs, long hours studying in Dinand, long hours working at Kimball, and long weekend nights with friends. I enjoyed all of those things, but the one aspect of Holy Cross that truly became a part of me was the idea of being “Men and Women for (and with) Others.” I took advantage of every opportunity I had to serve alongside the marginalized and oppressed. I was one of those people who fell in love with the spring break immersion program. I went to New Orleans my freshman year because I wanted to help others. I quickly learned, however, that the beauty of a life of service is not what you can do for others, but what you can do together. The individuals that I met, both from Holy Cross and the local communities, convinced me to broaden my perspective and go out into the world.

Fast forward a few years, and I am now a second-year Teach for America corps member serving as a physics teacher San Benito High School in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, the area of land alongside the Mexican border. As someone who was a biology major in the health professions program, I often get asked, “Why Teach for America? Why not go to med school?” Medical school is still my target destination, but I did not feel ready at that time to jump in.  Instead, I opted for a short break from school and settled on joining one of the many service organizations that are available (Peace Corps, JVC, Americorps, etc.). Teach for America recruits high-performing college graduates with strong leadership qualities to teach in high-needs schools throughout the country. We go through an alternative teacher certification program and undertake continuous professional development throughout our two-year commitment. This makes it an excellent option for those individuals (like me) who realized very late that they have a passion for teaching, and also those individuals who would like a strong support system as they begin their teaching careers. Although it is not faith-based like the immersion trips, TFA appealed to me because it allowed me to work daily with students who have ambitious hopes and dreams for their futures, but who have also been written off by many as incapable of reaching those goals or, worse, not worth the effort.

The past year and a half has been a constant challenge. The old joke that “those who can’t do, teach” has certainly been proven false. I have worked harder during the past year and a half than I ever did before. My school day runs from 7:45 to 4:16, and then I stay at school most afternoons grading, preparing for future lessons, or organizing extracurricular activities. During my first year I taught three 90-minute chemistry classes and one remedial class for students who needed to pass the state exam. This year I am teaching physics. I find myself constantly relearning things I have forgotten since college. Most nights I am exhausted, and just like at Holy Cross I cannot wait for each weekend to come around so I can relax a bit. I love taking the time to go out to my students’ football games (yes, it really is like Friday Night Lights) or volleyball games and see them excel in something that they love. It is also a fun and easy opportunity to meet students’ parents and influencers.

All of the time and effort is worth it, though, when you see the fruits of you and your students’ shared labor: having Juan look up at you from a problem set and say he finally understands; seeing Mel’s face light up in wonder and amazement when a science experiment works like magic; or seeing a student who has failed multiple times in the past finally rise up and succeed. Those simple, joyous moments remind me why I chose teaching, why I chose Teach for America.

If you are interested in applying to Teach for America, make sure to get in touch with one of the recruiters from the Boston office. TFA works in 46 different rural and urban regions throughout the country from Boston to Hawaii and everywhere in-between. Check out the website to see detailed information about each of the regions. You can make yourself a more attractive applicant by taking on leadership positions on campus and developing your organizational skills, as these are two of the organization’s focal points when looking at applicants. Also, speak to people who are currently teaching in the public school system: there are many things I was unaware of that happen behind-the-scenes. There is a lot more to school than just teaching classes.

I want to leave you with my greatest moment in the classroom so far. One of

Will & Myriah

my students from last year, Myriah, had not passed the state science exam since she was in 8th grade. As a senior, she needed to pass that test to graduate. She was in two science classes with me, for a total of 135 minutes each day, all year long. Myriah had her confidence beaten down, but we knew that she could do it. One month before graduation, on her last chance, she finally succeeded in passing the science exam. She was going to walk across the stage and graduate with her class! I remember many things about that night: My mom and sister were at a Brad Paisley concert, and Johan Santana threw the Mets first no-hitter, but I will always remember the ear-to-ear smile on Myriah’s face as she lined up to walk across the stage. Tears welled up in my eyes as a student sitting near me said, “I didn’t think Myriah was going to graduate.” The tears began to run as I responded, “Well, she did.” In that moment, I knew that I was where I needed to be. I knew that joining Teach for America was the right choice for me.

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This Week’s Deadlines and Events
Employers are hiring!  Apply for a job or two via Crusader Connections!  Visit this week’s Worcester Consortium Career Fair!  Set up an informational interview with a Holy Cross Alumna/us!
Don’t know what you want to do or where to start?
No Problem!  Set up an appointment by calling 508.793.3880 or stopping by Hogan 203.
Tuesday, March 29
Event:  Colleges of Worcester Consortium Career Fair, DCU Center Ballroom from 1-4:30 pm Click here for a list of participating employers and directions
Deadlines:
  • Insight Global, Inc. – Training/Account Manager (On-campus Interviews: April 7)
  • Zoom Technical Services – Technical Recruiter  (On-campus Interviews: April 8)
  • Apply via Crusader Connections
Thursday, March 31
Deadlines:
  • FactSet Research Systems, Inc. – Market Metrics Analyst (resume referral)
  • Fidelity Investments – Financial Representative (resume referral)
  • Apply via Crusader Connections
Friday, April 1
Don’t be a fool!  Visit us in Career Planning to work on your job search!

We’re always available by appointment (M-F, 9 – 5 – call 508.793.3880 or stop by Hogan 203 to schedule) or visit us on drop-in hours, M-F, 1-4pm, no appointment necessary.