UR Class of 2017: Where are they now?

What are the graduates of the University of Richmond's Class of 2017 up to now? The Collegian had the chance to interview a few graduates from last year and see what they were doing in the real world.

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Britta Anderson: Music Major, Vocal Performance Concentration

Britta currently lives in Los Angeles, California, and is working with her producer to write and record music. During the summer of 2017, she was flown out to LA for two weeks to work on music with her producer as he showed her the ropes of pop music, ultimately leading to her working with him full-time. Her end goal is to finish her own songs that she can sell or release, and is also hoping to sell her songs to other artists.

When Britta was at UR she was unsure what she was going to do after graduation, so she tried an art management concentration, but didn’t love it. She also studied Rhetoric & Communications before she eventually landed in vocal performance.

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Yani Abagaro: Healthcare Studies and Business Administration Major, Economics Management Concentration

Yani is now a Human Resources Associate for PNC Development Program in New York City, Pittsburg and New Jersey. She spends her time in the various offices working in a rotational program between its four main departments. What Yani studied at UR was very different from her current job, but she said she loved what she did. Nevertheless, Yani said she had noticed that information from her healthcare classes had started to show up at work, and hoped to continue working with the healthcare plans at PNC.

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Cassandra Ceballos: Sociology and Economics Major

Cassandra is currently at Corps Network as a Programs Associate for the Education Workforce Development and Moving Forward Initiative. The initiative is funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which is looking at unconscious bias in the hiring practices of young adults of color in environmental preservation and conservation organizations. Historically, there has been a lack of diversity in this field, and thus it has reoriented its focus to recruit a more diverse workforce. Cassandra is looking into hiring practices and how they can be changed to be more diverse.

Cassandra said her biggest advice to students coming into the workforce would be to really understand the organization that you are getting into. Make sure you know who you're supervisors are and know the type of office culture you would be getting into. Try to talk to employees one-on-one during interviews to really get a sense of the company.

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Kevan Josloff: Chemistry Major

Kevan is currently applying to medical school while also studying in a post-baccalaureate program at Tufts University. This program, the Master's Biomedical Sciences program, will leave him with an additional degree before attending medical school. Kevan has been taking classes and working in a hospital since his graduation last spring, and said there were opportunities to work in Tufts Medical Center itself, or in a student-run clinic called the Sharewood Clinic. Kevan said in his current program he was learning about different sectors in the medical field, which was helping him decide which field he may want to pursue.

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Chris Poff: Chemistry Major

Chris is a graduate student at Emory University studying Organic Chemistry and is on track to get his Ph.D. in 2022. He hopes to pursue a career in industrial chemistry, which he said he had done in past internships.

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Contact lifestyle writer Julia Muro at julia.muro@richmond.edu.