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World of Work: Allie Tompkins '10, National Prison Project Intern for the ACLU Foundation

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Allie Tompkins '10

Allie Tompkins ’10

National Prison Project Intern for the ACLU Foundation

Washington, DC

Major: Political Science/Global Studies

How would you describe what you do on a typical day?

As an intern, I come into the office 5 days a week for a half day. I answer letters from inmates writing the prison project for assistance, and I work with a paralegal to do research on policy and prison programs for the attorneys on staff at the National Prison Project.

What advice do you have for students searching for jobs or internships in your field?

Look for the jobs that really speak to what you are interested in. I applied to a ton of internships, but the two places I received offers from were the places I was most passionate about working at. I think this really stood out on my cover letter and during my interviews.

What motivates you to go to work every day for this organization?

Even though I’m an unpaid intern, I’m motivated to go to work every day because the ACLU puts into action what I was most passionate about learning at UVM, Constiutional Law. In our project, we represent prisoners and provide them with information. I think this is important because they are a truly underrepresented part of society and it requires a lot of viligance to make sure that their rights are being upheld in prison.

How did your time at UVM, both in and out of the classroom, prepare you for your position?

At UVM I became really interested in Constitutional Law, and the ACLU is one of the best places to gain experience in this field. During my interview the attorney I spoke with was very happy that I knew a lot about the federal courts appointment process, something that we spent a lot of time on in my Political Science senior seminar. Outside of the classroom at UVM, meeting so many critical thinkers and people who are willing to question the status quo and ask important questions has really influenced the way that I understand what I do at my internship and how I interact with the other people at my job.

What was your childhood dream job?

My childhood dream job was a Marine Biologist (wasn’t that everyone’s dream job at some point?), somewhere along the way I also wanted to be a doctor.

If you’re interested in seeing all our World of Work profiles, click here. If you are a UVM alumnus and would like to be featured, please contact us at career.services@uvm.edu. If you are interested in contacting a featured alum, check out the Career Connection alumni database or contact us.

World of Work: Jackie Madsen '85, VP of Sales for L'Oreal Paris Cosmetics

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Jackie Madsen '85

(Jackie Madsen ’85, second from left in blue)

Jackie Madsen ‘85

Vice President of Sales, L’Oreal Paris Cosmetics

5th Avenue, New York, NY

Major:  Economics

How would you describe what you do on a typical day?

Each day is very different. While in the New York Office I spend days participating in meetings with all levels of our organization where we are developing how the L’Oreal Paris brand will be distributed in the US market to include pricing, promotion, displays and in store environment.  On the other days I am traveling to the Headquarters of our Retail Partners, including Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS, and Target meeting with their beauty teams to execute the plans we have discussed internally.

What advice do you have for students searching for jobs or internships in your field?

The beauty business is extremely exciting to be involved with. It is a very high-energy field that requires flexibility, adaptability and quick reaction time. From a sales standpoint, people successful in this field truly need to be extroverts who are comfortable in presenting and leading people. In addition sales has become extremely analytical in terms of the selling process, using available data is how the trade expects to be interacted with. People motivation and management are also key competencies.

What is your favorite part of your work? Most challenging part?

Favorite part is absolutely presenting in front of our retail partners. Also, being a female, I enjoy using the products. It’s very exciting to represent products that are so much part of my daily life! Because our business is so trend sensitive, change is difficult for some people to adapt to and ensuring people who work for me understand why the changes are necessary and how to manage them is always challenging.

Tell us about your best day at work.

Any day that I have been able to work through an issue with a major retailer that results in us having a successful launch of a new item, or an event in a major chain is a good day!

Did you expect to hold this job when you were a college student?

My path has been all over the L’Oreal Paris Company. From direct sales, to consumer promotions, to customer marketing to sales planning and back to direct sales. When I left college I had no idea what I wanted to do. In all honestly I didn’t think of sales as any particular interest for me but as I took my first job with L’Oreal (Territory Manager) I realized sales was a terrific option for me and met my desires to have days that varied, and opportunities to interact with people.

If you’re interested in seeing all our World of Work profiles, click here. If you are a UVM alumnus and would like to be featured, please contact us at career.services@uvm.edu. If you are interested in contacting a featured alum, check out the Career Connection alumni database or contact us.

World of Work: Bridge Hunter '97, Scientist at Genzyme

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Genzyme Logo

Bridge Hunter ’97, Scientist, Genzyme

Waltham, MA

Undergraduate Major: History

Graduate program: PhD in Applied Anatomy and Physiology, Boston University

How would you describe what you do on a typical day to someone who is unfamiliar with your field?
I have been in an industry setting for six years so half of my time is spent working in the lab running experiments to test out potential therapeutics. The other half is spent organizing experiments and managing others that work on my project.

What advice do you have for students searching for jobs or internships in your field?
Contacts are the most helpful way to get your foot in the door. Numerous people have contacted me through the UVM Career Connection website and while I haven’t found any of them a position at my company, I have been able to forward resumes along to colleagues or give advice about potential job opportunities. Another great resource in my field and my area is the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. It is an association of more than 600 biotechnology companies, universities, academic institutions and others dedicated to advancing research.

What is your favorite part of your work? Most challenging part?
Scientific research can provide some of the most rewarding experiences while at the same time offer some of the most frustrating. The success rate in drug discovery is about 1%. It is easy to become frustrated in this field but one goes into this with the idea that their work will eventually lead to saving lives or at the very least improve the quality of life for ill patients.

What motivates you to go to work every day for this organization?
I have always been proud to work for my company because of its dedication to discover therapeutics for patients with rare genetic diseases, areas of unmet medical needs, and neglected diseases. Many of the larger pharmaceutical companies have not found it profitable to be in these markets because of the small number of people affected by these diseases. Our company has made it a priority to find a sustainable way to develop therapies for these diseases.

Tell us about your path to this position. Did you expect to hold this job when you were a college student?
When I came to UVM in 1989, I enjoyed my classes but I kept losing focus, so much so that UVM suggested I take some time off. I took three years off and finally came to the realization that I wanted to be involved in sports or medicine, or both. With help from UVM’s academic support program, I reentered UVM and earned a 4.0 my first semester back. I enrolled in the sports therapy program and the classes I took led me to develop a desire to enter the medical field so I spent my last two years fulfilling the pre-med requisites and completing a minor in biology.

I spent a year after graduation applying for graduate programs in exercise physiology and I was accepted to a program at Boston University. Before entering the program in the fall, I spent the entire summer working in a research lab in muscle biology. The professor directing the lab was pleased with the work I had performed and offered me a position. This lab position allowed me to perform research and take classes towards my PhD for free and provided a small stipend. During my tenure at this company I slowly drifted away from muscle biology and have been able to work in many different disease areas such as diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, colitis, and most recently infections of the colon.

If you’re interested in seeing all our World of Work profiles, click here. If you are a UVM alumnus and would like to be featured, please contact us at career.services@uvm.edu. If you are interested in contacting a featured alum, check out the Career Connection alumni database or contact us.

Guest Post: Networking and Partnerships

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We’re glad to be able to open up this space to a guest blogger, Kailee Brickner-McDonald, a former practicum intern with Non-Profit Programs here at Career Services, for this Doing Good, Doing Well post. We are glad she was able to share this story of networking with us!

UVM’s Alternative Winter Break and Vermont Institute on the Caribbean–Partners since Career Services’ International Non-Profit Career Panel in 2009

In the spring of 2009, UVM Career Services hosted an International Non-Profit Career Panel. Similar to the networking panels offered this semester (link to calendar for those kinds of events), it brought together alumni and local employers in the non-profit field and students with all levels of interest.

Among the students who participated, Leondaro Badia, ’09, showed up. He shared how he was going to be interning with the Vermont Institute on the Caribbean (VIC) that summer. At the time, UVM Student Life’s Alternative Winter Break’s (AWB) leaders were looking for a new hosting community for their international service trip.  Talking with Leondardo about his connection to VIC’s Baseball Exchange Program through a service-learning class, it seemed like a good match for AWB. Thanks to the connection, AWB started to work with VIC. In the winter of 2010 the 11 UVM students on the AWB trip helped with the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Kids initiative and a park building project with 4th and 5th graders in Los Dominguez, a marginalized neighborhood in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. This year another 11 UVM students returned to the same school to lead workshops on girls’ self-esteem and leadership. AWB plans to continue the partnership with the community and organization into the future.

Check out this photo of the 2011 Alternative Winter Break group in the park that the 2010 group helped to build:
2011 Alternative Winter Break Group

This fruitful connection at the International Non-Profit Career Panel demonstrates how “networking” is truly a community-building experience. Peer-to-peer student collaboration and information -sharing that night was just as important as the relationships which also began among employers, alumni, and students.

–Kailee

Service Learning Internships: Great Experience–and Credit!

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Considering a summer or fall internship in the non-profit sector, but thinking you need to take a class instead because you need the credits? No need to choose! You can get the rich professional experience provided by an internship and earn between 1-12 credits through EDSS 239, the Service Learning Internship class.

What is the Service Learning Internship class and how does it work?

EDSS 239 offers you an opportunity to provide community service in conjunction with academic reflection, and earn credit for doing so! Positions are primarily in non-profit agencies and may be local, national or international. The course is offered in the fall, spring and summer for elective credit for students of all majors. Students may enroll for 1-12 credits, depending upon number of hours worked, and number of readings and reflections completed.

Students have completed Service Learning Internships at National Geographic, the Houston Hot Line, the office of Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Refugee Resettlement, Vermont Public Radio, Women’s Rape Crisis Center, Vermont State Parks, Chittenden County Public Defenders, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and in schools and programs in Africa, South America and the Pacific. It’s a great chance to create your own internship tailored to your interests and the skills you are hoping to build.

Best of all, you will have an opportunity to reflect and make meaning of your experience with others who are also involved in similar internships. In the words of one recent intern: “This was an amazing and enlightening experience and I am so glad I did this!”

Curious? Check out the process for enrolling in EDSS 239. Your first step will be obtaining an internship in the non-profit sector. For starting ideas on this, check out our Career Services website. For more ideas, stop by for our Drop In Hours, M-TH 1-4 pm, schedule an appointment.

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