Networking & Career Exploration Connect Networking & Career Day Sponsored by the David S. Rocchino Family Foundation in partnership with the Scholar Alumni Society
Connect Networking & Career Day brings more than 50 Scholar alumni to campus for a day of career-related panel discussions and networking. With expertise in a variety of fields, Scholar alumni are ready to share their knowledge and perspectives with current Scholars. Whether you are exploring majors, considering internships, preparing for graduate or professional school, or sending out resumes for employment, this event is for you.
Connect 2026
- 11:00 - 3:30 PM
- Business Building, University Park
Event Schedule
The full event schedule for Connect 2026 is coming soon. Please check back later.
Successful Scholar Alumni Alumni Bios
Learn more about the Scholar alumni attending this year's event.
Attending alumni panelists will be updated as confirmations for Connect 2026 are received. Please continue to visit this website and check your email for updates.
Vandana Agarwala PhD Student, Statistics, Penn State
Robert Anderson, Esq. Assistant Counsel - Compliance, PSEG Long Island
Essa Bangura Co-Owner, A Place At Home
Timothy Berkebile, Esq. Construction Attorney / Commercial Litigator, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC
Aaron Blakney Epidemiologist, Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Samuel Bonsall, CFA, CPA Deloitte & Touche Teaching Excellence Professor of Accounting, Penn State Smeal College of Business;, Student Engagement Chair, Scholar Alumni Society
Dr. Alexandre Bourcier, MD, MS Resident Physician, Internal Medicine, UPMC
Charles Burrows, Esq. Deputy Director of Pro Bono Services, Pennsylvania Bar Association
Tim Chen, Esq. Associate Attorney, Robinson & Cole LLP
Alexis Collins Associate Booking Producer, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC)
Eric Conaway Engineering Manager - Propulsion and Thermal Systems, Astrobotic
Dr. Alejandro Cuevas Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Science, Princeton University;, Co-Founder, Redoux
Dr. Sara Dommer Assistant Professor of Marketing, Penn State Smeal College of Business
Bill Donato President, Patriot Growth Insurance Services;, Campaign Committee Chair for Schreyer Honors College
Barbara Doyle, MBA Retired - VP of Finance, H.B. Fuller, Inc., Alumni Engagement Chair, Scholar Alumni Society
Kymberly Drapcho Editor in Chief, Veriheal;, Co-Founder, Dive Magazine
Rachel Dungan Adjunct Faculty, Penn State and Georgetown University
Ilya Ekshtut Partner, Avalanche Investments
Danielle Finnerty Organizational Strategy Consultant, Vanguard
Rebecca Fox Starr Author and Licensed Therapist, Fox Therapy
Olivia Francois Exam Developer, The National Restaurant Association;, Vice President, Scholar Alumni Society
KD Frick Professor, Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University
Rebecca Lee Funk President and Founder, National Fund for Women;, Founder and CEO, The Outrage; Co-Founder, The Wick
Atif Ghauri President, UltraViolet Cyber
Dr. Antoinette Gomez Civilian Clinician in Clinic and LCSW, Buckley Space Force Clinic;, Board Member, Scholar Alumni Society
Keith Graham Advanced Engineering, Codasip
Sean Griffin Humanitarian Program Advisor, US Department of State
Andrew Gutberlet Project Delivery Division Head, Applied Research Lab, Penn Statee
Emma Hance Senior Program Manager, Penn State Readiness Institute
Sydney Hannah Integrated Product Team Lead, Northrop Grumman;, Incoming MBA Student, Standford Graduate School of Business
Duncan Hayes Principal, Bates White Economic Consulting
Muna Heaven, Esq. Attorney, NYC Administration for Children's Services
Gabriel Hiestand Staff Engineer, Herbert, Rowland, & Grubic, Inc.
Karah Hughes Administrative and Programs Coordinator, Centre Helps
Dr. Nathan Jacobs Patent Attorney, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
Marvin Johnson Associate Director, Marketing - Scrum Master, Merck
Matthew Johnson, MBA Associate Brand Manager, The Hershey Company
Molly Johnson, MS Senior Manager - Clinical Trials, Eli Lilly & Co.
Natalie Keller Senior Research Scientist, Campbell Soup & Pepperidge Farm Co.;, Immediate Past President, Scholar Alumni Society
Sue Kelley Associate Teaching Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State College of; Health and Human Development;, Board Member, Scholar Alumni Society
Dr. Christopher Koeppen Advisor, Attalon, Inc. (Advent International Portfolio Company)
Andrew Kreider Communications Director, Chester County, PA
Dr. Catherine Kuhns Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute
Kendall Kutzavitch Incoming Law Student, Georgetown University;, Educational Leadership Consultant, Alpha Phi Foundation
Dr. Alice Lin, MD Resident Physician, Internal Medicine, UPMC
Ellie Manca, MPH Senior Manager, Global Publications, Aegnus
Melissa Marshall VP - Project Delivery & Commercial Integration, Westinghouse;, Board Member, Schreyer External Advisory Board
Ed Marx Vice President, Enterprise Analytics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center;, Board Member, Schreyer External Advisory Board
Ed Marx is the Director of Enterprise Analytics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he has worked since 2011. His team works with leaders across the Medical Center to help them frame their opportunities and questions, design the analytics that will most effectively address their needs, and present the results of their analysis.
Ed spent seven years with McKinsey & Company before accepting his role at Vanderbilt. During his time there, he helped create the McKinsey Hospital Institute (renamed Objective Health), an offering focused towards community providers that enabled them to capture bottom line impact and build capabilities through proprietary analytics, web-based performance tools, and benchmarking/expertise. He led the development of client solutions including a cost allocation model, physician utilization analyses, and lean training/implementation. Prior to McKinsey, Ed spent four years with Procter & Gamble where he led teams in the installation and equipment setup of new diaper production lines.
Ed graduated summa cum laude and with honors from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and earned his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Apoorva Mathur Engineering Manager, Continuous Improvement, Daimler Truck North America
Alana Mazzei Senior Program Manager, WHOOP
Krishna Mehta, P.E. Senior Mechanical Engineer, GFT
Philip Meier Vice President, ZMC
Since graduating from SHC, I have worked at KPMG in their Deal Advisory practice and currently work as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. In my previous role at KPMG, I was challenged to not only form opinions on M&A deal matters that drive the decisions made by our private equity clients but also recommend actions to implement post-acquisition strategies. During this process, I have driven the decision making process of M&A investors as an advisor and led efforts to obtain our clients the best acquisition terms. This experience prepared me to lead M&A transactions in my current role on the TMT desk as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs.
From a mentoring perspective I am well positioned to provide insight to students interested in pursuing careers in consulting, accounting and banking. I can speak of my professional experiences and which experiences at SHC really accelerated my professional development as well as advice on relevant professional designations (CPA, CFA, etc.) in the field.
Kevin Merlini VP, Product Management - AI for Tax/Accounting Firms, Thomson Reuters
Nicole Miao Manager, Omnichannel Engagement Analytics, Customer Insights & Analytics, Nordstrom
Matthew Popek, AICP Transportation Planning Manager, Montgomery County (PA) Planning Commission
Hunter Porcano Auxiliary Materials Category Manager, Anheuser Busch
Dana Ray language strategist, healthcare justice advocate,
Eric Reale, CPA Financial Advisor, Meritage Wealth Management
Galen Reeder Senior Vice President, Operations, dormakaba
Luciano Ricondo, Esq. Partner, Merchant & Gould P.C.
Chelsie Rimel, Esq. Corporate Counsel, FNB Corporation
Jeffrey Ruben, Esq. President, WSFS Home Lending, WSFS Bank
Dr. Lisa Ruch Assistant Dean and Professor of Humanities and General Education, Bay Path University (MA);, Board Member, Scholar Alumni Society
Allison Savio Development Assistant for Senior Associate Vice President, Penn State Division of Development and Alumni Relations
Patrick Scanlan Senior Director of Nuclear Innovation, Waymaker Resource Group
Stacy Schwartz Assistant Professor, Professional Practice - Marketing, School of Business, Rutgers University
Sarah Shaffer, CPA, MBA Rates & Regulatory Director, EQT Corporation;, Board Member, Schreyer External Advisory Board
Katelyn Sullivan Greater Boston REALTOR®, Coldwell Banker Realty Boston
Alysha Ulrich Climate Policy Specialist, State of Delaware
Deniz Unal, MS, MBA, PE, PMP, CSSGB Process/Project Engineering Professional,
Christopher Wilson, Esq. Partner, Baker Botts LLP;, Board Member, Schreyer External Advisory Board
Logan Wincott Law Student, Penn State Dickinson Law
Hilary Wisniewski Financial Analyst, The Seed Company
Stefen Wisniewski Team Chaplain, Penn State Football;, M.Div. Student, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jack Yoskowitz Litigation Law Firm Partner, Seward & Kissel LLP;, Board Member, Schreyer External Advisory Board
Kathryn Zeltwanger, Esq. Deputy General Counsel, Armstrong Group;, Board Member, Scholar Alumni Society
