Welcome to Wilkes University » Academics at Wilkes University » Colleges » University College » Career Services » Career Success Story
 Name: Kelly (Patchell) Della RosaMajor/Graduation Date: Psychology / Minors, History & Sociology / May 2009 Current Position:
Behavior Specialist/Senior Level Teacher at Alpine Learning Group. I am currently working at Alpine Learning Group which is non-profit private school that provides educational and behavioral services to children with autism based on the principles of applied behavior analysis. As an advisor, I manage two classrooms and oversee implementation of behavior treatment plans and educational programs. I am also responsible for coordinating and supervising work opportunities in the community for students who are at least 16 years old.
Activities at Wilkes:
Women’s basketball team, ASB, Psychology club, Psi Chi, History club and an Internship at the Children’s Service Center.
Advice to job seekers/current undergraduates:
I would highly recommend doing at least one internship while you are at Wilkes. I found the field that I am in now because of my internship at Children’s Service Center. If I hadn’t done it, I may not even be in the same field that I am today. If you have graduated and are looking for a job, don’t get discouraged. Keep sending out resumes and follow up with companies that you have already sent them to. If you are in a field like psychology that is very broad, don’t be afraid to try new things. You may think you want to do one specific career, but the real world may steer you in another direction and I think that’s okay. Everything doesn’t always go according to plan. Toughest Interview question I have been asked:
What do you want to do with your life? What makes this such a touch question is how broad it is. You really have to be prepared for any questions. I was taught to have an “elevator speech” which is a quick description of yourself and your goals. It should be something that you could tell someone on an elevator ride that would impress them enough to remember you. Besides the traditional questions, I think that the hardest thing I had to do in an interview was a hands-on component. Following the traditional question and answer part, I was asked to work with a child whom I had never met. The interviewer gave me feedback and I was required to change my interactions with the student in response. Be prepared for anything!
What helped prepare me for my career?
Getting involved in a variety of activities at Wilkes helped me the most because I was able to network with so many different people. I was given leadership opportunities in clubs and it gave me the skills to be a good leader in the workplace. The internship that I completed my junior year also led me to my career choice and prepared me to work with students with different disabilities. Of course, I give most of the credit to the great teaching I received throughout all 4 years at Wilkes.
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 Name: John PolsonBachelors of Science in Biology Current Position: I work for Momentive Performance Materials a Global Leader in providing silicone and advanced materials. I work as a Site Quality Technician. I am in charge of setting up new testing procedures and maintaining analytical testing equipment. Activities while attending Wilkes : I was involved in the Biology Club, Student Government, Programming Board, Emerging Leaders Program, Alternative Spring Break, a Teaching assistant, and played on the University Soccer team for 3 years. Advice to current undergraduates/jobseekers: Be open minded to jobs available. It’s really important to start somewhere and build from there. Job experience is one of the most important qualities. Do your best to market yourself as a person in addition to your background. Do your best to tailor your resume to the job characteristics that the employer is looking for. Be open to taking internships because they will give you a great experience for your resume but also maybe showing you something you may like or not like as much. Toughest Interview Question you’ve ever been asked? My one interview asked me to draw organic synthesis reactions (not my strong point!) Best preparation for my career: By far it was my ability to handle my undergraduate studies with the many extracurricular activities that I was involved with. Everything I was involved with built a strong individual with diverse and valuable skills. Not only was I just a science major but also a stronger leader, team player, and involved in my community. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Name: Mary Waldorf Major/Graduation Date: Psychology/Sociology, Minor / May 2001  Current Position: Assistant Dean of Students, Columbia University, School of General Studies Advise students on academic, administrative and personal matters as they relate to students' plans of study. Serve as the advisor to the General Studies Student Council (GSSC). Creating, planning and providing innovative leadership and personal development programs for GS students. Serve on disciplinary hearings. Plan all aspects of fall and spring orientation.
Advice to current undergraduates/jobseekers: Toughest interview question I was ever asked: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Real life experience is what helped prepare me most for my career. It doesn’t matter how hard you study or how well you do in your courses – there is nothing that will prepare you more for the workforce than getting out there and actually doing the work. Take every internship that you can (even if it’s not paid), attend whatever networking sessions and job fairs you have to (even if you’re uncomfortable) in order to get your foot in the door, and never stop using the resources available to you at Wilkes.
Had it not been for Lisa (from Career Services), I would have never known about the Commonwealth Human Resource Management Trainee program and I would not be in the position that I am today. I also give a great deal of credit to my professors in the Sidhu School for their constant and never failing faith in their students – they provide their students with unwavering support and guidance in every aspect of life; they are amazing professors, mentors and friends.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________  Name: Kaitlin A. Taber- Miller Major/Graduation Date: Musical Theatre/May 2008
I participated in several clubs and extra-curricular activities while at Wilkes. At various points throughout my college career I was a part of Chorus club, Student Government, and Student Political Action Forum (SPAF) Club. I also worked for the University in various positions: Orientation coordinator, student ambassador, e-mentor, and a Student Development/Cooperative Education work study student. I was also heavily involved in the Alternative Spring Break program, traveling to New Orleans as a coordinator in 2007, and as a participant when I traveled with ASB to Belize in 2008. As a senior, I also wrote, directed, and produced a docu-drama for the stage, based solely on a documentary filmed by myself and Steve Karpinski (another Wilkes University alumni). The best advice I can give is that the time given to you in college is time to maximize on experiential opportunities. Get involved in community service, get an internship, volunteer for those who are in need. This kind of work prepares you for many job opportunities, reflects that you are a caring and motivated team player, and frequently gives you experience to pull from when answering tough interview questions. I feel as though my extracurricular experience is what prepared me most thoroughly for my career specifically with Alternative Spring Break and as an E-Mentor/Orientation Coordinator. As a Teach For America Corps member placed in a high-need school, working with many at-risk students, my experience working in other high-need communities with ASB has only helped me to better contribute to my new community here in Hawaii. As far as working as an E-Mentor and Orientation Coordinator, this gave me the opportunity to hone my people-skills and gain organizational skills that I needed in order to work effectively as a teacher. Finally, I feel that these programs helped me establish and maintain goal-setting skills. I establish goals constantly as a teacher, both with Teach For America and my high school. Both require me to set goals, collect data on my progress, and then assess whether or not I successfully met those goals. I believe this skill to be the most important. Mike is also the recipient of the prestigious Young Investigator Award of the International Society for Text & Discourse. The Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding research in the study of text and discourse by a scholar who has received an advanced degree within the past 10 years. Mike is an emerging international leader in the study of language. His research goals are to understand the relation between language comprehension and motor planning, to explain the acquisition of novel syntactic structures in adults, and to examine how patterns of experience affect language. His research has appeared in prominent journals in cognitive science, including Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Cognition, Cognitive Science, and the Journal of Memory and Language. Mike credits the wonderful mentorship from our Psychology Department in helping him attain his educational achievements. We, along with his proud mother, Camille Kaschak, our Career Services program assistant, congratulate and applaud Mike.
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an Kaschak, '98, graduated from Wyoming Valley West High School, received a B.A. degree in History, Summa Cum Laude from Wilkes University, a M.A. degree and a Ph.D. in History from Emory University, Atlanta, GA. 
Andrea N. Smallacombe, 08' - originally from Cresco, PA is a graduate of Pocono Mountain East H.S.; received a Bachelor in Business Administration, Cum Laude with a minor in Entrepreneurship/ May 2008. Currently a Human Resource Analyst, Labor Relations Division - Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
Dr. Michael Kaschak, ’98, originally from Kingston Pa., graduated from Wyoming Valley West High School, received a B.A. in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude from Wilkes University, and attained a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2003. He is an Associate Professor at Florida State University.