The day-to-day in the music industry is often very fast-paced and requires effective communication and strong interpersonal skills amongst colleagues to get tasks done. Akil Grampus, Music Industry ’19, does a great job of displaying both of these skills, often serving as a mediator in conflict resolution when making decisions and helping strategize on how best to proceed in our action items. Akil handles the overall day-to-day operations for 24/8 Music Group, a label joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment. He is often tasked with coordinating studio sessions, music video shoots, handling invoices, and interacting with other creative professionals who help 24/8 execute their vision and bring great new music to market. Akil is easily one of the most job-ready employees the organization has hired in recent years. He is attentive, detail-oriented, and displays a relentless work ethic that has helped him be incredibly effective in his role for Sony Music and 24/8 Music Group.

Sammy Pisano

Director of Account Management, The Orchard

I have hired college graduates into several different disciplines here at John Deere. Ultimately I seek those candidates that can demonstrate the ability to learn new topics quickly, effectively apply it to their work and increase the strength of the team through collaboration and cross-learning with their colleagues.

Michael Cha, Data Science ’18, arrived ready to contribute with the knowledge he had gained through his education and an eagerness to supplement with knowledge gained from his co-workers and independent research. He has worked as a data scientist to develop and improve statistical models to create business insights. Through improving these estimates, John Deere is able to optimize the supply chain and improve the availability of these future parts for our customers.

KEVIN EILERS

SMART CONNECTED WAREHOUSE ANALYST, JOHN DEERE WORLDWIDE PART SERVICES

I don’t run into candidates like Victoria Mullen-Bowers, Art '13, especially right out of college. She is logical but whimsical, which brings focus to project management, humor to teamwork and craft to the aesthetic.

As Head of Product Development, she brings to the company a perfect blend of art and business acumen. Her background in graphic design was merely the springboard of her trajectory to running all arts at Northern Lights. Tori is not only a quick learner, but can contribute organizing and building systems across the entire company.

Amy Bennett

COO, Northern Lights Candles, Zippo's family of companies

When I think of the qualities necessary to be a successful auditor, Joe Gilligan, Accounting and Business Administration '18, does not fall short. Building trust is also an important quality to a successful auditor, and Joe has built the necessary relationships to earn the trust of those he works with. Joe is a life-long learner and is always looking to better himself, including making time for self-reflection and taking a positive outlook on every situation. These qualities help Joe to distinguish himself and will set him up for great success in his career.

I am proud to see Joe’s progress since joining us, and I look forward to his continued success as he leads his engagement teams’ staff as a senior auditor. Having also attended a small liberal arts college, I have no doubt that Joe’s success is due in part to his well-rounded liberal arts education at Houghton University.

Caity Whitman

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Erik Sorensen, Data Science '20, came into Deere with a solid foundation in Data Science; he has been able to fit into our agile model, learn on the job while still maintaining high productivity and being accountable to his team. He has worked on projects ranging from geospatial modeling of different vegetation indices to building a predictive model of soil moisture and field accessibility for planting and harvest.

I have been very impressed with his humility and desire to grow, taking personal accountability for his work, and learning to improve in his critical thinking skills. He joined the team with the skills ready to hit the ground running.

Angela Bowman

Scientist, Sustainability Solutions, John Deere

Marshall Brady, Theology and Music Industry '17, serves as High School Director in our student ministry. He has wonderful interpersonal skills that make him effective in ministry, and his experiences on campus (in particular, being an RA, serving on Summer Ministry Teams, and serving in ministry at local churches) helped Marshall start his ministry here ahead of most of his peers in terms of the soft skills he needed to start strong. I’ve personally watched Marshall lead during COVID, and every week I’m hearing from other staff members who are taking note of how Marshall and his closest colleagues have created a culture of infectious optimism. Our entire church has noticed how his ministry has grown during the pandemic while virtually every other area of ministry has suffered setbacks. Houghton consistently produces young men and women like Marshall who have the education, the experiences, and the work ethic to complement God-given talents.

Steve Dunmire, D.Min.

Teaching Pastor, Watermark Wesleyan Church; Assistant Superintendent, WNY District of The Wesleyan Church