As part of the Upper School’s Experiential Learning program, a team of GA administrators put together the school’s first “Life After GA” week. The goal of this unique program was to connect students to GA alums who shared their personal stories about how to make the best use of their GA education, not only their academics but their co-curricular experiences. Alumni spoke about how GA prepared them to take advantage of resources in college for internships, study abroad programs, research, and in general, connecting with professors in ways that catalyzed their passions and interests, providing pathways for the future of work.

These administrators – Innovation Consultant Gabrielle Russomagno 1760, Director of Alumni Relations Heather Durkin 1760, Head of Upper School Dr. Molly MacKean, and Director of College Counseling Karen Mason – helped facilitate each of the webinars and constructed the format and organization of the Beyond College panels for Upper School students to end the week.

The daily webinars, entitled “The Future of Work,” included the following topics and presenters: The Future of Leadership - Rich Schellhas 1760, Head of School; The Evolving Career Path - Elisa Ludwig '92, Published Author and Content Specialist; The Application of Business Strategy - Kate Goldstein '05, Senior VP at SSI Strategy; The Current Industrial Revolution - Sam Hostvedt '03, President at Automation Distribution.

They can be viewed on GA’s Youtube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE375nhnsjsVfEjX6tQhK-M-mlcGuHpVD

GA then welcomed back 24 young alumni to campus for the Beyond College panels. Katherine Commale ’19, Dean Millard ’21, Grace Polisano ’16, and Ken Anderson ’13 were the guests on the freshman panel entitled “Making the Most of High School.” Students in Grades 10-12 selected two 30-minute alumni panels to attend with options focused on college majors/minors and those ensuing career opportunities:

Performing Arts - Emma Hearn '14, Sophie Hearn '15, Rachel Roth '21

Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) - Emily Fouraker '10, Maggie (Ebbott) Haviland '10, Natalie Negro '08, Zach Ross '13

Visual Arts - Lisa Lotito '08, Megan McCloskey '14

Liberal Arts - Michael Garbose '12, Kristen Koepsell '08, Annie Marshall '08, Morgan Rees '15

Healthcare - Josie Pizzino '15, Caroline Sloane '16, Tyler Thurlow '14

Business and Entrepreneurship - Dan Chauveau '10, Emily Denisco '10, Kiernan McCloskey '13, Eliza (Liza) McDevitt '08

Read about each of these panelists here:
www.germantownacademy.net/students/beyond-college

“Students were thrilled to hear from alumni about their academic and career paths at the inaugural Life After GA, and the alumni eagerly answered questions and provided key insights,” said Mason. “One of my favorite takeaways from the Business session was “it does not matter what you major in; study what you love and you will be successful.”

“Each of our alumni who returned to campus made a notably positive impact on GA’s Upper School,” said Durkin. “Student accolades focused on pitch-perfect advice, helpful stories and perspectives, and the ability to simply relate to the alumni. That connectivity between students and alumni was the essence of this program. We can’t thank our alumni guests, and our faculty moderators, enough!” 

Upper School students will have the opportunity to participate in the next Experiential Learning session on Saturday, February 25 when GA presents the “Learn How to Dream Big and Build Your Own Business” workshop.