The Open Book Test Podcast with Alison Levey
A former academic advisor reconnects with graduates of the Mendoza College of Business to discuss why they made the decisions they did as to major, career path etc. and together they reflect on how that all worked out. Life is the ultimate open book test, so you want to bring the best resources to the table. Let us help!
Episodes
29 episodes
A Minute on Mental Health with Genie, Jake & Dillon
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. At some point or another in our collective histories, I have had at least one conversation with each of my podcast guests about their mental health. Life is hard on our mental health and college, because it...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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25:05
Halfway Highlighter Edition
This is episode 26, which is the halfway point of Year One for this podcast, and I have some thoughts. How many of us have sat in a meeting or watched a terrible movie and thought, "there's two hours I'll never get back?" I'm going to guess all...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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9:51
Sofia Daboub: It's Always an Option to Play to Your Strengths
Sofia likes the road less travelled. She's not one for the predetermined path no matter how attractive it might seem to others. That little bit of the rebel within led her to choose a major in Marketing which she felt gave her wide ranging opti...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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45:16
Juan José Daboub: Negotiating a Balance Between Finance, Family & Fulfillment
Juan José Daboub wanted nothing more as a sophomore at ND than to major in finance and become a successful investment banker. By the time he was a senior, that wish list had altered slightly but he spent two exciting years at Goldman Sach...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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49:24
Lauren Longo: Cracking the Code on Business Analytics and Consulting
Business Analytics (BAN) was a brand new option when Lauren transferred into Mendoza at the start of her sophomore year. There were no upperclassmen to ask about the coursework or job prospects so it was a bit of a leap of faith. Still, Lauren ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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48:44
Genie Deez: Creative Energy in Perpetual Motion
Where to begin? When I met Eugene Staples, I knew immediately that he was a high energy, highly entertaining young man with many talents, ideas and dreams. I did not imagine that he'd pursue degrees in Marketing, Film, and Religion and create h...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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54:23
Madison Boyle: Just Keep Swimming...
It was her roommate's positive engineering internship and an invite to a great tailgate that put GE Healthcare on Madison's radar. But it was her curiosity and enthusiasm that got her in front of the right person to be considered for t...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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51:14
March Highlighter Edition
Today we are talking about the benefit of the deep dive...but maybe not in the way you think.Please check out the pod's sponsors, Fire Stationery and
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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10:33
Tony Michuda: Reverse Engineering the Journey
When he graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in Management Consulting, Tony didn't envision a journey through real estate to healthcare and, ultimately, his own start-up. But his natural inclination to jump at opportunities has put him in so...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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46:38
Jamie Dykstra: A Good Coach Changes the Game
Jamie's athletic side has always been a big part of her life whether she was playing, coaching or caring for athletes as a sports trainer. So maybe it shouldn't have surprised any of us when Jamie decided junior year to switch everything up so ...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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39:39
Demetrius Murphy: Life and Business in Context
Prior to starting grad school, Demetrius Murphy looked like he'd followed a fairly traditional path from a Management Consulting major to Advisory Services at PwC. But at no point was his path conventional. Rather, the right word might be
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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48:14
Annie Plachta: A Harvard MBA candidate makes her case.
Annie is happily eating her words from college when she swore she'd never get an MBA, although she did add a quick caveat for HBS, which is where she happily landed in the fall of 2019. A 2015 Mendoza grad with a degree in Finance, Annie consid...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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50:21
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February Highlighter Edition
Raise your hand if a well-meaning adult has ever told you that the secret to success was simply to follow your passion. I talk in this episode about why that's my least favorite piece of advice. It's really not all that helpful since it's...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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12:30
Jake Bebar: You decide what is EPIC for you.
Like so many of our guests, Jake Bebar didn't know what he wanted to major in when he started college. He actively tried a lot of different things, including jumping out of business at one point, before realizing that business can be a tr...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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46:30
Steven Feczko: A Finance Major Takes Stock of His Career
As he entered college, Steven was looking for a major that would both challenge him and set him on a path toward a fruitful career. He interned in corporate finance and as an equity research analyst before determining that consulting was the co...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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39:10
Colleen Wade Spelder: Passion Personified
Colleen Spelder came to ND for all the reasons that matter most but with no firm idea where to put her considerable energy in terms of an actual major. She ultimately picked Information Technology Management (ITM) and took those hard skills, up...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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43:13
Cam Kormylo: Teachable moments from a series of (un)fortunate events!
Notre Dame was Cam's first choice for college but, in a trend that would continue, the choice was somewhat made for him due to a lack of other options. So, although his path was often defined by NOT getting exactly what he thought he wanted, he...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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41:00
January Highlighter Edition
A recurring theme from the January episodes is the idea of understanding your "why." This month's guests would agree that they didn't have a clear picture of their whole future, but they understood why they were making the choices they...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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13:21
Brittany Sanok: Plot Twist - she didn't major in business!
Brittany Sanok graduated from Notre Dame in 2016 with majors in English and Economics — so what is she doing on a business focused podcast? Turns out, students from all majors end up working in, wait for it, businesses. She just took one ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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37:07
Kristina Hamilton: Food for thought on finance, curiosity, and authenticity.
Kristina chose the very popular Finance major but then surprised everyone with a career path that was anything but typical when she graduated in 2013 and went into sales at General Mills. A self-described people person who bubbles over with gen...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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45:59
Matt Lynch: The ABC's of Success (Accounting, Basketball & Communication)
Matt majored in accounting in the classroom but got an education from Bookstore Basketball, and sports in general, from the sidelines. He spent five years at ND, graduating with a Masters of Science in Accountancy (MSA) in 2014, before joining ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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45:04
Cate Hefele:The Story at the Heart of the Journey
Cate's love of story and storytelling led her to a major in Marketing at Notre Dame but has also been the thread that she's actively sought out through a variety of roles in her career. One big, bold, very public pitch (followed by one...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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39:15
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December Highlighter Edition
Here's a new feature of the podcast. Each month we'll have a HIGHLIGHTER EDITION where I expand on a couple of the key themes that have come up in that month’s conversations. It's just a quick way for me to reinforce some really important conce...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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22:59
Taylor Osicek: Be proud of those pivots!
Once upon a time, in a letter nominating Taylor for a significant leadership award (which she got btw), I wrote “if we could harness her energy, we could light a city.” And that hasn’t changed. Taylor’s enthusiasm is contagious and her st...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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43:35
Luke Vandertie: Make it your business to learn about analytics!
Luke Vandertie is a member of Mendoza's first graduating class with a major in Business Analytics (2019). Luke and I got to know each other, however, because he didn't start at ND in the College of Business so he had to fit a lot in to meet his...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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31:40
