Success Stories

UCS hears great stories from Northwestern Students, Alumni and Employers who have used our services and had success. Whether it is success through the grand experience of gaining employment, having a better sense of your career direction or finding excellent talent- UCS enjoys sharing this good news. Motivate others looking for some positive stories by sharing your story today.

Below learn more about both Alexa Kamm and Blair Kessler. They both took advantage of all UCS has to offer Northwestern Students and had wonderful summer internships as a result.

Alexa Kamm, Class of 2013

Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Spanish; IMC Certificate

Your Good News:

I worked at GE Healthcare this summer as an intern in public relations for the Medical Diagnostics business.  It was an incredible opportunity that provided me with hands-on experience in PR.

Your Position:          

Communications Leadership Development Program Intern at General Electric

Details about Your Good News:

I worked directly with the Global PR leader of the medical diagnostics business of GE HCon a variety of tasks.  I planned and facilitated an internal communications campaign, worked heavily on a global external communications effort by collaborating with key stakeholders though international teleconferences and by developing written PR materials.  I had the opportunity to work with senior level executives to address strategic goals and objectives for the company.  I developed biographies for ten key executives and identified media and speaking opportunities for them.  I also gained a great deal of experience in crisis management, learning strategies to overcome negative press attention and shift focus back to progress and accomplishments of the company.  Perhaps most importantly, I was given many opportunities to develop a variety of written public relations materials, including internal and external news articles, media summaries, talking points, blog posts, backgrounders, executive biographies, signage, and internal email correspondence.

What Services at UCS were Most Helpful?

I utilized the resume reviews multiple times, meeting with several UCS staff members to rework my resume to best reflect my relevant skills and accomplishments.  I also worked at InterNU, and learned a lot of tips and tricks for interviews and resume writing there.

Blair Kessler, Transfer Student, Class of 2012

Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in the Harvey Kapnick Business Instiutions Program

Your Good News:

I spent the first two year of my collegiate career at Elmhurst College, a private school in the suburbs of Chicago.  In my two years at Elmhurst, I studied economics, finance and philosophy in the classroom, started on the defensive line for the varsity football team and created a Catholic student organization on campus.  In order to take a greater breadth of economic courses, find new challenge in the classroom, tap into a more expansive alumni network, position myself for a successful career, and surround myself with a more career focused peer group I transferred to Northwestern last fall.  In my first year at Northwestern, I have been able to meet these goals and exceed them beyond my expectations.

Once I arrived to campus in August of 2010 for football, I made it a priority to make an appointment at UCS.  This was the first office I visited as a Northwestern student. I can say, the staff and services at career services have played a very large role into getting me to where I am today and helping me find the success I came across in my first year at Northwestern.  I am very fortunate to have built the relationships that I did from day one. From Anita and her warm welcome at the front desk to the endless hours Betsy put in doing everything and anything to help a student meet their goals. Whether I needed my resume or a cover letter looked over, or simply needed advice on a class to take, UCS was there to help.

Your Position:         

Volunteer Teacher for Outreach Zanzibar

Details about Your Good News:

As a volunteer teacher for a NGO, living in Africa was cheap, but getting there was very expensive.  As a college student, this trip was unrealistic due to costs. The Summer Internship Grant Program (SIGP) made this experience of a lifetime a reality, with a grant.  In addition to helping with funding, SIGP gave me the opportunity to collaborate with peers around the world and throughout the country, also doing unpaid internships.  Having recently returned from Africa, I can confidently say that the experiences I had, lessons I learned, and amount I have grown from making myself vulnerable and living in a new culture are greater than that of any other internship I could have had at that point in my college career. There is no dollar amount can be put on that.

I would not have had the opportunities that I had in Africa or the opportunities that I will have in the future, if it had not been for career services offering SIGP, and the staff challenging me and encouraging me to look down the route that I did for the summer of 2011.

What Services at UCS were Most Helpful?

This is an office that I strongly recommend every student on campus steps foot in at a very early stage in their time at NU, independent of major, school or career aspiration. This office is here to help and will help you get to where you want to go.

There are several good services to choose from, in which I have reaped benefits from each, but in having to choose one, SIGP was the most helpful.  I participated in SIGP, or the Summer Internship Grant Program this past summer, while working in Zanzibar, Tanzania for a startup non-governmental organization (NGO) by the name of Outreach Zanzibar/Zanzibar Help Foundation.