April 22, 2004

Staff profile: Amanda Marquart

Title: Program assistant, career services. It’s a 10-month position.

photo byStephen Anzaldi

What do you do? I manage the interview center, where company recruiters come to meet with students seeking entry level positions and internships. Recruiters come from all over the country and students can sometimes have three or four interviews in a day. It’s a great opportunity for students because they don’t have to travel and can just focus on the interview. I get to work closely with recruiters and students so I can appreciate the process from both sides. Plus, talking with recruiters has helped me in thinking about my own career.

How do you spend your summers? I’ve worked journalism internships at Lake County government television and World Book Encyclopedia. I found both jobs through the career services office.

You attended Northwestern for a year. Do you have fond memories? I eat lunch once a week at Elder Hall with a man who worked there when I was a student. In fact, he’s worked at Northwestern for a very long time. We’ve become friends over the years and seeing him helps me keep things in perspective.

What is your educational background? I came to Northwestern as a freshman to study engineering and journalism. When I decided that program wasn’t for me, I enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, where my parents live. I wasn’t all that crazy about college so I finished in three years. I ended up majoring in humanistic studies, an interdisciplinary program in the humanities. It folds in to the work I’m doing now on a master’s degree in liberal studies from the School of Continuing Studies.

What is one of the best things you’ve ever done in life? I worked as a server at a guest ranch, or a dude ranch. The ranch, Vista Verde, is nothing like what you see in the movie “City Slickers.” There are only two weeks each year of cattle driving. During the rest of the year, people go fly-fishing and hiking. And there’s gourmet food.

— Stephen Anzaldi