Career Discovery Tour – Washington, D.C.

The Career Discovery Tour is a program committed to further expanding student-alumni career networking opportunities. In 2014, the program was recognized with the “Best Student Alumni Programming” award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Offered annually during spring break, the Career Discovery Tour provides 12-16 students the opportunity to travel for a week to vibrant cities across the United States to gain first-hand knowledge of a variety of careers directly from successful Ripon alumni and friends. Click here if you are interested in serving as a host for an upcoming tour. Constituent Engagement staff accompany students on the tour and help to design meeting schedules and flex time that meets the needs of most students. Previous trips have included Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Colorado, Washington, D.C. and Texas. This critical engagement opportunity is made possible with support from the Alumni Association Board of Directors and others.

*Financial assistance will be available to qualified students upon request.

Alumni & Friend Visits:

The following Alumni and Friends will be sharing experiences with students during the tour:

Zach Messitte

• Former President of Ripon College
• Consultant, Russell Reynolds

LTC Eric Atkisson ’94 (Ret.)

• Major: History; Minor: Philosophy of Humanities
• Communications Manager, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
• MA Political Science, Southwest Texas State University

Sophia Kaounas ‘14

• Major: Politics & Government; Minors: Communication, National Security Studies
• Legal Operations Manager

Abby Korb ’20

• Majors: Psychology, Politics and Government
• Social Science Research Analyst/Presidential Management Fellow at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight
• MA Political Science, American University

Kathryn Schultz ’89

• Major: Politics & Government; Minor: Music
• Retired, Senior Adviser on South Asia, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security & Nonproliferation, Office of Regional Affairs

Ben Valdez-Hempel ’17

• Major: Politics & Government; Minors: Spanish, Mathematics
• Strategic Communications Manager, District Sports

Bryant Vande Kolk ’12

• Major: Physics; Minors: Spanish, Mathematics
• PhD Physics, University of Notre Dame
• Technology Positioning Lead in Global Strategy and Business Development, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems

Amanda Voight ’00

• Major: Biology; Minor: Mathematics
• MS Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota; MBA, Georgetown University
• Division Director for Workforce Planning & Analytics, Department of Housing & Urban Development

Mary Kirtley Waters

• Former Assistant Secretary of State
• A lawyer with senior corporate, trade association, U.S. legislative and executive branch and United Nations experience

Jennifer White ’03

• Majors: Mathematics, Physics
• CARA (Conjunction Assessment and Risk Analysis) Task Lead and Roman Space Telescope Flight Dynamics Task Lead for a.i. solutions at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• PhD Astrophysics, Ohio State University

Plus much more! Additional alumni site visits and sightseeing opportunities are still being finalized and will depend on student interests.

Student applications are due December 15, 2022. Apply now!