Sponsored by: Andover Central School, Belfast Central School, Bolivar-Richburg Central School, Cuba-Rushford Central School, Fillmore Central School,
Portville Central School, Scio Central School, Wellsville Central School
Portville Central School, Scio Central School, Wellsville Central School
Career Conversations
Have you ever wondered what it takes to land your dream career? During Career Conversations you'll have the opportunity to interact with ordinary adults that have gone on to do extraordinary things in their own careers. These dreamers have some things in common: they all made deliberate choices and walked toward their passions. They have all chosen a career and have never settle for what only a job could offer. During Career Conversations our presenters will share about their path and you'll have an opportunity to dialog with them.
Career Conversation Speakers
Marcy Mahoney
Production Coordinator at Cartoon Network, Los Angeles, California via video conference |
After deciding at a young age that Ballerina Space Cop wasn't really the right future career for her, Marcy Dewey Mahoney realized what it was that had made her want to be a Ballerina Space Cop in the first place: Movies, TV and Books. Determined to make a living in the world of imagination, Marcy attended Ithaca College after high school and earned a filmmaking degree. Having worked on such shows as Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!" and "SpongeBob Squarepants," as well as Cartoon Network's "Secret Mountain Fort Awesome" and "Regular Show," Marcy has found a home in the wacky world of animation, while also spending time working in graphic design for print publications. In her spare time, Marcy is writing a book and a graphic novel.
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Dr. Tom Lauwers
Founder and Chief Roboticist of BirdBrain Technologies |
Dr. Tom Lauwers is the founder of BirdBrain Technologies, maker of the Finch Robot and Hummingbird Robotics Kit. The Finch is a small robot designed to promote an engaging introduction to the art of programming. Hummingbird is a kit of parts that allows students to create and program robots built from kit components and craft materials. Together these products are in use in more than one thousand classrooms. Finch and Hummingbird are the result of separate NSF-sponsored research programs at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute’s CREATE lab. Tom received his Ph.D for developing the hardware behind Finch and Hummingbird while at the CREATE lab. Tom lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, two kids, and a small army of robots.
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Adam Kisailus, PhD.
Assistant Dean, Internships and Educational Outreach, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo NY via video conference |
Dr. Adam Kisailus began his journey towards a career path in science education administration as a ten year old entrepreneur operating a “Bug Zoo” to teach neighborhood children about the exciting world of insects. Each summer he would venture into the woods behind his home to find “exotic” insects to put on display in jars on his parent’s porch. His customers would pay 25 cents to learn about ant colonies and watch the metamorphosis process in action. For an extra 25 cents, they could go into the main exhibit- a shed where the praying mantis was housed. Dr. Kisailus followed his early interest in science throughout grammar and high school participating in science fairs and competitions. He attended Canisius College where he juggled the course load as biology major and business minor. After college, Dr. Kisailus pursued a PhD in Molecular Biology at Georgetown University. After completing his PhD, he returned to his native Buffalo in order to apply his research knowledge to tackling the riddle of cancer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In addition to his research work he volunteered his time as an instructor and mentor in the high school and college summer research program teaching others about the intricacies of cancer science. This enjoyment for education translated into landing a position in the Department of Educational Affairs at Roswell Park as Assistant Dean for Internships and Education Outreach at Roswell Park. Dr. Kisailus’s day-to-day activities involve educational science program planning and operation of the longstanding summer research experience program to jumpstart the careers of emerging scientists amongst high school and college students.
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Crystal Markley
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, FL via video conference |
Crystal Markley grew up in Pittsburgh PA and holds a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, where she graduated from the Schreyer honors college and also completed an undergraduate research thesis. She moved to Jacksonville FL and worked in private consulting for 10 years before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2009. She is a licensed professional civil engineer in Florida, and is also a LEED accredited professional. Crystal serves as an Engineering Technical Lead for large scale civil works projects, including several large rehabilitation projects for the Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD), part of the National Dam Safety Program. Crystal believes strongly in giving back to the profession, she is active in several professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers where she served in several leadership positions, including as President of the Florida Section, and her professional awards include the Northeast Florida Young Engineer of the Year. Crystal also participates in mentoring and community service, she is a mentor and Board member with the ACE Mentoring Program of Northeast Florida, and is a design team lead for the Jacksonville Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA where she has implemented several clean water projects in rural communities in Honduras and Guatemala.
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Heather Cox, RN, MSN, FNP, RNFA
Family Nurse Practitioner Orthopedics, Jones Memorial Orthopedics, Delphi Emergency Physicians, and Dr. Terrance Foust, DO, Orthopedic Surgeon, Wellsville, NY |
Heather Cox is a graduate of Portville Central School and CA BOCES. With an interest in nursing, Heather attended Alfred State College and Stony Brook University after graduation and excelled in their LPN Program. Heather currently works at Jones Memorial Hospital in Orthopedics and for Delphi Emergency Physicians. Heather gained valuable nursing experience while working at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, NY and for St. James Mercy Health in Hornell, NY.
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Michael Spong
WKBW TV, Buffalo, NY |
Michael Spong is an Executive Producer atWKBW-TV Channel 7 in Buffalo. His duties include gathering assignments, and working with producers, reporters, and photographers to coordinate and produce daily coverage of events for newscasts. In previous positions, Michael worked as a Multimedia Journalist (MMJ), gathering information for stories, shooting footage, conducting interviews, and “packaging” content for on-air, and as both an editor and morning show producer. AWNY native, Michael is 2007 Graduate of St. Bonaventure University School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and winner of the Bob Koop Award for Outstanding Performance in the Area of Broadcast Journalism.
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