Graduates headed off to work, graduate school

Shadow Kirkman knows just what she’ll do after graduating today.

Kirkman, an accounting major from Roulette, is headed straight into the workforce as a senior accountant at Dresser-Rand in Olean, N.Y.

“I am originally from Coudersport, and I grew up with no parents,” she said. “For me to be able to attend a campus like Pitt-Bradford was important.”

She’s just one of the Pitt-Bradford graduates who is headed off to work or graduate school despite a report out this week that the job market is weak for new college graduates.

On Monday morning, Alida Leslie, a hospitality management major from Johnsonburg, will report to Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, where she has been in the manager-in-training program during the spring semester.

When her training is finished, Leslie will become an assistant manager in the Pittsburgh district, but she said she would miss her ties at Pitt-Bradford.

“I’m going to miss the advice, encouragement and complete open-door policy all of the professors have here on campus,” she said.

Caitlin Cutting of Fillmore, N.Y., is another hospitality management major who will be working in the region.

“I was looking to get into the industry in any way,” she said. “I was lucky enough to get a full-time job working for Aramark at St. Bonaventure University working as the human resources/payroll manager.”

After starting out part time a few weeks ago, she’ll be working full time the day after commencement.

Matt Teribery, a business management major from Bradford, will also be at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y., only as a graduate student working on his Master of Business Administration degree while continuing to run the business he started with a grant from the Pitt-Bradford entrepreneurship program, Capitl Clothing.

Another business management graduate from Bradford, Tom Taylor, will be joining the management training program with Northwest Savings Bank.

Steve Butler, a hospitality management major from Bradford, will also be jumping on the management training track at Saginaw Resort in Lake George, N.Y.

Others are going on to graduate school. Katie Zapel, a human relations major from Bradford, will enter the doctoral program at the University of Kentucky, where she plans to study cultural anthropology with a focus in Latin American studies.

Before she heads to graduate school, however, she’ll visit Pitt-Bradford’s sister college, the Yokohama College of Commerce, in Japan for a month.

“I think the close-knit connections on campus have helped me get where I am going,” she said, “and they are certainly what I will miss the most.”

Charles Holjencin, a chemistry and biology major from Emporium, and Matthew Abplanalp, a chemistry major from Warren, have both been accepted into the chemistry graduate program at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

Jennifer Crowley of Great Valley, N.Y., is headed to Syracuse University to work on her Master of Library Science degree.

Joshua Flowers, a chemistry major from New Columbia, will be marrying fellow graduate Ashleigh Hauck, a sports medicine major who is also from New Columbia, then moving to Baltimore, where he will be a teaching assistant working toward his doctorate in organic chemistry at Johns Hopkins University.

“The chemistry program here has provided me with fantastic lab skills and an extensive background knowledge in my field, which will allow me to be successful in my future endeavors,” he said.

Jasmine McEwen, a psychology major from Lawrenceville, N.J., is also headed to Johns Hopkins, where she will be working toward a master’s degree in the mental health counseling program.

“I am very excited, yet very scared, to start my new journey in Baltimore,” she said.

Kristine Zubler, a nursing major from Churchville, will attend the University of Pennsylvania in its master’s/doctoral program for acute and chronic pediatric nurse practitioners. She’ll also be working with Pediatric Services of America, a home health agency for children.

Thang “Tim” Tran, a biology major will attend the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.

Christina McClarren, a psychology major from Ocean City, Md., will pursue a Master of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh.

Rebecca Alborn, a sports medicine major from New Castle, is headed to Slippery Rock University to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy.

Joshua Gray of St. Charles, Ill., has been accepted to the law school at Northern Illinois University.

Some students are still on the hunt for a job, of course. Scott R. Neil, an accounting major from St. Marys, said, “My future is wide open, so my plans are not definite.”

He plans to take a month off to study for the Chartered Financial Analyst Examination, but has already interviewed at two Fortune 500 companies, received one job offer and been invited back for a second interview at the second company.

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