“Tartan Talks” Returning to Wooster on Feb. 23
WOOSTER, Ohio – The second iteration of “Tartan Talks,” a series of presentations by accomplished young College of Wooster alumni, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Gault Recital Hall. In addition to the feature presentations, in which the alumni speakers have been invited to showcase how their education and experiences have influenced their success in the “real world,” there will be performances by student organizations and opportunities for networking.
This year’s four speakers are Kïrsten Blake ’00, Sohil Parekh ’99, Hayet Rida ’11, and Greg Schermbeck ’08.
Blake is the creator of Chapter BE, an organization, founded in 2011, that works to connect people to their true internal being as they write the next chapter of their life. With a passion for education and mentorship, she helps individuals, groups, and organizations to change the conversation from “what do you do?” to “how might you be in this world?” She has presented those success stories previously at Ignite Denver and TEXxCherryCreek. After graduating from Wooster, Blake completed a master’s degree in education from Columbia University.
Parekh, a digital leader based in the Boston area, currently serves as the executive director of marketing technology at Aetna, a leading health insurance company that was recently acquired by CVS Health. He has also worked for Microsoft, Staples, and Gazelle. A mathematics and economics double major at Wooster, Parekh went on to earn postgraduate degrees at Harvard Business School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Rida is a senior brand and influencer strategist at FCB Chicago, an advertising and marketing agency, and she also is a lifestyle influencer as a body positive blogger. With FCB, she has worked with name brands, such as Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Kmart, and been part of campaigns that have won prestigious Cannes Lions and D&AD Pencil awards. Her blog centers on a desire to change the way women look at themselves in the mirror every day, covering popular topics like beauty, body confidence, décor, fashion, and travel. Rida was a communication studies and studio art double major at Wooster.
Schermbeck is the founder and principal consultant of SchermCo, a firm based in Charlotte, N.C., that offers strategic advising, organizational development, and implementation services to schools and education-focused organizations that support underserved communities. After majoring in urban studies at Wooster, he began his career as a Teach for America corps member, then served as the director of innovation and science department chair at Nashville Prep, a charter school, while completing a master’s degree in education at Vanderbilt University.
“Tartan Talks” is made possible by the Mary A. Neagoy Endowed Fund and will be live streamed at wooster.edu/live.
Posted in News on February 13, 2019.
