From CEO's to Professors, Doctors & Financiers:
Alumni Offer Advice, Real-World Knowledge to CCES Juniors & Seniors

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Billy Campbell's Keynote Speech
Billy Campbell’s Advice to Our Students
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Communications Center





In the space of a single morning, students at the Upper School had the opportunity to meet an international entrepreneur and Broadway producer (Billy Campbell ’78), a writer/publisher (Crystal Ball O'Connor ’78), a CEO and founding owner of a local wealth management company (Jordan Earle ’78), an architect/entrepreneur developing wind energy as a clean renewable source of energy (Brian Wenigner ’93), a biologist (Carol Furman ’73), a historian (Courtney Tollison ’95), and a California television industry post-production editor (Tom Wise ’78), among many other interesting and successful CCES alumni.



They also listened to the personal stories and advice of such local real estate developers as Phil Hughes ’73 and Caleb Freeman ’73 and architect Joe Pazdan ’78.



Students considering law as a future option were guided by the advice of three outstanding alumni in the legal profession: Sam Outten ’78, Joanna Searle Fowler ’83 and Gant Sowinski '93.



Those with an interest in the medical profession (and a certain trepidation about the required coursework) listened keenly to the frank advice of doctors Bob Monroe ’88 and Rush Brown ’93, orthodontist Brian Hamby ’93, and dentists Keith Strausbaugh ’83 and John Monroe ’88.

These were only a few of the distinguished reunion year alumni who carved out time from their busy schedules on Thursday, April 17, to be a part of the Upper School's fourth annual Career Day Program. (You can read about all of the 2008 panelists by clicking here.)



Students had much to learn in these sessions,



both from recent graduates, such as young engineer Daniel Amato ’93,



and from seasoned professionals, such as Greenville lawyer Sam Outten ’78.

An Eventful Program

Viviane Till, Director of Alumni Programs, puts the finishing touches on
her preparations for Career Program 2008.

In addition to the opportunity for students to connect with alumni, the program allowed alumni to reconnect with each other and to meet graduates from different eras.



The day began with a gathering in the Lower School library (on little people chairs) and a welcome from Allison Buck ’00, President of the CCES Alumni Association,



and some welcoming remarks by Headmaster Lee Cox. Following this orientation, the panelists adjoined to the auditorium, where the entire Upper School student body gathered to hear the Keynote Address by Billy Campbell ’78.




From there, juniors and seniors attended two panel discussions, where alumni dispensed advice and encouraged students to network with them in future. Then, as students resumed their normal schedules, the Career Program panelists, their parents, faculty, and former faculty gathered on the third floor balcony of the Upper School,



where they conversed,



enjoyed the warm embrace of friendship,



posed for pictures,



and enjoyed an elegantly catered lunch.



It was an invigorating day, both for the alumni and the students who participated.



If you will have a CCES reunion next year, please consider participating in the 2009 Career Program. You will enjoy it immensely!