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“Tell me, what it is you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”

Mary Oliver*

We interviewed dozens of alums to bring you their stories. At the heart of what they all said was this: a Macalester education prepares you not just for the goals you have, but also for the pathways you never knew existed until you found yourself upon them.

The places Mac graduates land are impressive: on U.S. senator’s staffs and the boards of international aid organizations; as art therapists, entrepreneurial CEOs, head coaches, and cancer researchers. They safeguard human rights and sustainable farming, write popular music and television shows, work in public health, finance, museum education, and legal aid.

Their journeys are full of opportunities made and seized, of curveballs and moments of self-discovery. Their stories make clear that Macalester cultivates well-roundedness. And that a liberal arts education at Mac doesn’t stop at the classroom door, but teaches students how to use their knowledge, skills, talents, and passions as the foundation for a life well-lived.

The stories below are organized in chronological order, starting with the most recent graduates, to create a browsable timeline that moves from first jobs through promotions and career changes. Each story is a snapshot of how pivotal college experiences shaped a student’s future, sometimes in surprising ways.

Our alums say that one of the best things at Macalester is the people—dedicated professors, supportive community, and lifelong friends. As you read their stories, we hope you’ll be inspired to imagine how your own pathway might start here.

Alumni Profiles

Class of 2020-2025

Chloë Moore ’24

First Job, Public Policy, Storytelling, Government

“If you want to do the higher-level stuff, you have to do the entry-level stuff; if you want to make decisions about people lives, you have to talk to people first.”

Chloë’s Story

Angela Nguyen ’22

First Job, Public Policy, International Org, QuestBridge

“Mac allows so much freedom to explore so many different avenues; you should not silo yourself off but instead take every incredible opportunity to learn from different departments.”

Angela’s Story

Julia Ricks ’22

First Job, Teaching, Museums, Science Education, FYC

“My First-Year Course (Dynamic Earth and Global Change) was pivotal. I had no idea that this could even be a job. Then fieldwork turned out to be my favorite part of science, and I kept registering for classes that got me here.”

Julia’s Story

Abby (Gore) Farber ’21

First Job, Faith-Based Career, Community, Work-Study

“It’s important to know that student employment can be meaningful work: a lot of interesting things happen on campus that you wouldn’t necessarily know about, but that you can become involved in.”

Abby’s Story

Jennings Mergenthal ’21

First Job, Museums, Activism, Science Education

“Being at Mac and doing student activism prepared me to see how institutions work, how to manage projects independently, and how to synthesize the results in a way that an institution could hear.”

Jennings’s Story

Jennifer Arnold ’20

Women in Tech, Humanities & STEM, Internships, First-Gen

“At Mac, your field of interest doesn’t have to be the core thing that connects you to people. I had friends in departments all over campus because our background, values, and love for social justice and giving back to the community brought us together—and we are still connected five years later.”

Jennifer’s Story

Franki Gillis ’20

First Job, Humanities & STEM, Research, Study Away

“Archaeology is very much a mix between the humanities and sciences, which I think is really nice. The variety of classes at Mac made so many things possible for me.”

Franki’s Story

Class of 2010-2019

Miriam Moore-Keish ’19

Writing, Publishing, Networking

“Publishing is a lot of math. The research methods classes I took were critical for the everyday work I do, looking at sales data and conducting cost-benefit analysis.”

Miriam’s Story

Zeena Fuleihan ’18

Publishing, Teaching, Higher Ed, Internships

“So much of my experience at Mac was student-driven: we are lucky here that undergraduates have the responsibility and freedom to take leadership roles in ways that are just not possible at big schools.”

Zeena’s Story

Mara Steinitz ’18

Writing, Marketing, Networking, Curiosity

“If you only exist in a bubble, you miss opportunities to learn things. I panicked that I was selling out, as it were, when I first took this [corporate] job. But Mac taught me to look at multiple sides of an issue and question my assumptions, and it’s been so worthwhile to be here filing new things away in my brain every single day.”

Mara’s Story

Maya Benedict ’17

Government, Writing, Internships, Curiosity

“I can look back and see that all of my experiences and choices led to where I am—and also that I could be in a different place a few years from now. What’s important is that I learned how to think and how to learn at Mac, and that’s serving me well as I take different paths.”

Maya’s Story

Ava Bindas ’17

Writing, Humanities & STEM, Mentors, First-Gen

“I never felt like I was making ‘right’ decisions. I made the decisions I wanted to make, but they felt scary or precarious in some way. But now that I’m surrounded by economists and people in STEM, I realize that nobody can predict what’s next. And that’s the beauty of it.”

Ava’s Story

Kate D. Gallagher ’16

Higher Ed, Curiosity, Community, Work-Study

“I hope Mac can sustain learning for the sake of learning. A job is just a job, and it can be what provides for whatever the center of your life really is.”

Kate’s Story

Karintha Lowe ’16

Archives, Teaching, Study Away, Mellon Mays

“It gave me so much confidence to be at a place where asking questions, being curious, and going down unexpected routes was not just expected but celebrated.”

Karintha’s Story

Max Wang ’15

Higher Ed, Entrepreneur, Forensics, International Student

“The most important things I learned at Mac aren’t tied to a particular industry or occupation but are skillsets that work anywhere.”

Max’s Story

Samuel Dolce, ’14

Attorney, Entrepreneur, Community, Work-Study

“I think it’s valuable to know, if you’re a kid who might not feel the most neurotypical, that Mac really allowed me to be who I was as a learner. Law school tried to beat that out of me, and if I had taken that to heart, I don’t think my company would exist. Mac gave me the quiet confidence that pushing boundaries was okay.”

Samuel’s Story

Madeline Stone Kutis ’14

Healthcare, Humanities & STEM, Community, Internships

“I am not a medical expert, but my English coursework taught me how to learn enough to know what questions to ask to get to the root of any problem—even a technical, clinical one.”

Madeline’s Story

Danica Surman ’14

Teaching, Writing, Government, Mentors, FYC

“I really loved the flexible opportunities I got at Mac to make my course path my own.”

Danica’s Story

Tony Armstrong ’13

Writing, Finance, Research, Internships

“Self-awareness, curiosity, and being genuinely interested in figuring out which of your skills require development and practice are the most important things you bring to the table when you’re looking for your first job.”

Tony’s Story

Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez ’13

Human Rights, International Org, Internships, International Student

“Mac is not a place that’s only for four years, it’s for the rest of your life. Keep in touch, and alums will support your career—and someday you will be excited to give back to new students coming behind you.”

Ezequiel’s Story

Kerry Alexander ’12

Rock Star, Entrepreneur, Writing, Radio Station

“The community of Macalester is the thing I hold most dear from my time there.”

Kerry’s Story

Michael Solemar ’12

Medicine, Activism, Study Away, Student Athlete, FYC

“Life is not a straight line, and you have to be open to the winding road and serendipity. This was a theme of my time at Mac and has continued afterwards.”

Michael’s Story

Kate Agnew ’11

Women in Tech, MBA, Government, Internships, First-Gen

“It’s so important for students to know that you can use internships to rule out career paths, not just rule them in.”

Kate’s Story

Kevin Finnegan ’11

Higher Ed, MBA, Student Athlete, AmeriCorps

“You [Macalester students] have a really strong network that wants to support you: don’t be afraid to reach out!”

Kevin’s Story

Jaye Gardiner ’11

Medical Research, Art, Science Education, Storytelling

“I have resilience in science because mentors at Mac made sure I was exposed to the arts, that I knew how to think, and that I had the confidence to try new things.”

Jaye’s Story

Natalie Owens-Pike ’11

Faith-Based Career, Teaching, Mentors, Community

“I am so grateful for the interdisciplinary study I was able to do at Mac, which allowed me to see myself in my vocation and to bring that learning into my career.”

Natalie’s Story

Class of 2000-2009

Megan Ritchie ’09

Writing, Film & TV, Curiosity, Resident Assistant (RA)

“A good writer is someone who is curious about a lot of aspects of life and who embraces imagining other people’s perspectives. My Mac friends are an incredible resource for totally different perspectives than mine.”

Megan’s Story

Matthew Bergeron ’08

Attorney, Government, Health Care, Student Athlete

“You cannot get the first job out of college wrong. One of the greatest assets of this time of your life is that you learn something from every experience, even the ones you come to understand you have to leave for a better fit.”

Matthew’s Story

Liam Bowen ’06

Coaching, Communication, Student Athlete

“I love working in an environment of radical humility, where every day I’m going to show up and add a piece of myself to this whole that is bigger than me.”

Liam’s Story

Demoya Gordon ’06

Attorney, Internships, International Student, FYC

“Macalester fosters the kinds of conversations that help you grow up into whoever you are going to be.”

Demoya’s Story

Cris Ramón ’06

Public Policy, Advocacy, Networking, Transfer Student

“Students should know that the Career Development Office is fantastic even after you graduate.”

Cris’s Story

Marie Deschamps ’04

Art, Humanities & STEM, Curiosity, International Student

“Macalester taught me that life isn’t linear, that joy leads to hard work, that you don’t have to conform to a certain shape.”

Marie’s Story

* From “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
Reprinted by the permission of The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency as agent for the author. Copyright © 1990, 2006, 2008, 2017 by Mary Oliver with permission of Bill Reichblum.