Certified clinical hypnotherapist

My mother was a hospital bacteriologist, so I grew up with a scientific understanding of medicine. I also learned to respect other cultures and was always curious about how shamanism worked.

When I came to Wheaton, I hoped to be an anthropologist who studies Native Americans, but I planned to get there through writing. It was the era of Native American nationalism and the Second Battle of Wounded Knee. I thought I would major in English and minor in anthropology. [Read more...]

Associate director of corporate quality assurance training
Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company

I wish I could say that I had a structured path or plan to my career in pharmaceuticals, but it was really sheer luck—and the skills I gained at Wheaton.

Even my major was something I fell into. I took “Anthropology 101” with Donna Kerner during my freshman year and was hooked. Nothing had ever interested me that much, and I knew then I had to pursue anthropology as a major.

In the second semester of my senior year, I was looking for a part-time job. (I had a light schedule and wanted to make some money in preparation for life after graduation.) Through the Filene Center, I found a part-time research job with Boston Scientific in Mansfield, Mass. That part-time job turned into a full-time job after graduation and eventually into a career in pharmaceuticals. [Read more...]

Program manager, MLE/Urban Reproductive Health Initiative

At Wheaton, I majored in anthropology, studied women’s economic cooperatives in Tanzania with Professor Donna Kerner, and was sure that development was dependent upon increasing people’s ability to make a living.

I studied abroad in Ecuador and wrote my thesis on that experience—exploring the importance of education and improved finances as the key to healthy developing societies. [Read more...]

Sales manager, Salix Pharmaceuticals

I chose anthropology as a major because I’m interested in how cultures emerge and how they function. It was the best decision I could have made for my career as a professional salesman. I learned about what motivates people. Sales decisions are made for countless reasons, but people make them all. When I see individuals in an organization as being immersed in a culture, it helps me predict and understand them and aids in my sales approach.

Incidentally, it’s been my experience that people find the major captivating, which allows them to see me in a different light. At job interviews, interviewers always want to know more about my anthropology studies. [Read more...]