Witt Wednesday Pod

Chase Beach and Jessica Benson join hosts John "Hud" Hudson and Timmy McCarthy to discuss their startup businesses on "New Year New Startup."

Brandon Slade '06 joins hosts John "Hud" Hudson and Timmy McCarthy to discuss The Art and Science of Indecision

William "BJ" Burke, Molly Lambert Loftis and John Loftis join hosts John "Hud" Hudson and Timmy McCarthy to discuss Chemistry and the Art of Brewing.

Jim McCoy and Ben Burkam join hosts John "Hud" Hudson and Timmy McCarthy to discuss the Business of Sports.

Wittenberg is a place, and while the names may change, the stories, personalities and experiences do not.   What are Timmy and Hud doing here?   Being on the other side of our Wittenberg student experience, we now know that there is no one right path. The mission of our time together each show is to help you, our audience, know that there are many different paths to purpose, to experience, to success. Your path to Wittenberg, was different. Your path after Wittenberg, as ours is, will be different too. On our journey together, we are passing the light from the stories and experiences our fellow alumni are sharing with us.   Our Guests for this episode are Wittenberg Head Coach Melissa Kolbe and Head Coach Matt Croci.   Following two completely different paths to become head coach of their basketball programs, Kolbe, had no idea what she wanted to Major in while at Witt (changed major 5 times), but knew she wanted to be a D1 Coach. Never a head coach, but a great Assistant. On the other hand, Croci knew he wanted to be an English Major while here at Witt, but had no idea what he wanted to do after he graduated.   Let us dive a little deeper into their experiences:   Kolbe had no interest in coming to Wittenberg, until she met with Coach (Pam) Evans, a Wittenberg Hall of Fame legend, on a Campus Visit arranged by her dad. As Coach Evans, a lovingly fierce presence sat and talked with Melissa, about where she would/could be both at Witt and in Coach Evans basketball program. After that conversation, Melissa fell in love. Upon graduation in 1999 as a Psychology Major, Melissa set her sights on being a D1 assistant basketball coach with little head coach aspirations. Crafting a path from scratch, Kolbe's path to coaching, culminating in assisting at University of Cincinnati, a division 1 college, with visibility to be the head coach there. Yet chose Witt, a DIII school…Why?...we will find out more together.   Croci, a '94 English major graduate from Witt, never thought he would turn his playing years into coaching years. A winning Basketball team brought Matt to Wittenberg and shaped Matt into the person he has become. Arguably one of the best Wittenberg basketball players, possibly best Division III players of all time, Croci upon graduation, and some other meanderings, became the assistant coach for Capital, then became head coach at Kenyon, now Witt. All small DIII liberal arts colleges in Central Ohio. With Coach Brown's retirement, Croci got the chance to return to his Alma Mater.   A few key facts to note: ·       Both came back to Witt, a DIII school, because Wittenberg Athletics recruits to win Championships. That is unusual to an extreme. ·       60% of Wittenberg Students are student-athletes, so 6 our of every 10 students is involved in an athletic endeavor. ·       D1 is an unbalanced experience. Both on the player and the coach side. ·       College athletics are changing. From NIL where D1 players can get paid but may ride the bench (vs DIII players who pay to play) and the transfer portal affecting all levels of the college athletic experience.   From admissions, to recruiting, to running summer camps, to being a mental health coach, to helping find jobs/internships, to helping Wittenberg itself Fundraise, to student development both in the classroom, and on the court. Coaching on the court, as it turns out, is just a small part of the job.   From here on out, we will find out together, the deeper answers on Why Witt? What happened while they were here? And how they navigated to success?

Today we wrap up season 2 of the Witt Wednesday Pod by interviewing alumnus, Sean Buchan '06. Sean graduated from Wittenberg and went on to receive a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. He served as a physical therapist for around 6 years before following his creative instincts into starting a craft brewery in Denver, Colorado (Cerebral Brewing). Check out the podcast today to hear more about Sean's story and to hear thoughts on leadership from an entrepreneur!

On the podcast today, Heath Queen gets to chat with Manny Lamarre '09. Manny is a Senior Advisor for the US Department of Labor and talks about his own journey of career discernment. Manny will describe his own perspective on leadership and will talk about the importance of emotional intelligence. Check it out today!

Check out this podcast with alumnus, Dr. Evelyn Jones '84. Dr. Jones is a pediatrician working with the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and currently serves on the Wittenberg University Alumni Board. On the podcast, Dr. Jones talks about her own path to medical school and provides advice to students considering medicine as a career path.

On today's podcast, Heath is joined by alumnus Brittany Minton '03 to chat about leadership and her career with the Peabody Essex Museum. Tune in today!

Today on the podcast, Heath is joined by Dr. Chandra Donnell Carey '95 who currently serves as the Academic Associate Dean for the University of North Texas. Dr. Carey will chat about her career, graduate school preparation, leadership, and how to be your authentic self. Check it out today!

Today on the pod, Heath gets to speak with alumnus Swati Shivshankar who is a 2013 graduate working for Ogilvy in Singapore. Swati shares her thoughts on leadership and talks about what life at an advertising agency is like. Check it out!

Today on the pod, alumnus Jeff Guyton '88 joins Heath to talk about leadership across continents and what skills are needed for international careers. Jeff is currently serving as the President and CEO of Mazda North America. Check out the conversation today!

Today on the pod, alumnus Bill Habermeyer '00 joins Heath to talk about leadership and their career as the President and CEO of the Florida Business Development Corporation. Check out the conversation today!

Today on the pod, alumnus Ron Cunningham '95 joins Heath to talk about leadership and their career with BMI Federal Credit Union in Columbus, Ohio. Check out the conversation today!

Today on the pod, Dr. Ben Burkam '05 talks with Heath about his work with Ohio Health, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and being a leader in medicine. Check it out!

On today's Torch Talk, we have Dr. Steven Shook chat with us about his career change to become a physician and about his current work at the Cleveland Clinic. This is a great episode for those students interested in going to medical school or who want to just explore the topic. Tune in!

Kai Leisher '19 spoke with a group of business students last year about careers in investment banking and what skills were needed to pursue this line of work. Check out that conversation brought to you here on the pod!

This episode comes from the coffee chat conversations from this past school year. Here Katharine Nemeth discusses working in fundraising and development for non-profits in New York City. Check it out!

Today on the pod, Lio Barrera '09 shares with us about his experience working with the US Senate and in the private sector doing policy and government affairs work. Check it out!

Erika Franz '06 is the Director of Management & Operations for the Peace Corps in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Erika chats with us about her experience working internationally and with the Peace Corps. Check it out!

Dr. Barry Zulauf '79 is the Chief of Solutions for the Director of National Intelligence. Dr. Zulauf speaks with us about leadership and careers in public service. Check it out today!

This pod features Cody McKim '11 who is currently the National Vertical Lead, Retail at TikTok in Chicago, IL. Heath Queen and Cody talked about careers in tech and what skills are needed for working in that space. Check it out!

Today on the pod we talk with Madeline Kraft '16 who is the Event & Investor Relations Coordinator at Wind Point Partners in Chicago, IL. Madeline will share with us about what informational interviewing is and how to get started. Listen now!

Today on the pod we talk with John Shumate '99 who has most recently been the Group Vice President for Brand Marketing at MGM Resorts International. John will be sharing with us information about how to build a network from scratch. John also includes a fun challenge for all students listening at the end of the episode. Tune in!

Today on the pod we talk with Callan Swaim '16 who is a Market Manager for the Expedia Group in London, England. Callan will share with us about the importance of finding a mentor, different types of mentors, and will introduce you to the concept of a "mentor board." Tune in!

Heath Queen provides a brief intro to the Witt Wednesday Pod and how to listen.