Winter 2014 Class Notes - 2012

Kenneth J. Steier (MBA) of Melville, NY, was appointed campus dean for the new Middletown campus of Harlem-based, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

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Summer 2013 Class Notes - 2012

Haley Weissman (BA) of Commack, NY, co-founded The 3 Nuts, a company specializing in all-natural indulgent nut butter

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Catching up with Emily Miethner ’10

Throughout her student years at Hofstra, Emily Miethner was recognizable as “the face of Hofstra Pride.” Her image was on many of Hofstra’s promotional brochures, the website and even a commercial campaign. However, there is much more to Miethner than a pretty face – her academic achievements and extracurricular involvement as a student were not only admirable, but dizzying! She was very involved in the Fine Arts/Art History Department, where she concentrated in graphic design. She co-founded and served as president of the Hofstra Association of Graphic Artists (HAGA), which presented a number of student art exhibitions in Calkins Hall, and she helped develop an annual networking event, “Not All Artists Are Starving,” which continues to bring fine arts alumni and professionals to campus to offer advice and career guidance to students. She also interned at The Knitting Factory, +1 Records, Time Out New York and Gawker. 

Miethner is currently serving as the community manager at RecordSetter.com and co-founder and president of NY Creative Interns, a group dedicated to helping college students and recent graduates find internships, mentors, and inspiration through networking and meetups. 

What is RecordSetter.com? 

We’re like the Wikipedia of world records. Our philosophy is that everyone is the best at something, and this is a way for people to show off their unique achievements. Our only requirements are that the records submitted be quantifiable and have media evidence. We currently host over 10,000 records from over 50 different countries. We’re also really excited; our first book comes out in November.

As community manager I work on social media and outreach. We’re a small company of about 10 people, and it’s a fun environment. Before I started, I was interning and working for them as a freelance designer, so I knew the team was really talented before I came on board.

What are some of your favorite records? 

My all-time favorite is the longest headspin – 14 minutes performed by an 11-year-old. I also love the largest cardboard fort built by a group of Harvard University students, and the most bites taken out of an apple while juggling an apple, a bowling ball and a flaming torch.

What inspired you to co-found NY Creative Interns? 

Basically, I knew I wanted to help students and recent graduates learn the importance of meeting people and finding mentors. Students who major in things like accounting or science, for instance, have more traditional career paths. But students who want to get into creative careers have much less of a defined path – they need to surround themselves with mentors and inspiring creatives, learn how to market themselves, and be entrepreneurial.

I founded NY Creative Interns with another Hofstra grad, Reb Carlson [‘10]. The organization is less than a year old, and we’ve become the largest and most active intern group in New York, having thrown over 20 different events totaling more than 1,000 attendees. [Also on the board of NY Creative Interns are Hofstra alumni Jaime Hoerbelt and Dani Newman, and contributors include alumni Phil Robibero, Marise Montrose, Amber Young, and current students Gennifer Delman and Nick Schweers.]

In a previous interview for the Hofstra website, you said your dream was to work in graphic design for the music industry. Have your goals changed? What have you learned about yourself in the year and a half since you graduated?

I’m really happy I majored in graphic design because of the amazing environment and support I received from the department; I use the skills I learned at Hofstra every day. But yes, my goals have definitely changed. I really enjoy running my own business (NY Creative Interns) and would like to continue in this capacity in the future. That’s why I love my job at RecordSetter; I’m learning a ton about growing something from nothing.

What is your advice for current students majoring in fine arts? 

Stay happy by challenging yourself and make an effort to get more out of your classes and work experiences. At my first job [at Sterling Publishing] I filled a new role as the social media coordinator. My bosses were always super supportive so I was able to take it upon myself to learn and find new opportunities because the job had yet to be completely defined. Practice taking initiative; don’t always sit back and wait for instructions.

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Catching up with Carolyn Gierer ’10

What are you doing now? 

For a little over a year now, I’ve been an account associate at Emanate PR, which is a sister agency to Ketchum. I love working in an agency culture because I’m learning so much and getting a broad range of experience. Most of my time is focused on Bank of America’s online, mobile and fraud claims division; we work with the bank’s internal media team and executives on projects such as product launches (including ClearXchange, as well as the iPad, Android and Windows 7 apps), executive positioning, influencer relations, and media relations (both traditional and social). Right now I’m working on issues such as the regulatory environment and other tactical elements for several programs that will launch in 2012. Never in a million years did I think I would be working in financial services when I graduated from Hofstra, but I find the emerging technologies, innovation and changing environment in the banking industry to be really interesting.

I also closely support Stiefel, a GlaxoSmithKline company that develops skin care products, and am working on overall global positioning for some of its brands. Most of my current focus is on MaxClarity, an acne product. We work with several other agencies in order to integrate all the marketing, direct response and public relations efforts for their internal communications, social media, customer engagement, and traditional media relations. We want to make sure we’re implementing new and engaging ways to reach and connect with our teen audience.

How did Hofstra prepare you for your career? 

I loved that Hofstra offered public relations as a specific major; in many other schools, you get just a broad communications degree. It was also great that we had so many adjunct professors – they were working professionals who could share firsthand experience of all the changes that the PR field was going through. In fact, every career opportunity I’ve had has been through a Hofstra connection. First, I gained two internships, one at WPIX-11 and another at NBC Universal, through the School of Communication. Then, after graduation, I was looking for work and attended a networking event at Bryant Park, and met Torsten Gross, who was also a Hofstra alumnus. He made a few calls and helped set up some interviews, and I ended up with two job offers, including the one from my current employer.

How has your Hofstra connection helped you in giving back? 

Well, Torsten and I, along with two others, founded a nonprofit called Host For Good (HostForGood.org), which is a new charity model that offers everyone, everywhere, the tools to host charity events at home in order to enforce the idea of doing good for the sake of good. We’re creating a movement that’s changing how people and organizations view their priorities for donating. The mission of Host For Good is to remove the bias and stress from giving. We believe that charity should be about the selfless act of giving and hope, to spread the message that anyone can make a difference, regardless of how much money is raised by individual events. I’m also the director of communications for the group, and we’re very excited about launching the organization in 2012.

What do you remember most about your time at college? 

I transferred to Hofstra as a sophomore from Indiana University and am so grateful for the friends that I made in my three years there. I was a member of Sigma Delta Tau and was on the cheerleading team, and met so many amazing people whom I still speak to and see regularly. I really miss having my best friends be just a door away and love going back to see everyone.

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Catching up with Dr. Joseph Nowinski ’67

Dr. Joseph Nowinski, a prominent family psychologist, has co-authored a book with Dr. Barbara Okun, titled Saying Goodbye. The book deals with how advances in modern medicine have resulted in extending life after a terminal diagnosis. As the nature of death and dying has changed, so has the way people grieve – it is a challenging and complex process. But according to Dr. Nowinski and Dr. Okun’s book, it can be one of the richest and most meaningful periods a family will ever share.

What was your major at Hofstra? Were you involved in any extracurricular activities on campus? 

I majored in engineering at Hofstra and went on to work for Grumman Aerospace for four years before deciding to change course and pursue a career in psychology. I was involved in the Engineering Club but also took advantage of many activities.

Did you enter Hofstra with the goal of being a psychologist? What attracted you to this field? 

Although I enjoyed science and was enthusiastic about the notion of working as an aerospace engineer, I also very much enjoyed the liberal arts electives I was able to take at Hofstra. There was a clear emphasis on having students emerge from Hofstra with a well-rounded education.

Did you have a favorite Hofstra professor or a professor who mentored you? 

I remember an English teacher by the name of Sam Toperoff who was somewhat unconventional, a bit intimidating, and very popular with his students. Sam had just had his first short story published in The Atlantic, followed by a novel. He challenged me several times in class, and as a result I became much more interested in literature. He inspired me to try my hand at writing, and I had a short story published in a Hofstra publication called The Word.

What psychological issues or conditions interest you most or do you consider your specialty, and why?  

I have been involved extensively in research in the area of addiction, and the majority of my publications are in that area. I am the principal author of Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy, which has undergone extensive peer review and is listed in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. I first became interested in this area when I was director of mental health services at the University of Connecticut and became aware at that time that mental health professionals were not well prepared to understand and help people with substance abuse and addiction problems.

Getting to the new book, what was the impetus for co-writing this? Are you seeing a lot of clients dealing with end-of-life issues with regard to a parent or spouse? What are the mistakes or missteps you see most often – both by the caregiver and the loved one who needs care? 

Saying Goodbye came about because Dr. Okun and I decided that we wanted to write a book that we each wish we’d had when loved ones were diagnosed with cancer. Coping with a terminal or potentially terminal illness actually has a lot in common with dealing with an addiction. They both represent long-term problems that involve the patient as well as the patient’s family and loved ones.

When people talk about the growing elderly population, it’s usually in the context of how it’s impacting the health care system and the economy. Your book deals with the emotional toll on patients and family members who may be facing terminal illness. What general advice would you give people in terms of preparing for this stage of life? 

What we set out to do, based on extensive interviews with patients and families who were facing or had faced terminal illness, was to create a “road map” that people can use as a guide when they find themselves faced with a terminal diagnosis. Today such a diagnosis typically represents the beginning of a protracted process that is stressful and confusing to all involved. Whereas modern medicine is focused on extending life, our focus in the book is on helping patients and their families make sense of what is going on, what they can expect to deal with as time goes on, and what they can do to make this prolonged crisis more manageable.

What are some other projects you are working on? 

I am currently working on a book that presents a new way of looking at addiction that will be co-published by Harvard and Hazelden next spring.

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