Contributors

The Student Branding Blog has a diverse set of contributors, ranging from students to graduates to career counselors. Students, of all ages, listen to their peers and from experienced professionals, and this blog gives you the best of each. We do accept guest contributions on occasion.

Editors

Melissa Kong - Editor-in-chief

Melissa is an Assistant Brand Manager at Time Inc. Home Entertainment where she manages brand extension projects for numerous publications including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, People, and Entertainment Weekly. She also works on new product development for Time Inc. brands and external partnerships. Previously, Melissa has worked in consumer marketing for Fortune Magazine. In college she was a Viral Marketing Intern for the CBS Evening News and an Editorial Intern for Time for Kids and Sports Illustrated for Kids. Melissa majored in Psychology at Hamilton College and currently resides in New York City. She has a passion for magazines, writing, traveling and of course, the Yankees. To find out more, read her blog, follow her on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn.

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Chelsea Rice - Associate editor

Chelsea is a journalist and recent graduate of Boston University, where she earned the University Scholars Scholarship and belonged to the Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society. As a founder and production manager of Loot, a personal finance magazine that teaches young people about managing money, careers and living on a budget, Chelsea has written about personal branding, blogging and the power of the internet. Currently, Chelsea is an editorial and social media intern for MySecretBoston.com, a website that uses social media and interactive articles to highlight the secrets behind the great neighborhoods and areas that make Boston unique.  She hopes to soon launch her own personal brand as a writer, social media guru and new media journalist. Follow her on Twitter (@ChelseaRice), or visit her website, ChelseaRice.com.

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Corporate Advisers

Cody Swann (ESPN) - Monday

Cody is a Product Manager and Social Media Specialist at ESPN. He manages, conceptualizes and develops many of the social aspects of ESPN.com. He also is Founder and CEO for Gunner Technology, Inc an end-to-end Web strategy company, providing solutions for businesses. Previously, Cody worked as a developer for ESPN.com, building many of the live scoreboards and GameCast applications. In a previous life, he covered Florida Gator sports as a beat reporter, talk show host and television producer. Cody earned an MBA, Masters Degree in Communication and Bachelors Degree in Journalism from the University of Florida. He currently lives in Los Angeles. To find out more, read his blog, follow him on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn.

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Heidi Radakovich (Hyatt) - Tuesday

Heidi is one of 3 College Recruiting Managers for Hyatt. She is responsible for recruiting top talent  at hospitality universities across the country, primarily for Hyatt's Corporate Management Training program and Corporate Internship program.  Heidi visits up to 14 campuses twice a year to promote the Hyatt brand and college programs. Most recently Heidi has become involved with External Functional Recruitment for Culinary Management positions in North America. She earned her BS Degree in Interpersonal Communication with a minor in Business from Ohio University in 2001. Heidi has been with Hyatt for 9 years and started in the programs she now recruits for. To learn more about opportunities with Hyatt please visit explorehyatt.jobs, follow Hyatt on twitter @hyattcareers, become a Hyatt Facebook fan at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Careers and follow the Campus blog at hyattrecruiting.blogspot.com.

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Nuzhat Karim (EMC) - Wednesday

Nuzhat is  a Program Manager  and  Social Media Specialist responsible for creating, managing and  marketing the Web 2.0 strategy  for EMC's University Relations. She represents the  EMC Employment Brand to prospective interns & entry level candidates using social media tools & techniques and manages the internal online community for EMC's interns and new college hires.  She hosts on campus career development  workshops on resume writing, networking skills, Things To Know Before Entering the Real World, etc. She earned her BS Degree in Logisitc & Supply Chain Management from University of North Texas. To find out more, follow her on twitter @NuzhatMK. To get more information on internships and entry level oppurtunities at EMC, check out www.emc.com/college and follow EMCCollege on twitter.

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Derren Thompson (Sodexo) - Thursday

Derren is the Manager, Diversity Recruiting for Sodexo which is a leader in integrated food service and facilities management. He is responsible for managing the Sodexo Future Leaders Internship Program as well as executing diversity sourcing initiatives for both campus and targeted experienced hires. With over 14+ years of experience with Sodexo, Derren has had great success as a General Manager in the company’s Health Care Services division as well as in several positions within their Talent Acquisition Group. He's an active corporate partner with the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH). Derren is an AIRS Certified Diversity Recruiter (CDR) and Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR).

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Career Advisers

Bret Simmons (University of Nevada) - Monday

Bret is an Assistant Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where he teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership, and personal branding to both undergraduate and MBA students. He has a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University. Bret practices personal branding at his website Positive Organizational Behavior where he blogs about leadership, followership, and personal branding. His purpose is “to change your mind about the value of partnering with others to build healthy, responsible organizations where everyone can thrive.” You can also find Bret on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, so be sure to connect!

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Kelly Cuene (University of Wisconsin-Madison) - Tuesday

Kelly is a career advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she assists undergraduate business students with all aspects of their career development. Previously, she worked with liberal arts students in career services and multicultural affairs at Lawrence University. Kelly is a 2007 graduate of the Higher Education/Student Personnel Administration masters program at New York University, where she worked in both student leadership programming and career services. In 2003 she completed her undergraduate work at UW-Madison, where she majored in Political Science and Women’s Studies and was active in several campus organizations dedicated to social justice. When she’s not at work, Kelly enjoys volunteering, running, attempting DIY projects in her new home, hiking and cheering for the Green Bay Packers, her hometown team. Connect with Kelly on Twitter (@kellycuene), LinkedIn or BrazenCareerist.

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Karen Obringer (IPFW) - Thursday

Karen is a Career Counselor and Internship Coordinator at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). At IPFW she assists students in finding internships, coordinates and assists with campus-wide events, teaches a Career Planning course, and meets with students individually to assist them with all aspects of career development. She has a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in Recreation and Tourism and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from Bowling Green State University (GO Falcons!). Her 10+ years professional-experience ranges from working at camps, schools, a church, college campuses, and other non-profits. Although these may seem unrelated she attests that she still uses both her degrees and life experiences from all jobs in her current career. When she isn't working or volunteering at one of four local non-profits, she enjoys singing in two choruses and spending time with her family and black lab, Othello. You can connect with Karen through Twitter, LinkedIn, or IPFW's Blog.

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Lori Bielek (University of Delaware) - Friday

Lori is the Marketing and Technology Coordinator at the University of Delaware Career Services Center where she advises students in the arts and sciences through all steps of their career development. Lori is also responsible for engaging students with on-campus career events and services through in-person interactions as well as through web tools. She maintains the career services web site and spearheads other technology initiatives for the office, such as establishing an active Twitter account (@UDcareers). Lori earned her master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2007 where she worked with both Greek life and career services. Prior to that she earned a Web Design Certificate from Boston University. As an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island, Lori majored in Psychology and Women’s Studies. When not working, you will find her relaxing at home with her husband and dog or reading books on her Kindle. You can connect with Lori through LinkedIn.

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Claudine Meilink (Purdue University) - Friday

Claudine is a Career Services Consultant for the Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The CCO is a centralized career services office which provides Claudine the opportunity to connect with students, alumni, and employers on a daily basis. Among other things, Claudine provides career and major counseling to students and alumni, assists employers with achieving their recruitment goals at Purdue, and oversees the institution’s post-graduation survey. Her interests include service-learning, diversity initiatives, and leadership development which led her to start a career development and leadership academy for freshmen and sophomore students. Originally from the state of Ohio, Claudine received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Bowling Green State University and completed her graduate studies at The University of Toledo in Higher Education Administration. Since she is a social media addict, Claudine would love to connect with you on twitter or LinkedIn.

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Gary Alan Miller (University of North Carolina) - Sunday

Gary is a 15-year veteran of higher education in variety of student services and managerial roles at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georgia State University and the University of Washington.  His areas of expertise as a student services professional include dynamic group presentations, internships, and department marketing, strategy and technology utilization.  He is currently assistant director for business-related internships at University Career Services at UNC-Chapel Hill.  In addition to blogging, Gary is professionally active on twitter.com (@garyalanmiller), 12seconds.tv, and linkedin.com, and is among the first higher education professionals to launch a social media resume.  He is also a musician, hobbyist entrepreneur and father of a beautiful baby boy named Kirby.

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Students and Graduates

Anna Manasova

Anna is a Social Media Marketing Assistant at Pepsmedia, based in Cambridge, UK. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2010 with a degree in Social and Political Sciences, she joined the small team straight out of university and is now helping businesses engage with customers online and build communities. She is passionate about the use of social media both in business and for individuals.  To find out more, read her Life With Social Media blog, or connect with her on Twitter @annamanasova and LinkedIn.

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Derek Merdinyan - Student Branding TV

Derek is a serial entrepreneur and author of the book “Owning Y.O.U. The Personal Branding Action Guide.” After his recent graduation from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Entrepreneurial Ecommerce, Derek joined PhotoRocket, a photo sharing startup. To find out more, read his blog, follow him on Twitter, and connect with him on Linkedin.

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Erica Zucco - Student Branding TV

Erica is an NYC-based journalist and recent University of Missouri graduate currently interning at NBC News and participating in the International Radio-Television Society Fellowship program. She spent the last two years reporting for mid-Missouri NBC affiliate KOMU 8 News, researching and experimenting with mobile media production applications for VeriCorder technology, and writing for various newspapers, magazines and Web sites. Now, she's working on finding her first full-time job, preferably in the media industry! Connect with Erica on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, or check out her Web site!