A famous author once claimed that all he really needed to know he learned in kindergarten. Those involved in higher education would disagree, especially those who participated in a recent panel discussion titled "Everything I Needed to Know I Learned at Monmouth College."

That discussion was part of a two-day college-to-career conference on campus. Titled "Scots’ Connection: Engaging Alumni Across the College," the event put MC students and alumni together to talk about various issues and opportunities in the professional workforce. Issues included how women and minorities are treated, and roundtable discussions were held on careers involving law, business, medicine and science.

"I am incredibly proud that we were able to pull off such a successful first-time event. The feedback from participating alumni and students has been overwhelmingly positive," said Michelle Shawgo, director of the college’s Wackerle Career Development Program. "The dinner on Friday was a great opportunity for students to practice their table etiquette, networking skills and interpersonal communication skills while allowing them to see how former Monmouth College students have applied their education."

Alumni participating were Regina Bannan-Johnson ’01, a teacher from Galesburg; Frank Clark ’02, a medical student from Chicago; Mary Corrigan ’82, an attorney from Peoria; Dan Cotter ’88, an attorney from Chicago; Kellie Esters ’86, a fund development executive from Bettendorf, Iowa; Michael Frantz ’99, a an investment manager from Chicago; Addie Hebard ’98, a sales specialist from Knoxville; Jeff Miller ’84 of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Dan Schisler ’94, an accountant from Roseville.

Miller led a roundtable discussion titled "I Don’t Want to Be a ‘Scientist’! What Other Options Do I Have as a Science Major?" He told the dozen students in attendance about his professional career, which started by staying close to his MC major of geology but has evolved into a purchasing position with Rolls Royce North America.

Miller told the students that he relies on his Monmouth education every day, most often due to the presentations he is asked to give. He told the story of how history professor Bill Urban stopped him before class one day to ask if he had done the assigned readings for a course. He replied that he had, and Urban said, "Great! You’re teaching today!"

Although he majored in the sciences, Miller offered another example from a history class that helped shape his professional life.

"I took an independent study course on the Revolutionary War," he said. "The reading list was extensive, but I was supposed to do those readings and report back on them to the professor. Thank God I took that class, because it taught me how to consolidate a large amount of data and report on it. I was challenged in that class, but I’m really glad I went through it."

Miller told the science majors that it’s okay if they don’t have an exact plan for what they want to do with their degree.

"I started off in chemistry, but I had no idea what I wanted to do," said Miller of his early time at Monmouth. "When I left here, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was envious of some of my friends who knew they wanted to go to med school and are doctors today. But my liberal arts education has allowed for a variety of opportunities."

He continued, "Managers today are looking for a few things: Do you have a degree? How do you handle conflict? It’s about overcoming problems and your decision-making process. It’s all about how you perform and how do you drive forward with that."

Miller closed by emphasizing a final reason why he has never looked back on his decision to attend Monmouth. At the same time he was in college, one of Miller’s cousins was at the University of Illinois. She told Miller that she attended a class with 450 students. On the first day, the students were told by the professor to look to their left and look to their right. The professor said two of the three students would not be in the class by the end of the semester.

"The message at Monmouth was different," said Miller. "They weren’t going to wash us out. They were going to make us better, and those opportunities I received have benefited me every day."

Jacob Mefford, a junior from Wataga, was among the group of students who attended Miller’s session.

"The conference did a great job of showing that there are endless opportunities after graduation," he said. "Although you majored in one subject you may find yourself in a career completely unrelated."