Blog

Peter Kazickas graduated from Hamilton in 2015 with a world politics major. Throughout his time at Hamilton, he remained busy, pursuing the many facets a liberal arts education has to offer. He was a two-year captain of the men’s varsity basketball team, taking his talents off the court to become a global ambassador for Hoops for Hope. For this work, he received recognition from the NABC Honors Court two years in a row and made the 2014 Allstate Good Works Team. While on the Hill, he was also a member of the Alpha Delta Phi (AD) fraternity, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), and WHCL College Radio. Since Hamilton, Kazickas created The Power of Basketball Program working with youth in Lithuania and has found himself in a multitude of tech and coding roles. Combining these interests of service and technology, Kazickas became the CEO of Uncommon.Org in 2017.

John Zhang ’19 majored in mathematics on the Hill before joining Wayfair as a marketing analyst. More recently, he transitioned to the role of senior pricing analyst at Indigo.

Esther graduated from Hamilton in 2015, majoring in chemistry. While at Hamilton, she spent much of her time exploring the many opportunities within the wonderful Chemistry Department. She was an inorganic chemistry TA, an organic chemistry grader, and a student researcher in an organic chemistry lab. She was also a member of the Hamilton College Women’s Rugby Football Club. Since Hamilton, Cleary has worked in medicinal chemistry and within industry as a research associate, scientist, analyst and now manager. All of her roles have provided Cleary with an understanding of the many facets and opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.

Kiana Sosa, born and raised in Lawrence, Mass., is an educator, artist, and social impact enthusiast. After graduating as salutatorian from the Performing and Fine Arts High School in Lawrence, she went on to attend Hamilton College as a full-tuition Leadership Scholar with the Posse Foundation. At Hamilton, Kiana majored in Africana studies and minored in theatre. Her senior year, Kiana performed with Professor Mark Cryer in the production of The Mountaintop, which they later performed at the 2015 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Kiana was also one of two recipients of the William J. Bristol Fellowship in 2015 and one of four Dean's Graduate Scholars at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University in 2016. Through her work in education and non-profit, Kiana has helped immigrants, refugees, and college students resume or start their career paths in the technology sector. Now, Kiana is a faculty member for the Entrepreneurial Leadership Degree Program at the African Leadership University in Mauritius. When she isn't teaching or career coaching, you will find Kiana dancing, singing, and acting in independent films.

“I’ve spoken with students looking to pursue a career in different areas of production and I always encourage them to really diversify their experiences during their time at Hamilton, where I think there are more opportunities than at a more concentrated program. I think Hamilton gave me valuable experiences and an education that gave me the confidence to run my own business. While self-designed majors were rarer while I was there, I sense that more and more students are figuring out how to get the most out of their education and I believe Hamilton really encourages that.”

Esther graduated from Hamilton in 2015, majoring in chemistry. While at Hamilton, she spent much of her time exploring the many opportunities within the wonderful Chemistry Department. She was an inorganic chemistry TA, an organic chemistry grader, and a student researcher in an organic chemistry lab. She was also a member of the Hamilton College Women’s Rugby Football Club. Since Hamilton, Cleary has worked in medicinal chemistry and within industry as a research associate, scientist, analyst and now manager. All of her roles have provided Cleary with an understanding of the many facets and opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.

Laurel Symonds launched as a literary agent at The Bent Agency in Fall 2018 after nearly a decade of experience in the publishing industry. She began her career in the editorial department of HarperCollins Children’s Books/Katherine Tegen Books and has also held positions in the marketing department at a small publishing house, in a library, and as a bookseller at one of the nation’s best independent bookstores. As a literary agent, she is seeking children’s fiction and nonfiction. She can also be found online on Twitter and Instagram (@LaurelSymonds).

Kristin Hughes graduated from Hamilton last spring as a member of the class of 2020. She majored in chemistry and minored in biology, graduating with honors. Throughout her time at Hamilton, she explored the field of research -- working in chemistry labs on campus and interning at the Jackson Laboratory and Pfizer focusing on biomedical research. Besides working in the lab, Kristin was an accomplished member of the women’s soccer team, part of the Career Center’s Connect Team, and tutor for the Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning Center. She has since taken this passion for research to Boston University, where she is a first year chemistry Ph.D. Student.

Anna Rich ’18 currently serves as a real estate paralegal at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York City, N.Y. Rich graduated from Hamilton with a concentration in psychology and a minor in English. Rich previously worked at Generation Citizen and Robin Hood and served as a network associate on the Business Connect Team at Hamilton College’s Career Center.

Maggie Furtak ’02 is the owner of Pate Ceramics in Malden, Mass. You can check out her beautiful hand-thrown pottery on her Etsy shop.