Neary 70 graduates returned to campus for Susquehanna University’s annual Break Through student-alumni networking conference. Featuring 30 events, including industry-specific panels, Break Through was open to students of all majors wanting to identify what steps they must take to bolster their résumés and professional skills before they enter the workforce. Individual panel events featured three to five alumni speakers who shared their experiences and career paths before fielding questions from attendees.
The Careers in Criminal Justice and Law panel was led by Christopher Clinton ’10, a lieutenant with the Pennsylvania State Police and adjunct instructor at Susquehanna; Morgan Dubbs ’21, an associate attorney at Stover McLaughlin; and Emily LaGreca ’21, an associate attorney at Thomas, Thomas & Hafer. Each presenter discussed their transition into professional life, finding one’s niche within a field and the mindset needed to work emotionally charged cases.
“It’s important to remember that the situations you encounter aren’t created by you and that you’re trying to help those involved through a difficult time,” said Dubbs, who specializes in family and custody issues. Along with Clinton and LaGreca, Dubbs shared experiences from her recent casework illustrating that legal professionals must make difficult decisions benefitting those they serve.
Josh Smith ’27, a psychology major from Lynburg, New York, seeking to work in social services, applauded the presenters’ approach to sharing the legal system’s inner workings.
“Any kind of legal or social system is a difficult world, and it’s hard to gauge reactions when you factor in privacy laws,” Smith said. “I think they handled it really well.”
The State of Public History panel was led by Rebecca Krieger ’13, an applications genealogist for the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Maria Myer ’23, a reference archivist at the Delaware Public Archives. Both emphasized the need for tact when conveying unexpected historical information and how the field has adapted to public feelings about history. They also touched on the ways students’ senior theses make them stand out during job interviews.
“I am reminded every day that a lot of people don’t think to question what they’ve been told,” said Krieger, adding that the public often struggles to consider the implications of new information.
Myer commented that, while the increasing use of artificial intelligence likely influences people’s ideas about history, she has observed a sincere desire for engagement close to momentous historical occasions. Because of this, she sees the state of public history as “fraught, but not hopeless.”
“The panelists’ advice about choosing work that suits your personality stood out to me,” said Grace Hogan ’28, a history–secondary education and German studies double major from Sunbury, Pennsylvania. “Archival work isn’t necessarily a field that I want to go into, but I found some of the information transferrable.” Hogan intends to become a history teacher.
Other panels included careers in technology, data, music, education and the sciences.
