Tar Heels Look Toward Future With Career Symposium

The UNC field hockey team is surrounded by newness these days, as the Tar Heels enjoy their first season in Karen Shelton Stadium. But in that sparkling setting on Saturday afternoon, the team got a reminder of the strength that lies in the program's past.

The fourth Carolina Field Hockey Career Symposium offered current players a chance to connect with and learn from graduates who returned to Chapel Hill for the weekend to give back to the program. The symposium is the brainchild of Louise Hines, a 1986 graduate who was an All-America player at UNC and the first Tar Heel to play for the U.S. National Team. In 2007, she had the idea to round up alums in a variety of fields and bring them back to campus to speak with the current team. Largely through Hines' efforts, the program has taken place every four years since then.

"Through the Carolina Field Hockey Program, we have this wealth of career knowledge and experience from generations of Carolina alums who have been successful both on and off the field," said Hines, now Assistant VP at MassMutual Financial Group. "Who better to lend career advice to the current student-athletes than these women who have actually walked in the shoes of a student-athlete and now have concrete career and life experiences they are more than happy to share. It just makes sense to provide a forum in which Carolina alums can talk to these younger generations about their career choices and challenges, and how all those lessons we learned on the field can be transferred into skills used in the work place."

Saturday's panel included six former Tar Heels who have worked in a variety of fields and positions since leaving Chapel Hill:

• Stacey Schweighart Armijo graduated in 1998 and now works for Pfizer as Senior Healthcare Representative in Park City, Utah.
• Ali Stewart Cleveland graduated in 2003 and is now principal at Wakefield Middle School in Raleigh.
• Joy Driscoll Durling graduated in 1998 and now works as Chief Digital Officer for Vivint Smart Home in Park City, Utah.
• Taryn Gjurich graduated in 2012 and is now account supervisor at GSW, a Syneaous Health Company in Newton, Pa.
• Meredith Lawrence Herman graduated in 2006 and now works for Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare as VP, Global Content and PR Lead in Warren, N.J.
• Kate Barber Kinnear graduated in 1998 and now works as Contract Director for ADS, Inc., in Virginia Beach, Va., where she also coaches high school field hockey.
• Moira McFadden Sullivan graduated in 1998 and now works as Enterprise Account Executive for Dell Technologies.

The panel discussed topics ranging from grad school and finding a first job to balancing a career a family, with stops along the way at the value of studying abroad and favorite motivational podcasts. There also was plenty of time for current Tar Heels to ask questions, both at the end of the panel discussion and during the lunch that preceded t it.

"Their questions are so smart and practical," Herman said. "For me it was great to tap back into where I was when I was 20, thinking about these things. I realize now how much being part of this program is setting them up for a real advantage in the workplace. They're just in such an amazing spot, with all of the skills they're building today that they'll be able to draw on later."

"When I look at my own career and where I am in life, I credit the mentorship of Coach Shelton," Durling said. "Now I look at these young women, future leaders, and if I can give back a little bit, as Coach has also taught us to do, I would do it 10 times over."

Junior Feline Guenther found plenty of valuable ideas to take away. Having been accepted into the Kenan-Flagler Business School's undergraduate program earlier in the week, she is trying to figure out where her interests may eventually lie. "It was very inspiring to hear from the panelists," Guenther said. "I would never have considered the technology industry but having three people sitting here who are in touch with tech every day in that sector … I would never have seen myself there, but now I do. It was a great opportunity. I have an interview coming up and it helped me prepare for that, too."

"So you took notes?" asked her coach, Karen Shelton, who was standing nearby. Guenther confirmed that she had indeed.

"These are some of my favorite former players, my favorite teams," Shelton said of the panelists. "To see them go on to not only have such amazing careers but to remain friends and remain in touch with the program is wonderful. They help our kids recognize how valuable their experiences right now are, how that's going to help them translate to success after UNC."

With graduation looming, the seniors in the room were particularly rapt. "As a senior, I have no idea what I want to do so it's just awesome hearing from older alumni, strong independent women who have gone through so many experiences, and hearing about how they've come out so much stronger from all of their experiences," said Mary Kathryn Harrah, a goalkeeper from Yorktown, Va. "I love how they said find what you're passionate about – it's not about the money, it's about doing what you love and finding that passion and where you're going to grow. This was just really cool and a great experience."

By all accounts it was a stellar experience for the panelists as well. Four of the six were teammates at UNC, winning NCAA and ACC Championships in the mid-1990s, and have stayed in close touch. For that reason, the weekend had a reunion feel, even as attention was directed to the future.

"Each time we've held the Carolina Field Hockey Career Symposium it's gotten better, and this year's was the best yet. In being the driving force behind this, Louise Hines has made a lasting impact on our program."

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Mary Kathryn Harrah

Related Videos