Master Class

Host: Leon Laub, USC Dornsife Alumnus

Leon Laub is a USC alum. He retired from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management on July 1st, 2024. At retirement, and after 36 years in the industry, his titles were Wealth Management Advisor, Senior Consultant, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager.

Leon earned his BA in Spanish (Leon speaks fluent English and Spanish) in 1980 and his MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business in 1990. Leon maintains his ties to USC through the Cardinal and Gold Scholarship Program and he participates in mentorship programs for USC students.

In 2001, Leon received the Certified Investment Management Analyst® designation (CIMA®) awarded by the Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute), taught in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Finance” as a term is about as broad, vague, and unhelpful as saying “I work in healthcare.” It tells you practically nothing. In this behind-the-scenes session we’ll dig into the stuff someone interested in the Financial World needs to know

• A big picture view of the industry and what it means to work in finance
• The in’s and out’s of day to day work in the field
• The different designations that you may need/want
• Come with questions for the Q&A. If you don’t have questions about leveling up your career, how can you expect to do so?

Host: Anita Chan, USC Dornsife Alumnus

Anita Chan is a 2006 USC alum. Currently, she serves as an Audit Partner with KPMG.

Big 4 is a ginormous place with tons of opportunity if you know how to bend it to your will. Those who understand how the game is played, excel, those who don’t understand, don’t excel – it’s that simple. If you want to understand the game and crush it, you’ll want to be at this behind-the-scenes talk where we discuss Big 4 as the giant career playground it is.

• Alternative areas in Consulting than just “being a consultant”
• In and outs of auditing
• Come with questions for the Q&A. If you don’t have questions about leveling up your career, how can you expect to do so?

Host: John Foulger, USC Dornsife Career Advisor

In review of a previous Employer Opportunity Presentation on Resume’s Recruiters want to see. John Foulger has been a career advisor with Career Pathways for over a year and a half. John works with undergraduate students to get them career ready, while also managing, and hosting. the Career Pathways’ podcast, Ask John. Before starting at Dornsife Career Pathways, he worked in USC’s Office of Academic Review and Retention. And before that, he worked for 3 years as a Graduate Career Advisor and an academic mentor with Athletics at Utah State University. In this Masterclass, John will review his personal advice on resume development, as well as advice from current Recruiters on what they want, and don’t want, to see. Some specific areas of focus will include:

• Creating the ideal layout of resumes
• What content to include or not include
• The thought process of recruiters when they are reviewing resumes
• MORE

Host: Nate Delgado, USC Dornsife Alumnus

Nate Delgado is a 2019 USC alum. Currently, he serves as a Cybersecurity Product Manager at Deloitte in Washington D.C. where he has protected the nation’s largest computer networks. In his spare time, he helps students negotiate over a million dollars of promotions and raises. When he’s not getting people jobs or hacking, he’s probably bike-packing in the wilderness or dancing awkwardly to Doja Cat while meal prepping.

“Cybersecurity” as a term is about as broad, vague, and unhelpful as saying “I work in healthcare.” It tells you practically nothing. In this behind-the-scenes session we’ll dig into the stuff a typical cyber nerd doesn’t think about until it’s too late, like how does cybersecurity actually work as an industry and how do you win the game.

• A big picture view of the industry and where the money is made
• Tactics for finding your infosec niche and crushing it
• Differentiating your career and telling your story confidently
• Come with questions for the Q&A. If you don’t have questions about leveling up your career, how can you expect to do so?

Host: Nate Delgado, USC Dornsife Alumnus

Nate Delgado is a 2019 USC alum. Currently, he serves as a Cybersecurity Product Manager at Deloitte in Washington D.C. where he has protected the nation’s largest computer networks. In his spare time, he helps students negotiate over a million dollars of promotions and raises. When he’s not getting people jobs or hacking, he’s probably bike-packing in the wilderness or dancing awkwardly to Doja Cat while meal prepping.

Big 4 is a ginormous place with tons of opportunity if you know how to bend it to your will. Those who understand how the game is played, excel, those who don’t understand, don’t excel – it’s that simple. If you want to understand the game and crush it, you’ll want to be at this behind-the-scenes talk where we discuss Big 4 as the giant career playground it is.

• How to make an impression quickly and develop a strong personal brand
• How to stand out from your peers (it ain’t hard) and get promoted quickly
• Come with questions for the Q&A. If you don’t have questions about leveling up your career, how can you expect to do so?

Host: Geanna Culbertson, USC Dornsife Alumna

Dive deep into the magic of content creation! Geanna Culbertson is an award-winning author of 11 books across 16 countries and an alumna of Dornsife, Marshall, Annenberg, and the School of Cinematic Arts. In this presentation, Geanna condenses years of lessons learned from USC, the Walt Disney Studios, Nickelodeon, Paramount, and the building of her own literary brand and publishing company Culbertson Kingdom into key takeaways for up-and-coming great storytellers. Whether you want to write for the screen or the page, you’ll gain great analysis and reflection of essential elements to developing dynamic characters and compelling plots. Some specific areas of focus will include:

• Finding your story core and driving voice
• Differentiating your work in the market
• Harnessing the power of strong perspectives
• Crafting plots and characters people connect with
• Living your best writer/author life

Host: Lu Yu, USC Dornsife Alumna

Lu Yu is a managing director and lead portfolio manager with the Virtus Systematic team of Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. The Virtus Systematic team manages U.S. mutual funds for Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. and other portfolios for Virtus Fund Advisers, LLC. She has portfolio management and research responsibilities for the Systematic Team. Prior to joining Virtus in 2022, Ms. Yu was a portfolio manager and a managing director with Allianz Global Investors, which she joined in 2003. She was previously a risk analyst for Provident Advisors LLC.

Ms. Yu has appeared on CNBC and has been interviewed by and quoted in a variety of outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and Bloomberg. She earned a B.S. from Nanjing University, China, and an M.S. from the University of Southern California and the National University of Singapore. She holds the chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) and CIPM designations and was formerly president of the CFA Society San Diego. Ms. Yu began her career in the investment industry in 2002.

• Difference in quantitative and fundamental investment
• The rise of data science in investment
• Role of NLP(natural language processing) in investment
• AI’s impact on the future of asset management industry

Host: John Foulger, USC Dornsife Career Advisor

In review of a previous Employer Opportunity Presentation on Resume’s Recruiters want to see. John Foulger has been a career advisor with Career Pathways for over a year and a half. John works with undergraduate students to get them career ready, while also managing, and hosting. the Career Pathways’ podcast, Ask John. Before starting at Dornsife Career Pathways, he worked in USC’s Office of Academic Review and Retention. And before that, he worked for 3 years as a Graduate Career Advisor and an academic mentor with Athletics at Utah State University. In this Masterclass, John will review his personal advice on resume development, as well as advice from current Recruiters on what they want, and don’t want, to see. Some specific areas of focus will include:

• Creating the ideal layout of resumes
• What content to include or not include
• The thought process of recruiters when they are reviewing resumes
• MORE

Host: Connor Divelbiss, USC Dornsife Alumnus

How do you navigate and really stand out in highly competitive environments on campus, in your internships, and in the first year of your post grad job? How do you navigate a non-traditional career path?

Connor Divelbiss is a Technology – Cybersecurity Consultant at EY supporting Fortune 500, global clients (G360), across the Financial Services Organization (FSO) and is an alumnus of USC Dornsife and USC Viterbi ‘22. To date, Connor has supported identity & access management, cyber program assessments, cyber and digital transformations, cyber operations, integrated risk management, software audit, data protection and privacy, operations, project management, and customer experience, for for-profit and nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. and Australia.

On campus, Connor was the Founder & President of the Corporate Law & Financial Regulation Association (CLFRA), the first undergraduate student-led organization at the USC Gould School of Law and was also the Founder & President of FutureNext Policy Group, a student-led organization that was founded to assist clients with meeting the U.S. compliance requirements of the ever-changing data protection and data privacy laws and regulatory landscape. Connor was also an Active Member of CybOrg. Currently, Connor serves as an Advisor to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Information Technology Program where he gives back to the program through curriculum development, enhancement, and mentoring. Additionally, Connor currently serves as an Advisor and Mentor for the USC Dornsife Alumni Mentorship Program.

Some specific areas of focus will include:
· How can I use my major and minor in a non-traditional career path?
· What is a high-value opportunity? Why is failure ok?
· What can having an entrepreneurial mindset at USC and beyond lead to?
· How do you identify high-value opportunities for yourself at USC and beyond in highly competitive environments?
· How do you build high-value opportunities for yourself at USC and beyond in highly competitive environments?

Host: Geanna Culbertson, USC Dornsife Alumna

This in-depth presentation led by marketing director and award-winning author Geanna Culbertson will explore how to build your brand the way Fortune 500 companies and many of the most recognizable names in the world do. Coming from the perspective of someone who has built her own business while leading the marketing and content initiatives of small, medium, and large corporations, prepare for an exploration into strategic thinking with a sassy edge. This presentation is excellent for folks who want to start their own business, entrepreneurs, marketers, business and advertising majors, and content creators of all kinds (from aspiring authors and writers to people with a passion for PR and communications). The masterclass will use examples from different industries, with a personal element woven in as Geanna discusses the trials and triumphs of building her literary universe and publishing company  Culbertson Kingdom. Some specific areas of focus will include:

• Understanding then utilizing your brand purpose
• Discovering the key components of differentiation and competition
• Learning lessons of advertising, including the four ad paths
• “Crafting a return on courage” as you forge into the future