The Augustana Career Center is hosting its annual Career Symposium, providing students with invaluable career development experiences and networking opportunities. Learn from alumni.

Friday, Oct. 5, 2012   |   8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Join regional industry leaders
• Network, learn and explore today’s dynamic business and work environments

The first 200 Business Career Symposium students to register receive a special gift — Register today.

►8 a.m. Technology and Marketing (MC 201)

Deane Barker ‘97, Content Management Practice Director at Blend Interactive
Dave Medema ‘06, Developer at Electric Pulp
Steve Pederson, CEO of Bright Planet

►9 a.m. Management (MC 201)

Mike Knight ‘82, President of Alliance Management
Patrick McAdaragh ‘81, President and CEO of Midcontinent Communications

►9 a.m. Future of Stewardship (MC 102)

Kerri DeGraff ‘06, Development Director at Feeding South Dakota
Paul Krueger ‘97, Executive Director of Make a Wish Foundation

►10 a.m. Psychology (MC 201)

Allie Brooks '10, Registered Nurse at Sanford Health
Jason Leach '05, Police Officer for the Sioux Falls Police Department
Jennifer Lovik '05, Counselor at The Glory House
Amanda Waite '05, Children's Program Social Worker at Children's Inn

10:30-10:55 a.m. Refreshments and networking in the Madsen Center Atrium

►10:40 a.m. Communication (HUM 301)

Bethany Rasmussen Anderson '07, Legislative Aide for State Representative Joan Ballweg
Amanda Conrad Berg '05, High School Teacher at Columbus High School
Kelsey Buchholz '08, In-Game Producer/Teacher for SF Skyforce NBA D-League/SF Schools
Julie Clark '00, Founder of The Inspirational Coffee Club

►11 a.m. Accounting (MC 103)

Jeremy Aylward ‘07, Financial Specialist at USD
Stacie Burch ‘04, Staff Accountant at KMWF & Associates
Stacey Denke ‘07, Financial Analyst at Sanford Health
Nate Gonseth ‘04, Senior Audit Manager at Eide Bailly

►11 a.m. Finance/Entrepreneurship (MC 101)

Blaine Crissman ‘84, Partner at Badlands Capital
Paul Mohrman ‘72, Principal Partner/Director of Client Development at South Atlantic Systems Group, Inc.

►2 p.m. English & Journalism (HUM 123)

Kurt Brost '93, Director of Real Estate Services for Sanford Health
Kate Holmquest '02, Curriculum Developer & Coach at Wright
Karin (Bumgardner) Miller '87, Writer/Editor at Working Words, Inc.
Leah Simmons '05, Marketing & Training Coordinator at Johnstone Supply

►2 p.m. Theatre (EMC Theatre)

Amanda Conrad Berg '05, High School Teacher at Columbus High School
Joe Gentzler '06, Quality Assurance Analyst at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Rebecca Hjelle '03, Senior Pastor at Blair First United Methodist Church
Bob Wendland '10, Arts Educ. Program Coordinator at the Washington Pavilion
Wyatt Yager '04, Ceremony & Events Coordinator at Mount Marty College

►3 p.m. Biology (GSC 101)

Dr. Kyle Seifert '97, Associate Professor of Biology at James Madison University, will discuss "Antimicrobial Compounds, Dry Eye, and Bed Bugs – Three Collaborative Research Projects at James Madison University"

Register today!
 

With special thanks to:
 

• Steve Lawrence ‘65, of Lawrence Transportation, and underwriter for this event
• Augustana College Business Club
• The speakers, faculty and staff who helped make this event possible

Business Symposium Presenters:

Deane Barker ‘97, Content Management Practice Director at Blend Interactive
Deane Barker is the Content Management Practice Director and founding partner at Blend Interactive, one of Sioux Falls largest and most established web development firms. He has 18 years of web experience, including implementation of large-scale enterprise content management systems and intranets. Currently a board member of Content Management Professionals, Barker is a regular speaker on the content management and strategy circuit and writes about various web technologies at Gadgetopia.

Dave Medema ‘06, Developer at Electric Pulp
Medema started his career in the insurance world as a marketing representative for Federated Insurance, which gave him strength in a variety of situations. But with a double major in business and computer science from Augustana, he's always been a closet tech nerd. In 2009 he and his wife started Funky Fresh, a company specializing in brand design, web development and digital strategy. In 2011, he shifted focus from his day-to-day operations of Funky Fresh to join the team at Electric Pulp, giving him the opportunity to work on various national and international projects for companies like Ford, O'Neill, InCase and The Colbert Report. His technology background, combined with business savvy, give him a unique set of talents that produce robust solutions for a variety of companies. Plus he can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than two minutes, so we know he’s no dummy.

Steve Pederson, CEO of Bright Planet
Currently the CEO and Chairman of BrightPlanet Corporation, Pederson has 25 years of entrepreneurial management and business development experience with a focus on bringing new technologies to market through “customer education.” Prior to his tenure at BrightPlanet, Steve was a founding partner of an early-stage Venture Capital investment firm, Sherpa Partners out of Minneapolis. For much of the ‘90s, Steve served as one of the executive officers for Skyline Displays, Inc., and was responsible for product development, sales & marketing, customer and distributor training programs, along with direct responsibility for all 86 independent distributorships in 36 countries. Prior to his tenure at Skyline, Pederson served at Xerox Corporation’s Engineering Division in numerous national management, sales, training, and quality (TQM) roles.

Mike Knight ‘82, President of Alliance Management
Knight is the president of Alliance Management, a national management consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis and Denver that is focused on returning troubled companies to profitability. Michael received his B.A. from Augustana in 1982 and his law degree from Hamline University in 1985. In 1987, he was named the court-appointed receiver of a company in serious financial trouble, embarking on a career as a turnaround advisor. Alliance has worked with hundreds of middle market companies throughout the United States, and has received numerous national and regional awards for its work.

Patrick McAdaragh ‘81, President and CEO of Midcontinent Communications
Actively involved with all aspects of Midcontinent since 1981, McAdaragh became President and CEO in 2007. During McAdaragh’s tenure, he has held a number of key positions with the company in Finance and Operations, including Chief Operating Officer and Director of Treasury Operations. He has been deeply involved in all of Midcontinent’s various holdings, including theaters, cable, radio, broadcast TV, satellite teleport and video rental businesses. Over the past decade, he has been instrumental in transforming over 240 standalone cable systems into an interconnected fiber optic network spanning more than 6,000 miles, passing nearly half a million homes, and serving approximately 275,000 homes and businesses. A native of Sioux Falls, S.D., McAdaragh received a BA in Accounting from Augustana and serves on the board of directors for CableLabs, C-SPAN and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Kerri DeGraff ‘06, Development Director at Feeding South Dakota
DeGraff is the Development Director for Feeding South Dakota, the largest hunger-relief organization in the state.  Prior to joining Feeding South Dakota, she served as the Community Impact Director at the Sioux Empire United Way for the past five years. She has been featured in 605 Magazine's "Five Young Leaders to Watch" and nominated for "Tomorrow's Leader" at the YWCA Tribute to Women Event. DeGraff is a graduate of 'Leadership Sioux Falls 25' and is a participant of the YWCA Women's Leadership Program. Community involvement is important to Kerri, as she serves as a member of the Homeless Advisory Board and started an After School Running program at the Multi-Cultural Center for middle school youth. Most recently, she was recognized for her volunteer work by the Helpline Center as a Spirit of Volunteerism nominee. Kerri graduated from Augustana in 2006, summa cum laude, majoring in Communications/Business and Spanish. She also received her certification to teach in All-Grades Education.

Paul Krueger ‘97, Executive Director of Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Dakota
Krueger’s 15-year career has been in the non-profit fundraising and public relations world. A proud 1997 Augustana graduate with majors in journalism and communications, he has been the president and CEO of Make-A-Wish® South Dakota for two years. Paul also holds an M.S. in administrative studies from the University of South Dakota. In his role at Make-A-Wish, he is the chief fundraiser and manager of the statewide organization that serves children with life-threatening medical conditions. Prior to that, Krueger served as a director of development at Augustana, director and associate director of alumni relations at Augustana and assistant director of the University of South Dakota Alumni Association. Paul’s wife Joni, is Augustana’s registrar and they have three kids, Emily (9), Matthew (6) and Sarah (3).

Jeremy Aylward ‘07, Financial Specialist at USD
Aylward is employed by the State of South Dakota Board of Regents as the Financial Specialist for the University of South Dakota School of Health Sciences Department of Nursing. The growing and ever-changing program has five campuses fueled to meet the ongoing needs of the healthcare industry. Aylward received his B.A. degrees in Professional Accountancy and Business Administration from Augustana in 2007. Personal experiences in life helped shape his professional career path and since graduation have led him into the healthcare industry working both outside and inside of the hospital systems, and now in academia. Aylward also spends some of his free time volunteering and speaking locally, regionally, and nationally.

Stacie Burch ‘04, Staff Accountant at KMWF & Associates
Burch has worked in the accounting profession for seven years, three years in financial industry accounting and four years in public accounting. She currently works as a staff accountant at KMWF & Associates, PC in the Sioux Falls office. She works in both audit and income tax, including small business; individual, nonprofit and trusts. She also does a variety of bookkeeping services such as compiled financials, payroll, and software assistance. Burch received a B.A. in 2004 and her MBA in 2010 and is currently in the process of sitting for the CPA exam.

Stacey Denke ‘07, Financial Analyst at Sanford Health
Denke is a Financial Analyst with Sanford World Clinics, a division of Sanford Health headquartered in Sioux Falls. Sanford World Clinics has been tasked with the initiative to develop a series of pediatric clinics in areas in the U.S. and around the world that lack sufficient primary care services. Denke received her B.A. from Augustana in 2007. She started her career with MetaBank in Sioux Falls where she worked in the Accounting department before being a founding member of their Internal Audit department that implemented Sarbanes-Oxley throughout the company. In 2008, Denke joined Sanford Health as an accountant with the Sanford Clinic division before joining Sanford World Clinics in January of 2012.

Nate Gonseth ‘04, Senior Audit Manager at Eide Bailly
Nate Gonseth is a senior manager in the Sioux Falls office of Eide Bailly LLP, a top 25 CPA firm with 19 offices in nine states. He provides accounting and attestation services to a variety of client types within the Firm’s commercial practice division, including automobile and implement dealerships, wholesale/retail, manufacturing, and construction. Gonseth received his B.A. in professional accountancy and business administration from Augustana in 2004.He and his wife Jacque (Augustana ’03) have 3 children and reside in Brandon.

Blaine Crissman ‘84, Partner at Badlands Capital
Crissman has developed strong credit underwriting skills and a network of investment referral sources. With more than 20 years of experience in financing and investing in middle market companies, Crissman serves on multiple boards. From 1999 to 2002, Crissman served as a Principal at Bank of America Capital Investors and was responsible for originating, analyzing, structuring, and monitoring mezzanine and equity investments. He was also a Principal at BancAmerica Securities High Yield Group from 1994 until 1999 where Crissman was involved in sourcing and underwriting public subordinated debt offerings. His responsibilities included analysis, due diligence on, and structuring of transactions that raised over $2.5 billion. Prior to this from 1984 till 1992, Crissman financed middle market companies as a Vice President at First Bank Systems. He holds an M.B.A. degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a B.A. in Economics and Finance from Augustana College.

Paul Mohrman ‘72, Principal Partner/Director of Client Development at South Atlantic Systems Group, Inc.
Born and raised in Dell Rapids, S.D., Paul Mohrman graduated from Dell Rapids High School in 1968. Mohrman received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana in 1972 and was a Mathematics major. He went on to attend the University of South Dakota School of Law and completed the MBA program at the University of South Dakota in 1974. Following Business School, Mohrman moved to Jacksonville, Florida, to join his older brother in business at Lift Power. He was with Lift Power until his retirement in 2009. Today, Mohrman is engaged with a materials handling engineering startup, South Atlantic Systems Group, Inc. He is married to Julie and they have a son, Jarrett, age 24.