Jessica Berndt, (’10 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, FinaHBA), has recently become a Music Supervisor for TV and Film with Secretly Group, after working as a music coordinator for the company. Her first project as Music Supervisor, the TV show Dare Me, is currently airing on USA Network. She also worked on three films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. She feels that her Folklore and Ethnomusicology courses prepared her for this role by exposing her to such a wide variety of musical genres.

Hannah Catt, (’15 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, Political Science), completed her J.D. at the University of Maryland School of Law in May 2018, with certificates in Health and Environmental Law. While there, she also completed an externship with Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. In May 2019, Hannah graduated with an LL.M. in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law. She is currently a licensed attorney in Maryland, but is getting her license in Arkansas and Missouri this summer, because she has taken a position as an Associate with the Law Group of Northwest Arkansas LLP. Finally, Hannah has an article published this spring in the Arkansas Journal of Food Law & Policy, covering the history and opportunities in FDA regulation of CBD and hemp-derived products.

Jillian Cogan, (’12 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, JSTUBA), is now the Community Life Director at a luxury retirement community in Philadelphia. Community Life encompasses all the programs, trips, activities, lectures, and celebrations for residents. Jill is in charge of the Independent Living program, but also oversees the Community Life Directors for Assisted Living, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing. She teaches many different classes, including Global Cuisine, The History of American Folk Music, 7 Wonders of the Modern World, and Around the World Travelogue.

Emily Coleman, (’13 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, Anthropology), is the Coordinator of Graduate Student Support at Marian University since May 2019. She works with students getting their Master of Arts in Teaching. These are generally students who are career changers, who would like to go into teaching. Emily advises second-year students, and helps students with any questions they have about licensing, as well as works with admissions and alumni relations.

Megan Ellingwood, (’10 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, CJUSBA) was promoted at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA to be a Data Specialist in the Education Department. Her job is to collate participant data from their education programs and create reports that help inform the museum’s leadership and donors. Megan also uses the data she collects to provide insights to the education team about creating accessible programs for all learners regardless of age, ability, or personal experience.

Court Flannery, (’10 B.A.), took a new position this year, as Enterprise Account Executive at dscout, in Chicago. Court has moved to the qualitative research space now, still doing sales, but working with ethnographers and research teams to help them get measurable qualitative data in their online platform.

Ian Hallagan, (’14 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, History) is currently transitioning to a new position at the University of South Carolina as the Folklife Program Coordinator. Ian works directly with the Chief Curator of Folklife & Fieldwork to plan and implement folklife related public programs and research. This includes coordinating the annual Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards Ceremony, conducting in-depth fieldwork with tradition bearers in the Tradition Bearers Survey Project, and overseeing FOLKFabulous, a 12-day public program series in conjunction with the McKissick Museum’s year-long folklife exhibitions. This position involves multiple aspects of public programming, ethnographic fieldwork, event management, and archival practices. This position is a continuation of the many skills Ian gained working as an undergraduate archival assistant at the Archives of African American Music and Culture, as well as his time previously serving as Programs & Grants Coordinator at Texas Folklife. Ian looks forward to learning more about the rich cultural traditions of South Carolina.

Andrea Hadsell, (’15 B.A.), returned to Bloomington about two years ago, becoming Education Manager for the Monroe County History Center. At the History Center, Andrea is responsible for creating and implementing engaging community programs for multigenerational audiences, marketing and digital communications, and volunteer coordination. She works with community members ranging in ages from; toddlers to seniors, and each experience has something new to offer. Recently, Andrea and her team created a multifaceted programming initiative to serve community members living with dementia, funded by the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, Inc. The Living with History project was awarded the 2019 Outstanding Collaborative Project Award from the Indiana Historical Society and continues to grow and change each month.

Grace Herndon, (’17 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, Political Science), after 2 years with Cru Inner City, working with children and churches on the south side of Chicago, Grace started law school in August 2019 at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law also in Chicago.

LaKeshia Johnson, (’14 B.A.) accepted a position as a Pediatric ICU Nurse at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. She works directly with patients and families of many different social and national backgrounds.

Jack Kovaleski, (’15 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology), began a position as the OWL (Online with Libraries) Librarian at the Alaska State Library in Juneau. The OWL project is funded by the State of Alaska to provide rural Alaskans with high-speed internet access, and connecting state library users through videoconferencing resources and information technology training. Jack will be implementing the budget and activities of this project, as well as working on digital projects in the Historical Collections division of the library.

Ian McCabe, (’16 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology), after finishing his Masters in Educational Theatre, Ian’s work has taken shape as community engagement work helping companies develop experiences for their customers. Ian is currently working for Hard Truth Hills, but hopes to launch his own business as an experience and engagement consultant. He’ll be here in Bloomington for the foreseeable future.

Taylor Peters, (’10 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, Psychology, English), recently completed some additional schooling at IUPUI, an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, and has taken a position as an Electrical Engineer with Indesign in Indianapolis. Indesign is a contract design firm that works with a wide range of technical clients, creating electrical designs to their specifications.

Alison Rollins, (’11 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology), is excited about the new position she has taken this year, as Marketing Manager at Music Rhapsody in Redondo Beach, CA, and loves her new co-workers. Music Rhapsody is a music school that teaches the Orff Schulwerk approach, which integrates music with a child’s natural world of play. Alison manages website maintenance, social media, advertising, email marketing, and web analytics. She also does some video editing and content creation.

Jacob Swiss, (’11 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, Telecom), is currently managing the Marketing program for a telematics company, Pastel, in NYC. Jake describes the problems that he gets to solve as dynamic, and he thinks the company has built a great team which makes every day a blast.

Andrew Thompson, (’17 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, B.S. PHYSBS), completed the Master of Science in Robotics (MSR) program at Northwestern in December 2019, and is currently working a bridge position under one of the professors at NU while waiting on PhD program decisions. His current work is at the Shirley Ryan Abilitylab, where he is working on assistive devices, specifically electronic wheelchairs, and he hopes to continue working within the broader field of rehabilitative robotics moving forward.

Anna Polovick Waggy, (’17 B.A. Folklore/Ethnomusicology, B.A.J. Journalism), is currently the Manager of International Communications at NYC & Company, New York City’s official tourism organization. She and her organization work to promote the five boroughs of New York City as a premier travel destination to visitors worldwide. Along with the Director, Anna manages 17 international offices that represent 28 countries. This includes checking the offices’ monthly reports and market plans, bringing international media in to New York City, writing and editing press materials and press releases and more.