A lifelong comics fan, Russell Lissau has written on the topic for many publications including Chicago magazine and The Miami Herald. These assignments exposed him to writers, editors and illustrators who encouraged him to take up the craft.

Michele Lowe has two works up for the 2010 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award—an unprecedented pair of nominations for any playwright. One of the pieces, Inana, is about the efforts of an Iraqi museum director and his wife to preserve pieces of their culture before the U.S. incursion.

Nora McCarthy started Rise magazine in hopes of changing the perceptions of parents whose children enter the welfare system.

Carrie Porter, a BSJ09 graduate and Fulbright recipient, writes about her experience at Medill, her journalism background and her future plans.

Jonna Robertson tried time and time again to escape a career in classical music. And yet, 10 years after graduating from Medill, she finds herself in a position she least expected: vice president

Alumnus Prescott Tolk, a successful standup comedian, has opened for performers such as Christopher Titus and Norm MacDonald. Now, Tolk has his eye on new territory: comedy writing for TV. 

Since Gina Gibbs-Foster (BSJ95) graduated from Medill, she has held nine different positions, lived abroad and in various U.S. cities. All of these experiences came from working at The Dow Chemical Company.

Bruce Jasurda (MSJ83) says he has found his dream job working as chief marketing officer of the U.S. Army. The scope of his job is phenomenonal; he manages a budget of more than $300 million, heads a 235-person staff and leads an integrated marketing campaign.

Brooke Bailey Johnson (BA73, MSJ74) discusses her position as president of the Food Network as well as her career path and experience at Medill.

Fresh out of school, a digital journalist heads to Port-au-Prince to cover the aftermath of the January earthquake. 

Roxana Saberi, MSJ99, spent more than 3 months in Iran's Evin Prison. She recently published an account of her ordeal in a new book, "Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran."

Months before graduation, Kate Shellnutt (MSJ09) secured a job for the Houston Belief, a religion channel run by The Houston Chronicle.

As one of the world’s most respected war correspondents, Kevin Sites (MSJ89) spent years covering global war and disaster for national networks.

Chris Steiner (MSJ03) started out as a civil engineer and ended up as a journalist, writing the book “$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better."

Pamela Samuels Young is the best-selling author of legal thrillers. She has published four books in the past four years and is working on a fifth novel. When she's not writing, she practices law as a full-time attorney at Toyota.

An advertising executive mixes business sense, artistic expression and social media to boost Chicago brands.

Gerry FitzGerald, the president of a Massachusetts-based ad agency, jokes that in his business, the writing gets finished when the client is riding up the elevator. His day job is quite the departure from his recent undertaking—a 522-page novel he published in 2009. 

Kate Floyd is the communications manager at Chicago International Charter Schools.

Zach Graham (IMC07) likes a challenge. Graham works as a senior planner at Critical Mass, a Chicago-based digital marketing and advertising agency.

Patrick Griffith works as a consumer segment analyst at Leap Wireless, where he continues the research he started as a Medill IMC student.

Michael Kurbjeweit (MSIMC09) is the Manager of Business Development at Element 79, an ad agency in downtown Chicago.

Mark Modesto (MSA77) celebrates his 30th anniversary with Draftfcb this year. After accepting a new role as president of Draftfcb North America this past fall, he looks back at his Medill experience and shares his advice with current students.

Alison Shaffer (MSIMC98) was named a 2010 Rising Star from the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation.

As a senior consultant in the office outside Boulder, Colo., Shivika Sinha analyzes the marketing efforts of Epsilon, whose clients include organizations such as JPMorgan Chase, Target and AARP.

IMC graduate Valentin Hernandez Rodriguez's company was named one of Spain's Top Five Startups by an influential financial newspaper.

David Shaffer (WCAS00, IMC01) is vice president of Back 9 USA, a golf apparel and accessories brand whose headcovers you might see at the U.S. Open.

Maya Payne Smart teaches freelancers how to be successful business owners.