Recent Grad Panel, 10/20/25

This week, we were visited by three alumni who are especially near and dear to our current chapter’s hearts: Isabel Mattern, Anna Hinkle and Tiana Silverio. All three alumni graduated last May and were our chapter’s previous President, Executive Vice President and Vice President of Finance, respectively. All three of these alumni directly impacted the current culture of our chapter, but for this meeting, they shared how much their lives have changed since fulfilling their duties to our chapter. The key takeaways from the panel are below. 

Where is everyone now?

Isabel: Since leaving the J-School and completing her education in Strategic Communications, plus her minor in Marketing and Social Media certificate, Isabel is now an Assistant Account Manager at CALLEN in Austin, Texas. Some clients Isabel works with include Disney+, Olipop and Sandisk. Isabel said that she is often traveling for work, shooting content and taking part in influencer outreach.

Anna: After graduating with her Bachelor’s in Marketing, plus her minor in PR and Advertising and Social Media certificate, Anna returned home to Cleveland and is now a Junior Account Executive at Brokow, Inc. Anna now works with clients such as GE Lighting, Barrio, Laughing Tiger and many other companies. Anna’s work tasks now include account administration, content shoots and working with socials and influencers.

Tiana: Tiana decided to stick it out in Athens for one more year to complete her Master of Business Administration through the College of Business and further her education and combine everything she learned from her three undergraduate majors: Management Information Systems (MIS), Business Analytics and Marketing. Tiana said she currently spends most of her days in class with members of her cohort and doing work for her assistantship. 

Biggest Learning Curves our alumni have faced so far:

Isabel: Isabel said that her agency, CALLEN, is currently in a growth phase, where there’s a lot of work and the team could probably use a few more members. Isabel also said, “What I’m in charge of is very lucid and blurred.” But even though CALLEN is going through a transition phase, Isabel said she finds genuine joy in all that she does at work, even if it’s a little stressful at times. 

Anna: Anna said the biggest thing she’s had to learn to do is to let herself truly lean on her team. Anna said that she felt she had to be more independent when working on class projects and many of her internship assignments during college, but that has all changed now that she has entered her agency. Anna said that it’s nice to have her co-workers to lean on when things get extra busy or even if she just has a question that needs answering; Anna was also happy to report that having a work team is “nothing like a team project in college.”  

Tiana: Tiana’s biggest learning curve has less to do with her environment, but more to do with new academic expectations. Tiana said, “They’re a lot less forgiving in your Master’s program.” Tiana also shared that even verbal mistakes during presentations are worthy of grade point loss, but that even though grades are important in her program, it’s more about what you are learning and how much you truly understand. 

Job Search Insights?

Isabel and Anna highlighted the importance of staying active on LinkedIn, humanizing yourself when applying, whether that be through stories of real experience or a custom portfolio and always, always, always trusting in your Bobcat connections.

How to make free time possible with a heavier workload after college?

Isabel, Anna and Tiana emphasized the importance of always making time for your passions and hobbies outside of work or school. Whether that be waking up at 5 a.m. like Anna to get a workout in, finding a way to read three books a week like Tiana or making sure that socializing is still a priority like Isabel, all three of our speakers said there’s always a way to make the free time you have enjoyable.

Connect with Isabel, Anna and Tiana on LinkedIn.