Hackiversity Podcast

Dr. Mordecai Brownlee (@ItsDrMordecai) currently serves as the Vice President for Student Success at St. Philips College in San Antonio, Texas. 

Dr. Mordecai brings a great perspective to students thinking about attending community college, and offers compelling reasons why students who aren’t thinking about attending community college should do just that.

Connect with Dr. Mordecai on his personal site, on Twitter, and on Instagram...

Frederick ("Rick") Hess (@rickhess99) is a Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Rick has taught at some of the most prestigious colleges, including Ivy League colleges, such as Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode, we discuss:

1. Whether attending Ivy League schools are worth it;
2. The purpose of college and why it matters for college students;
3. How college students ...

Mickey Baines is a Principal at Kennedy and Company, a boutique educational consulting firm located in Washington, D.C. In this episode, Mickey and I discuss: 

• How colleges market to students, and what students can do about it;
• Why it's important to develop self-awareness early in college; and 
• What colleges are doing to promote employment opportunities for students. 

Mickey's "tweetable" advice: Read To Sell is Human b...

Josh Thiel (@Thiel4Leesburg) graduated from St. Francis University with a degree in Marketing and Communications. Today, Josh serves on the Town Counsel of Leesburg, Virginia, which is located in Loudoun County, the wealthiest and fastest growing county in America. At the same time, Josh works for Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the premier consulting firms in the Washington, D.C. area.

In this episode, Josh and I discuss:

• How stu...

Spencer Folmar (@SpencerFolmar) graduated from Grove City College in 2.5 years with a B.A. in Communications. Today, Spencer is the director and producer of Hard Faith, a Hollywood video production company. Spencer also owns a video distribution company through Veritas Films. Beginning at age 15, Spencer has since produced 17 feature films and created over 1,500 videos for corporate clients. 

Spencer's films have been featured in T...

Tyler Schmidt (@tyler) graduated from Penn State University in 2013 with a degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management. During his time in college, Tyler developed such a compelling resume that in less than one year following graduation, Tyler began working for VaynerMedia, an elite marketing agency founded by social icon Gary Vaynerchuk. Tyler landed a job at VaynerMedia in 2.5 weeks from leaving his first job after ...

Dietrich Linde & Carlie Linde both graduated from Virginia Tech in 2011, Dietrich with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and Carlie with a degree in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies. Throughout college, Dietrich and Carlie amassed $155,000+ in student loans. That's the bad news. The good news is that in 5 years they repaid 100% of their debt. 

In this episode, Dietrich, Carlie, and I discuss: 

• How they managed to acc...

Nico Esguerra graduated from Columbia University in 2014 with a degree in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. Nice has traveled across the world and fashioned together his travel experience into amazing professional opportunities.

In particular, Nico has done a wide array of things ranging from studying rebel groups in Mozambique, working for media outlets in Beirut, and even milking goats on a U.S. farm. Nico leverag...

John Wise never graduated from college. Instead, John developed 1,000 inventions, mainly racing technologies. These insights later led John to found Loci, a tech company that helps inventors discover if their idea exists. The day of the podcast, John finished raising $8.6 million on behalf of Loci, part of a $270 million round, to launch Locicoins.

Not only has John used his technical chops to develop a stellar company, his hobbies...

Gabe Muller (@gabemuller_) graduated from Ball State in 2007 with a degree in Accounting. In less than 7 years following graduation, Gabe became the Chief Operating Officer at Glassman Wealth Services, a financial company managing $1+ billion dollars.

• How to leverage people skills to break into the corporate executive suite
• How to develop self-awareness without spending $1
• How to “interrupt the pattern” and get the attention o...

Gerald Zingraf (@gzingraf) graduated from Virginia Tech in 2011 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In less than 6 years after college graduation, Gerald has founded or co-founded 8 companies, including Date To Door and CubeFit. From one company alone—that is, CubeFit—Gerald makes $2 million per year working only 5 hours per week.

In this episode, Gerald and I discuss his story and:

• How to determine the best career when y...

Peter von Kahle graduated from Flagler College in 2012 with a degree in Communications.

Shortly after college, Peter filmed the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII, the biggest stage in media. Peter has also filmed projects for the Wounded Warriors Project and travels regularly to Brazil to shoot footage deep within the Amazon. Today, Peter runs his own videography company.

In this episode, Peter and I discuss:

• How saying “yes” to a small v...

Cory Briggs (@CoBriggs12) graduated from Harvard in 2014 with a degree in Sociology. At college, Cory played for the Harvard Football team, wining the Ivey League Championship in 2011 and 2013. Also during college, Cory worked inside the NFL Cleveland Browns back office – an ultra competitive position, especially for a college student.

Immediately after college, Cory scored a position as an assistant football coach with Tufts Unive...

Dan Davy graduated from Florida State in 2013 with a double major in Economics and History. Immediately after graduation, Dan worked deep inside the Florida House of Representatives, where he drafted laws as a 22-year old, which are still on the books.

Dan also received the ultra prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, which afforded him the opportunity to travel—for free—to Malaysia. Daniel speaks Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.

...

Adelina Longoria graduated from Oklahoma State University with a PhD in Experimental Psychology in 2008, where she immediately enrolled after graduating from the University of Houston with a degree in Psychology. 

In undergrad, Adelina interned through a program funded by the prestigious National Science Foundation, which helped land her at OSU on the acclaimed Robberson Research Fellowship and interned on the Presidential Intern...

Dave Schools (@DaveSchoools) graduated from Grove City College in 2012 with a degree in Entrepreneurship. At just 27 years old, Dave is a world-class blogger, author, and entrepreneur.

In less than two years after college graduation, Dave founded Entrepreneur’s Handbook (EH), a Medium publication and blog with 22k+ followers, growing at 150+ new members every day. Amazingly, EH took off in less than 3 years from inception. Capitali...

Christian Mijares (@runbrownrun) graduated from Geneva College in 2014 with a degree in Marketing. In just over 2 years from college graduation, Christian manages $60 million as a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley, an elite investment bank. 

In this episode, Christian and I discuss his story and:

• What the world of high finance looks like and what it means to be someone’s personal “Chief Financial Officer”
• Why interpersonal...

Danica Van Horn (@DanicaVH) graduated from Virginia Tech in 2010 with a degree in Computer Science and a Minor in Math. At just 29 years old, Danica is a nationally-known jewelry designer and entrepreneur with the technical chops of a STEM grad.

In only two years following graduation, Danica quit her prestigious, safe, and promising job at Dell to found Doxahlogy, a handmade men and women’s jewelry line. Out of her Nashville storef...