Current positions: Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Onyx Pharmaceuticals; Affiliate Professor of Law & International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle

Past leadership positions: Representative, Liberal Arts Student Association; Reporter/Writer, The Daily Iowan; Member, Hancher Entertainment Commission; Member, ODK and Mortar Board

Class: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (History and Economics)

What lessons from your UI leadership position were most relevant to your career life after college?

I was involved in a range of activities at the UI, including reporting and writing for The Daily Iowan, and serving on the Hancher Entertainment Commission, which booked and organized concerts. I learned to manage my time, because I was committed to campus engagement, but also had high academic ambitions and planned to apply to highly competitive law and graduate schools. I also learned to enjoy engaging with different kinds of people. The kind of person who wrote for the DI in the 1970s was very different from the kind of person who majored in economics and planned to go to law school.

How did your student leadership position impact your career endeavors?

Regardless of my full time position, I have maintained a lifelong interest in writing and publishing on public policy issues, and I think some of that comes from the satisfaction that I had writing for the DI. I also have a strong sense of engagement in the community and have served on a number of non-profit boards, which brings a great sense of contributing to the public good.

If you could give current UI student leaders one piece of advice, what would it be?

Although to succeed you need to be thoughtful about what you really enjoy, and what you do well, don’t be overly rigid in planning your career – life is just too unpredictable and you should embrace unexpected opportunities. I like to quote that great philosopher John Lennon: "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."