The Blair community looks forward to welcoming a few familiar faces back to campus for its annual Young Alumni Skeptics panel on Tuesday, April 10. This year's panelists—Joanna Weber '03, Hudson Collins '07, Filip Gzella '08 and Yale Kim '09—return to their alma mater to discuss their career success, reflect on their time on the hilltop and offer advice to current students about life beyond Blair.

History teacher and longtime Society of Skeptics director Martin Miller, PhD, will moderate the forum, which will feature presentations by the Blair graduates, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. The much-anticipated Skeptics event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Chiang Center for Innovation and Collaboration's Collaboration Forum.

"The diversity of the panelists' careers and experiences will surely entice students to engage in open dialogue and ask great questions of the alums," said Director of Alumni Relations Shaunna Murphy, who helped coordinate the event with Dr. Miller. "These alumni, who once sat in the audience at Skeptics, exemplify that there's a career path out there for everyone, even if entering the workforce in the not-so-far-off future seems daunting."

Mrs. Murphy is also eager for the alumni to see all that has changed at Blair since their respective graduations. "The Chiang Center is brand new, which adds a layer of excitement to this year's event," she said. "We can't wait for the alums to see Blair's progress and the beautiful new spaces and technology available in the CIC."

The Blair community looks forward to welcoming the following alumni to Skeptics on April 10:

The education I received at Blair, and the friendships I forged there, gave me the confidence to take risks and pursue my passions both at university and in my career.
-Joanna Weber '03

Each day, Joanna blends her appreciation of art with a passion for travel as a private art collector and flight attendant. She pursued both interests at Villanova University, spending her undergraduate years studying art history and classical languages, which included a semester abroad in Rome immersed in Italian and Latin speech. Since 2008, Joanna has worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines, and, more recently, she has served as an Italian interpreter on international flights to Rome, Milan and Venice. Joanna pursued a master's degree in art business from Sotheby's Institute of Art, which led to her work with museums, auction houses and art galleries to amass and catalog artwork for a private collector. At Blair, Joanna was an accomplished scholar and vibrant member of the community, as well as an outstanding athlete for the cross county, swimming and crew teams. She further distinguished herself in the classroom and across campus, earning two named prizes during her time at the School.

Blair is one of the most influential experiences in my life. The lessons from the classroom, wrestling and even the dorms, inform my adult life in so many ways. Whether I am working with colleagues to solve a problem for a client or I am in a new part of the world on vacation, every interaction is influenced by my time, and the people, at Blair.
-Hudson Collins '07

Hudson is an associate with MVision Private Equity Advisors, one of the world's leading independent placement agents. Since joining in 2015, Hudson has advised several private equity firms on a range of fundraising mandates. Prior to joining MVision, Hudson worked as an investment banking analyst for Deloitte Corporate Finance (which acquired his previous company, McColl Partners), advising on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and strategic developments across several industries. During his time at Blair, Hudson was a member of Senior Class Council and Blair's national championship wrestling team. He matriculated at Brown University, where he wrestled for the Bears and earned a bachelor's degree in history in 2011. He co-chairs Brown's Young Leadership Council, which raises money for Brown, and enjoys playing squash.

My time at Blair really opened the door to out-of-the-box thinking and having a critical-thinking approach. Blair's diverse opportunities to learn something new, to go on a trip, to try a new extracurricular activity, gives each and every student the chance to forge their own path, follow their passions and make the most of their experience.
-Filip Gzella '08

Filip spent his undergraduate years studying environmental policy, institutions and behaviors at Rutgers University, earning a bachelor of science degree in 2012. When plans to work with the Environmental Protection Agency didn't come to fruition because of budget cuts to the organization, Filip "pivoted" his focus and applied to a position with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Several odd jobs and a yearlong application process later, Filip was named a project specialist with FEMA, aiding recovery work in towns across the United States—from South Carolina to Texas and Florida—following natural disasters. Filip works with local and state governments, departments, schools and private non-profits to help them file for disaster-recovery support from the federal government. Oftentimes, his work results in a 75 percent cost share from the federal government to the applicants for the cost of damages and/or construction back to pre-disaster conditions. While at Blair, Filip served as a day student prefect, played piano onstage in DuBois Theatre, and was a dedicated athlete as a member of the swim, tennis and soccer teams.

Blair taught me early on that building relationships is important. Whether it was on the field, at formal dinner or in the classrooms, Blair provided me opportunities to engage with everyone in the community. This has helped me maintain and nurture relationships in both my personal and professional worlds now.
-Yale Kim '09

Combining his love of sports with his professional life, Yale, a standout varsity soccer captain, squash player and golfer during his time at Blair, studied sports management at New York University, graduating in 2014 with a bachelor's degree. Soon after completing his undergraduate work, Yale began working for the New York City division of City Football Group (NYCFC), a company that aims to use soccer for social good by increasing participation in the sport, engaging soccer fans around the globe, cultivating and training young players through professional athletes, and supporting local communities through charity work. As an executive for NYCFC, Yale works with the group's regional and global partners on the long-term planning and execution of marketing campaigns. By establishing relationships with various stakeholders at partner companies, Yale helps optimize their marketing strategies to maximize revenue, while also driving forward branding and messaging. While at NYU, Yale also studied Mandarin Chinese, spent a semester abroad in Beijing and played club squash.