May 13, 2024
Meghan O'Toole
Six Foresters who have found their futures
With Commencement complete, each member of the Class of 2024 is embarking on a journey of self-fulfillment and career discovery.
For graduates, Commencement is a thrilling achievement that can be wrought with uncertainty. The world students have known during their years on campus begins to open up into infinite paths.
To help them negotiate those paths, each Forester has access to personalized support, career resources, mentorship, and connections afforded to every graduate of the College. Here are six Foresters who are making it in the world beyond our gates in ways that support their individual goals and dreams.
Making strides toward research and teaching
Neuroscience and biochemistry and molecular biology double major Fede Bertolotti ’24 is heading into the great city of Chicago to attend graduate school. She will be studying at the prestigious University of Chicago in the neurobiology PhD program.
During her time at Lake Forest College, Bertolotti realized her ambition was to become a professor and Principal Investigator in a lab. The first step toward this dream is to get a PhD and learn more about how research labs are managed through a research program.
Making an impact on students
An international student from Mexico City, Mexico, Mauricio Calderon ’24 majored in economics and environmental studies. A passion for sustainability was instilled in him by his high school education at United World College (UWC) Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he has accepted a job teaching economics.
Calderon is excited to contribute to the mission of peace and sustainability that has led him this far in his education. Because he has been open to many career paths and is currently a tutor at the Writing Center, returning to a place he loves to support students as they learn about economics feels like a natural next step in his career.
Making her way toward a dream career
When Chelsea Davis ’24 first came to Lake Forest College, she didn’t know what she wanted to major in. Taking a variety of classes helped her settle on her self-designed major in public relations and digital marketing while also adding a second major in theater.
Davis’s role as a marketing communication specialist at Sherwin-Williams global headquarters in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio will help her gain foundational skills in the field and make her first steps in the marketing and public relations industries. The opportunity arose from her internship with the company, and she is excited to be part of a team she is familiar with while putting the knowledge she gained at Lake Forest College to use.
Making a path toward a green future
Environmental studies and philosophy major Reece Wearing ’24 will spend a gap year outdoors working in environmental conservation. He plans to travel and work the conservation seasons before applying for law school.
With an ambition of going into environmental law, Wearing’s areas of study and experience working in conservation will provide him with the skills and understanding to make a difference when it comes to protecting the environment.
Making a difference back home
With her major in economics and international relations complete, Rutuja Bhoite ’24 is returning to her home country of India to work with The Circle, a nonprofit organization committed to building a reimagined network of schools, after-school programs, and teachers that, together, offer every child in India expanded opportunity to succeed and change the world.
Rutuja set out to find a career that touches every area of her passion and interest, and this role in the nonprofit sector will ensure her next steps align with who she is and what she wants to do.
Making her way to the past
Tabitha Andrews '24 came to Lake Forest College from St. Louis to major in history with a minor in sociology and anthropology while focusing on archeology. She currently works as a field archaeologist for the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, where she helps conduct cultural resource management work. When the Illinois Department of Transportation sets out to construct or expand roads, Andrews and her colleagues survey the area for signs of archaeological significance before the road work begins.
Andrews is helping safeguard history that might otherwise be destroyed or lost as new roads are built. Her current role offers substantial and valuable field experience that will pave the way for her studies in an archeological master's program.
Lake Forest College was recently ranked #19 for Best Career Services and #18 as a Best School for Internships by The Princeton Review. All Foresters have access to nationally recognized career preparation resources through the Gorter Family Career Advancement Center both as students and throughout the span of their careers as alumni. Learn more about where graduates’ paths take them after graduation.