After Xavier, girls leave to walk different paths. Many are certain of what they would like to pursue, but many are unsure of their destinies.
Alumna Laura French ’92 is currently the director of state government relations with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Though she was certain that her future was in medicine (both of her parents were physicians) she decided that it wasn’t for her. She graduated from ASU with a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish and a minor in political science. Deciding that her passion was in international relations, she took an internship at the local Channel 12/NBC, graduated from Georgetown and later obtained a master of science in Foreign Service.
When French returned to Phoenix, she decided to change her major. While being accepted to Columbia University Journalism school, she earned another master’s degree and worked in television at CNN in New York and Atlanta. At TSMC, French interacts with state and city governments. She engages with community relations and schools.
“One piece of advice I would have told my senior-self at Xavier is to be more open to change. I felt I had to do one thing, and I didn’t,” French says.
Stephanie Brugger ‘90 is currently the freshman World History teacher and freshman student council moderator. When she graduated from Xavier, she traveled to Washington state and attended Gonzaga University. When she returned to XCP, she knew she wanted to become a history teacher. Her grandmother always taught her about history and inspired her to pursue this.
Brugger tells upperclasswomen, “It’s better to go to college out of state. Go explore new cities, new people and find yourself.”
Stacy Ferrera ‘11 graduated from Xavier, leaving Arizona behind and heading east. At New York University, during her freshman year, she planned to major in the music business, where she also started an Internet security business. Knowing she needed capital to grow her company, she met with Richard Branson, global entrepreneur who invested $1.2 million. She made a choice to leave NYU and start her business at 18 years old. She grew her business over the next year and a half, and sold it to Reputation.com, where she worked at the time.
She then decided to go back to NYU, studying at the Gallatin School for Individualized Study to major in Entrepreneurship. She also published a book, “2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing the World,” which won the Axiom Business Award. Ferrera then started a second tech company, focusing on hospitality and retail workforce management. She sold it to WorkJam, which is where she currently works.
Ferrera advises students to explore a lot of different things. She told GatorByte, Xavier’s newsletter, “If you make a career out of something you love, you won’t work a day in your life. The work you do will be so fun and intellectually stimulating, and that makes it a lot easier because you actually want to do those things.”
