By Sherri Replogle • Illinois State University
Five alumni visited the Department of Politics and Government on February 20. They were Kevin Borgia ’04 (manager of public policy and membership, Wind on the Wires), Ben Brockschmidt ’06 (vice president of policy and executive director, Infrastructure Council Illinois Chamber of Commerce), Claudia Chavez ’05 (deputy director, Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs at Office of Mayor for the city of Chicago), Zach Koutsky ’06 (political and legislative director, Local 881 UFCW ), and Matt Sanchez (state lobbyist, Roosevelt Group, and president, Sierra Public Relations).
The alumni were greeted by Professors Lane Crothers, Meghan Leonard, Nancy Lind, Erik Rankin and T.Y. Wang before having a special lunch discussion session with graduate students in the department conference room regarding career advancement. The alumni also spoke at Professor Katelyn Schachtschneider’s “Political Science Professional Development” on the value of internship and related professional skills.