WGU Alumni Podcast

More About Nathan Todd

WGU business grad Nathan Todd was born and raised in Fort Madison, Iowa. In 2017, he purchased an Ice Cream business, Sugar Bowl Ice Cream company, and since that time Nathan and his wife Brittany have expanded the business and now have three locations in Northeast Iowa. He credits his success from lessons learned during his MSML’s capstone project where he developed his business plan. 

In addition to the business, Nathan and his wife stay active with three kids and they enjoy spending time with extended family. 

More About Gene Hayes

Gene Hayes joined WGU in 2020 as Senior Vice President of Regional Operations and is committed to advancing WGU’s mission and focus on increasing access and outcomes in higher education. For two decades now, Gene has served in higher education leadership roles and currently leads the Chancellors of WGU’s state affiliates, driving collaboration and strategies that support the full student lifecycle, from prospect to alum.

Prior to joining WGU, Gene led an international team to develop online certificate and degree programs through BYU-Pathway Worldwide. As the director of Pathway International at BYU, Gene helped launch an international program for English language learners that included online, interactive courses and face-to-face gatherings. Gene began his career at Intel Corporation. Gene received both his MBA and B.S. in Economics from Brigham Young University.

Gene was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico. He is a competitive squash player, and he loves playing soccer and chess. He and his wife, Beverly, are the parents of five children. He has traveled extensively and is passionate about cultures and languages.

More About Marques Ogden

Growing up in a single-parent home with a father who inspired perseverance and fairness, Marques Ogden learned how to define his values and set goals. Ogden attended Howard University from 1998-2002 where he played Division I football. In 2003, Ogden was drafted into the NFL as an offensive lineman. He played with the Titans, Bills, Ravens, and Jaguars. After five years of playing in league, he decided to retire and pursue a career in construction and contracting.

At the age 27, Marques founded a construction company called Kayden Premier Enterprises. The company had fast growth and in 2010, Marques won the African American Subcontractor of the Year Award in the state of Maryland. Eventually his business went bankrupt, losing almost $2M dollars on one project in a matter of 90 days.

During his darkest hours, he pulled himself together, got a part-time job as a custodian, and with hard work and determination, became an inspirational keynote speaker, executive coach, best-selling author and marketing leader, helping to build the success of others.

More About Devi Pariyar

Raised in Nepal, WGU student Devi Pariyar is fueled with the desire to give back and help the next generation. She’s seen firsthand the importance of compassion, good leadership, and the power education has on changing lives. She enrolled at WGU in 2020 in the Master of Management and Leadership program and soon plans to return to Nepal with her husband to open an school that will help underprivileged kids. 

More About About Chad Welch

Chad Welch was born in Louisiana, grew up on a series of U.S. Air Force bases around the world, and now calls Austin, Texas home. Chad is sales engineer for a software company and earned his bachelor’s degree in information technology from WGU in 2014, where he was selected to share his story as a commencement speaker in Houston. While earning his degree, Welch was recovering from treatment from tongue cancer, which had him learning to speak and eat again. 

Prior to his career in information technology, Welch worked in law enforcement as a sheriff’s deputy and earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice. Chad has an 18 year-old daughter attending Texas A&M and he will marry his sweetheart, Vanessa, next year.

More About Claire Gravenhorst

Claire Gravenhorst is an enthusiastic business professional passionate about diversity, corporate social responsibility, and the power of businesses to enrich employees' lives and communities. She also considers herself a lifelong learner, consistently seeking new opportunities to grow her expertise and experience both personally and professionally. She has more than five years’ experience in global business environments as a training specialist, an HR professional, and an analyst in the tech space. Currently she is a Business Process Analyst at Red Hat supporting global HR initiatives across 40+ countries. Claire holds an Associate Professional in Human Resources certification and is a two-time WGU grad. In 2020, she earned her bachelor’s in HR Management and most recently earned her MBA. She hopes to build her career for the next five years before pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).

More About Marah Jordan

As first-year teacher Marah Jordan from Lafayette, Indiana, prepares to enter her classroom, she is grateful for the opportunity her WGU degree has given her to better provide for her and her son. After going through a divorce, Jordan knew that her waitressing job was not going to cut it, and so she pursued her passion for teaching. After temporary stints in the school where she did her demonstration teaching, she is thrilled to have a classroom of her own this fall. Recently, she re-enrolled at WGU and is pursuing her master’s in English Language Learning. 

More About Valerie Wesley

After completing an associates degree at Indiana Business College, Indiana native Valerie earned two degrees from WGU—first, a bachelor’s degree in human resources in 2012, and then in 2016, she earned her MBA. A 20-plus-year veteran in human resources, Valerie currently leads a team of eight HR professionals, managing 77 medical facilities in eight states. Valerie enjoys spending time with her family and growing a mean salsa garden just outside of Indianapolis.  

More About Marques Ogden

Growing up in a single-parent home with a father who inspired perseverance and fairness, Marques Ogden learned how to define his values and set goals. Ogden attended Howard University from 1998-2002 where he played Division I football. In 2003, Ogden was drafted into the NFL as an offensive lineman. He played with the Titans, Bills, Ravens, and Jaguars. After five years of playing in league, he decided to retire and pursue a career in construction and contracting.

At the age 27, Marques founded a construction company called Kayden Premier Enterprises. The company had fast growth and in 2010, Marques won the African American Subcontractor of the Year Award in the state of Maryland. Eventually his business went bankrupt, losing almost $2M dollars on one project in a matter of 90 days.

During his darkest hours, he pulled himself together, got a part-time job as a custodian, and with hard work and determination, became an inspirational keynote speaker, executive coach, best-selling author and marketing leader, helping to build the success of others.

More About Winnie Obilor

No matter where you live in the world, education has a transformative power to improve lives. That is the belief held by recent graduate Winnie Obilor, who completed her bachelor’s degree in business IT management.

Originally from DRC Congo, Winnie has seen her fair share of tragic events. Her family was forced to flee to the United States as refugees after her father, who was an activist was fighting for change and had to leave when the new president came into power.

Winnie wasn’t allowed to return to the Congo until she became a U.S. citizen.

Since becoming U.S. citizens, the entire family has been working toward their education to better themselves, learning as much as they can and developing skills they plan to eventually take back to the Congo. Since pursuing her degree at WGU, Winnie has worked full time while being a wife and mother to four young children, the youngest of which was born as she enrolled. Winnie has been a dedicated student, continuing to inspire others as she perseveres through numerous challenges, all in an effort to help her family and help her country that she deeply loves. In February, she re-enrolled at WGU, this time in the MBA degree program.

More About Marqus Hutchinson

The Harlem-native, who was raised in foster care, graduated high school early back in 1999. But earning a college degree? It took him a few times, before he found a model that would work for him. Marqus earned not one but two degrees WGU. In 2005, Marqus earned his bachelor’s in information technology, and then a year later earned an MBA in IT Management. Prior to his WGU degrees, he spent four years in the United States Navy. 

Currently, he is the chief technology officer at Intelligent Waves, a defense and national security IT consulting firm in Washington, D.C. A proactive thought leader and technology innovator in the federal government sector, Hutchinson responds to the nation’s complex security needs as a consultant for the Department of Defense and the Intelligence community. 

A WGU believer from the beginning, Marqus has referred more than 10 individuals to the university, including two family members his mother, who earned her degree bachelor’s in human resources and MBA, and a brother who earned his MBA in Information Technology Management. 

More About Christine Granado

What do you want your legacy to be? This question stared Christine Granado squarely in the face, after not one, but two, bouts with cancer.  Christine, who at the time of her stage 4 diagnosis was a student at WGU, began wondering about her legacy. 

Two years earlier, doctors shared the grim news that the disease was incurable. A nurse, wife, and mother, Christine went into a deep depression. Strengthened by the support of her family, medical professionals, as well as from her WGU mentor, Christine was able to develop the mindset of "acceptance is everything." 

This period of introspection had her wanting to complete important life goals, things she felt were realistic with an end date in sight. One of those lifelong goals was to finish what she started at WGU.  Christine made a pact with herself that she would do or simply die trying. 

With this amazing vision into the future—Christine completed her bachelor’s degree in July 2020, walked in WGU’s virtual commencement in August, and then started a new job in September as a Clinical Manager at a pediatrics group in Newark, New Jersey. A few months later, Christine, never done learning, enrolled in the Master’s of Health Leadership degree program her at WGU.

More About Robert Cross

Robert Cross is an accomplished health care executive, a WGU MBA alum, and current WGU Master of Health Leadership student. He is the Assistant Director of Operations for the Value Institute for Health and Care at University of Texas at Austin/Dell Med, which is a renowned organization in healthcare transformation.  

A native Texan, the health value work Robert does is complimentary to the work done at WGU’s Accountable Care Learning Collaborative. 

Robert is a member of the Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame and previous to his work in healthcare, he was CFO and helped build a top-ten public radio station in the country. 

More About Dave Ammons and Natalie Hoover

WGU Course Instructor Dave Ammons is a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 with combat tours in Desert Storm and Iraq. He earned the Bronze Star Medal in Iraq. Natalie Hoover is an Air Force veteran and a WGU Program Faculty Manager. Dave and Natalie have started a Veteran Community Group at WGU and recently helped launch the Veteran Employee Resource Group for WGU employees. Natalie is a military spouse to an active-duty servicemember. 

More About David Grow

David Grow has spent more than 30 years serving as a financial executive in companies ranging from PricewaterhouseCoopers to WordPerfect and Novell. He joined Western Governors University as Chief Financial Officer in 2005, directing all financial and operational activities of the nonprofit organization. In 2019, Grow was promoted to Chief Operating Officer focusing on co-curricular services, including financial aid, marketing, regional and state operations, and alumni engagement, among other services. 

Under Grow’s leadership, WGU has seen phenomenal growth—from a small institution still in its startup phase—sustained by investment and serving fewer than 4,000 students and just 400 graduates—to one of the nation’s largest universities, a self-sustaining nonprofit with nearly 120,000 students, more than 200,000 graduates, and 7,000 employees nationwide.

Grow is a Certified Public Account and received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Utah.

More About Jason Thompson

Jason Thompson is WGU's Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Jason has more than 20 years of experience specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion, community outreach, strategic planning, and more. Jason earned his bachelor's and master's degree in sociology from the University of Wyoming, and has worked at large global organizations leading diversity and equity, including Techstars, INTERGIS, and the United States Olympic Committee. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WGU and is focused on helping the university in developing and accomplishing diversity and equity initiatives and goals.

More About Todd Good

Learning is contagious. At the encouragement of his wife who was earning a master’s degree, HR professional Todd Good returned to school to earn an MBA from WGU. A short time after this, he encouraged a colleague to enroll at WGU to earn her master’s degree as well. 

Todd joined IBM in 2012 in an entry-level role. Soon after earning his degree from WGU, was promoted to Program Manager in Talent Acquisition. He’s enjoyed career success having been promoted six times in eight years. Currently, Todd serves as a Talent Acquisition Manager for Early Professional Digital Engagement and Tools. 

Todd and his wife, Ashley, have been married for five years and have a four-year-old son.

More About Cintya Auld

Cintya’s life is remarkable, especially considering the odds she faced at an early age. An underage, undocumented immigrant, high school dropout, and temporarily homeless mother of one with another on the way, she has completely done a 180-degree turnaround updating those titles to U.S. citizen, a two-time college graduate, and a cybersecurity professional. 

In 2015, Cintya graduated as a first generation college graduate from WGU with a bachelor’s degree in business information technology management. Along with her degree, she earned four IT certifications and found herself updating the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s information system as an IT project manager only weeks after graduation, which was a far cry from where she was just years prior. 

A wife and mother residing in Fort Worth, Texas, she currently serves as an enterprise-level cybersecurity professional and looks forward to continuing to evolve as a professional and as an individual with diverse interests.

More About Spencer Wade

WGU IT graduate Spencer Wade is the solutions-oriented principal strategist at Lift Conversions—the Google partner digital marketing agency he founded in 2014. Today, Lift Conversions has locations in both Chicago, Illinois, and Westminster, Colorado. 

Spencer has earned numerous certifications from the IT industry’s governing bodies and holds a range of Google alum titles for his years of work in their forums and programs. These roles, along with his extensive experience in marketing across verticals, have given Spencer a voice of authority in the fields he’s passionate about. He's using that voice to assist individuals and businesses in their marketing pursuits.

Lift Conversions, his agency of Trusted Digital Media Advisors, offers a full line of digital marketing services—from world-class Google ads management to website design. His team delivers a unique blend of boutique-style attention and powerhouse results to clients in more than 47 verticals across the US, Canada, and the EU—with a referral rate of more than 90%!

More About Matt West

After a decade of hitting walls in his career with just an associate’s degree, Matt West found WGU and earned not one degree, but two. First, in 2018, he earned his bachelor’s in marketing management, and a short time later he earned his master’s in management and leadership. 

West hails from Fredericktown, Missouri, a midwestern town with a population of 4,000 residents. In 2016, West moved to the "Gateway to the West"—St. Louis. There, he’s flexed his creative muscles advancing in his career. Currently, he serves as a creative specialist at Neighbors Credit Union. 

West was recently appointed to the Nonprofit Marketers Network - STL and is instrumental in helping support nonprofits as they reach for their goals. 

More About Doug Vigliano

A short time after earning his MBA from WGU, Doug Vigliano was promoted to director of marketing at his employer, Construction Journal. He’s now taken the leap from individual contributor to leading and managing an entire marketing team where he helps forecast, analyze, and identify relevant construction opportunities. Additionally, Doug is a co-founder and COO of his wife’s nutrition business, Thrival Nutrition, based in Austin, Texas.  

More About Jason Thompson

Jason Thompson is WGU's Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Jason has more than 20 years of experience specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion, community outreach, strategic planning, and more. Jason earned his bachelor's and master's degree in sociology from the University of Wyoming, and has worked at large global organizations leading diversity and equity, including Techstars, INTERGIS, and the United States Olympic Committee. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WGU and is focused on helping the university in develop and accomplish diversity and equity initiatives and goals.

More About David Rettig

After David Rettig earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Franklin University, he enrolled at WGU seeking a master’s in management and leadership. This degree from WGU further strengthened his position as a leader in the IT Industry. David provides an edgy voice in today’s landscape. He’s authored four books and founded two companies providing CIO advisory services.  

He is currently researching effective practices in leadership development as part of a doctorate in business administration at Wilmington University. He’s been married for 28 years to the only woman in the entire world with the patience to put up with him. He has three kids that think he's a great dad because they really don't know any better.

More About Angie Keilhauer

Two years into her first attempt at a college degree, Angie Keilhauer gave up her scholarship to become a full-time singer-songwriter. Her parents, sacrificing immigrants from El Salvador, felt far from ecstatic after hearing that Angie was dropping out. But college simply just didn’t make sense to her—she wanted to go on tour, not attend Monday morning lectures. 

During her first tour, Angie realized she needed to learn the tools necessary to run a successful business in music. This is when she learned of WGU from her mom, who graduated from WGU at the age of 60. Though memorizing legal jargon felt incredibly out of place as she simultaneously prepared for NBC’s The Voice, it was her courses at WGU that gave her the confidence to read through her entire show contract and later create a budget to record an album and marketing plan. Angie earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing management from WGU in 2019 and recently released her latest single, Real Talk.

More About Chris and Gina Abbey

Gina Abbey earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2014 . She has a background in sales and development and most recently joined the Bridge of Hope Greater Denver, which helps single moms and their kids who are facing homelessness in the Denver, Colorado, area. She has been instrumental in raising funds and working with donors and sponsors.  

Chris Abbey is a two-time WGU graduate, first earning a bachelor’s degree in IT Network Design and Management back in 2013, and then later a master’s degree in Information Security and Assurance. He’s held various leadership positions in cybersecurity and currently is the senior customer service success manager at Red Canary, which is an ally security in detection and response for customers. 

Most importantly, they are the parents of two little girls and have been married for 15 years. 

More About Jordan Barta

Oregon native Jordan Barta earned a bachelor’s degree in 2011 while playing football for California Lutheran University as a defensive end. After college, Jordan spent five months in Finland playing outside of Helsinki and seven months in Ingolstadt, Germany. Following this time, he returned to the United States and began working as an account manager at an online affiliate marketing company.

He knew that to advance his career, a master’s degree would be key. In 2016, while working for the company Paychex, he found WGU, which had a partnership with the payroll company. He loved WGU’s program and found it extremely relevant to the demands of his full-time employment, and he started to get attention from his company’s leadership. Since earning his degree, he has advanced his career by leveraging his experience and education to better roles, which has helped him double his salary.

Jordan is currently a customer sales director at SumTotal Systems, an East Coast-based company specializing in helping organizations with their human capital management strategies. He is a huge advocate of WGU—he’s referred more than 20 individuals to the online, nonprofit university, one of which is his wife, Michelle, who earned her MBA in Healthcare Management.  

When Jordan is not working, or referring family and colleagues to WGU, he’s often traveling with his wife, exercising, or finding any reason to be outside.