Seaver College’s Communication Division recently hosted its first-ever career day. Students across majors convened at Pepperdine’s Calabasas campus for a special opportunity to network and hear industry insights from a panel of Pepperdine alumni who are successful leaders in marketing, advertising, and public relations.

Alumnus Nils Granger (’10), athlete marketing manager at Red Bull, served as the panelist moderator, hosting the event alongside integrated marketing and communication professor team Sarah Fischbach and Wangari Njathi. Conversation ranged from practical tips for success in a marketing/communication career to panelists recounting the stories of applying to their first jobs.

L to R: Nils Granger, Nathania Au, Allie Coates, Edwin Duran

Arriving with his wife and three kids, Granger shared that Pepperdine will always be one big family that he is proud to use his expertise to support, especially considering he and his wife met at Seaver and remained college sweethearts throughout.

“There’s a lot of graduating seniors in the room, and I know that the pinnacle of going to college for four years is to get a job,” Granger said to the audience of students. “Don’t worry. Your first job is meant for you to learn and to fine-tune your future; it is only the first chapter of your career. And life has a fascinating way of putting an opportunity in front of you that you would have never imagined.”

For instance, panelist Nathania Au (’24), shopper marketing specialist at beverage company Yerba Madre, told the crowd that she first met Granger as an IMC student. Granger had come to speak to one of her marketing courses, while Au was interviewing for a position at the company he worked for: Red Bull. Considering this serendipity, Au explains that Granger was there to offer helpful guidance as she prepared for her new role postgraduation before joining the Yerba team.

Asked about what advice she’d offer current college students, Au said, “I remember being in the audience at events like this. I was in your shoes. What I would recommend to anyone still in college is to focus less on the quantity of your networking, but the quality. Find the right occasions to have intentional connections.”

Attendees mingling

“It’s fulfilling to have students reach out and help them get placed in jobs where I used to work or currently work. Now it’s fun to hear their creative ideas and what they’re working on,” added Granger.

Additional panelists included Seaver graduates Jillian Unruh Vincent (’18), associate marketing manager of Mattel’s Barbie Global Brand Team; Edwin Duran (’16), client partner of Snapchat; Andrea Grace Mella (’24), media buyer of Publicis Media, and Allie Coates (’22), brand marketing manager of De La Calle Tepache.

Each of the successful young professionals offered advice on how to stand out among a sea of applicants. Vincent, who now leads brand campaigns for newly released Mattel Barbie dolls, shared that in creative spaces, success is all about “capitalizing on your personal strengths.” She encouraged attendees to think of themselves and what they have to offer in broad terms: “You can take all your experiences and apply them to anything in marketing.”

Students chatted with panelists

When invited to discuss AI, many of the panelists shared that senior leadership of their corporations have suggested incorporating the technology into their workflow in ways that would not diminish creativity. To help demonstrate this idea, each panelist offered specifics of how they do so.

“I use AI to expedite my understanding of the industry,” Mella chimed in. “I’ll put in example scenarios as a prompt and that will help train me on how to tackle problems that may arise. This helps me to grow in my career.”

Panelists also suggested fine-tuning skills AI is incapable of doing, such as those of public speaking and overall personal presentation, and they reminded students that the hiring process is mutual. While companies are evaluating them, they also have the agency to choose where they want to work. Many suggested writing a list about what they’re most looking for in a company, from job expectancies to desired work culture.

To conclude the event, panelists answered audience questions. Considering such an  influx of information might be daunting to a college student on the precipice of the career world, alumni reassured all that they’re beginning in the right spot by attending these networking events.

“All of you are already ahead of the game,” Duran said. “Being in this room is step one. ”

• Seaver Newsroom

On Thursday, March 26th 2026, multiple college representatives came to the CHS gym to put up booths and promote their schools to Agoura, Oak Park, and Calabasas students. Universities from all across the nation had stands in the gym, including spokesmen from Vanderbilt and Stanford.

At the start, everyone gathered in the gym to tour around different college advertisements and find what’s right for them. Over 40 colleges and universities came to this event. While the majority of the stalls were for institutes, a few were selling summer programs and outside courses. With the developed Performing Arts Program at Calabasas, there was a noticeable population of artistic and musical-focused schools advertising at the College and Career Knowledge Night.

After the first part of the night, participants moved to the PAEC to listen to speeches by the organizer and our superintendent, and later moved around to explore different rooms, each catered to their specific interests.

The two college and career counselors, Nancy Yumkas and Robin Lutsky, at Calabasas, started by introducing themselves and thanking everyone. Following them, Principal Bennett Wutkee, Alan Lazar, and Superintendent Stepenosky took the mics to advise all the students wondering about college.

Mel Johnson from Los Angeles College of Music says they are a “Contemporary program, so people that play instruments, write their songs, record, produce, want to get into music business and production.”

Many of the colleges that attended the night had this trait in common: they are open to a variety of students in their division. Going around the gym, each booth had a diverse variety of students standing in line, and merchandise for anyone who came up to the stands. Pens, fliers, clips, and more were given out.

Besides educational stalls, the US Military also had multiple booths set up in the corner of the gym. Representatives in full uniform were answering questions about the future in place for high school students venturing into the army right after graduation.

The final part of the night had individuals going to different rooms of the school with professionals in their respective fields, based on the students’ interests. One room had a Community College Specialist for those wondering about the College Essay process, and another had an ASU Professor lecturing about fashion in art.

The whole night was aimed at getting students excited and deciding about college.

Calabasas senior Jenna Juridah started the night super interested in the University of Connecticut for Pre-med, as she had been accepted there, she saw the rest of the booths, and she wanted to explore her other acceptances.

Juridah said, “[I] felt more of a drive to go to those schools. So, some of them accepted me, for instance, the University of the Pacific accepted me. I looked at them, and I talked to them, and they were really interesting.”

–Micah Belzer, Staff Writer- Calabasas High School

Larry Grogin refuses to allow Parkinson’s disease to have the last word in his life.

That’s why he has taken on a cross-country trek — much of it on foot — to not only raise awareness for neurological diseases and funds to fight them, but hope for those who live with such diseases that they can accomplish amazing things.

Grogin, a 71-year-old Bloomingdale, New Jersey resident, has begun a quest to run 100 marathons across the United States in 100 days. The project began March 24 and on Friday, the 19th day, he came through Wheeling, with stops in Ohio later as he headed westward. At each stop, he runs and walks the 26.2 miles of a marathon distance.

Grogin, a chiropractor, acupuncturist and herbalist, has been an avid marathoner and triathlete for much of his life. He has more than 300 marathons and 30 Ironman triathlons under his belt.

Yet when he was told by his doctor in 2019 that he had Parkinson’s disease — a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to body tremors, rigidity and slowness — he felt something he hadn’t experienced with his physicality.

“Vulnerability,” he said. “It was the first time that I thought I can’t muscle my way through and beat it.”

Grogin said he had been a muscle-through guy for much of his life, so living with Parkinson’s forced him to go against how he had operated for so long. With Parkinson’s he said, it’s not about conquering the disease, like one would with cancer. It’s about living with the disease.

“You have to learn how to live with it successfully,” he said. “With Parkinson’s, you think about living your best life.”

And at age 71, that best life was conquering an impressive feat for anyone, much less a septuagenarian with a neurodegenerative disease. Yet these runs and walks are something he said is crucial to living with Parkinson’s successfully.

“Movement is medicine,” Grogin said. “It’s such a powerful tool with Parkinson’s and I’ve come to know it personally. Nothing is better for somebody with Parkinson’s, even if it hurts.”

He admits that sometimes it does hurt. He is chronicling the trek on his Instagram page, runlarryrun26, and talks about the bumps and aches that come with running such distances.

He remains undaunted, though. He’s not doing this just for himself, he said. He’s doing it for so many who battle neurological diseases across the United States.

Grogin mentioned that West Virginia, has the third-highest prevalence for Parkinson’s in the United States with around 7,000 cases, and he said that number will only grow.

So he has turned these runs into a fundraiser — Strides For Humanity through the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s — and said he has raised nearly $200,000 so far.

He hasn’t been on this path alone. Multiple friends have been and will be with him through the 100 days. His friend Harry Silver was wrapping up his leg of the trip Friday and was meeting a new group in Ohio.

Silver said he marvels at what Grogin has accomplished so far and what he is trying to accomplish with this trip.

“It’s really extraordinary,” Silver said.

“Watching Larry emotionally but also physically through the ups and downs. He powers through the challenge. It’s remarkable, the kind of inner strength you have to have.”

Grogin plans for that strength to carry him across the country to the final destination — Calabasas, California. He said with a chuckle that when he reaches the finish line, he’s going to sit down, close his eyes and not move for a while. He’ll have earned the rest, and he’ll have shown those with neurological diseases that life doesn’t end with a diagnosis.

“It’s about raising funds, raising awareness and raising people’s hope,” he said. “It’s not a death sentence.

“On one of my runs, I was thinking, I’m not dead,” he added. “I may sweat a little bit. I may drool a little bit. I may stumble a little bit. I may even fall a little bit. But I’m not dead.”

On March 27, the sophomore class attended a performance of Survivors, a one-hour docudrama produced by the Arts For Change organization that brings the Holocaust to life through ten eyewitness accounts by survivors. The production offers students a more immediate personal understanding of one of history’s most devastating events.

Survivors featured the testimonials of Holocaust survivors and how they had to grow up and adapt to the world around them. The performance has become a recurring part of the Calabasas High School curriculum over the past several years. During sophomore year, students typically study the Holocaust in both History and English classes, making the play particularly relevant. Throughout the play, the devastation of the event was felt through the survivors, and how they lost family and friends they made along the way.

The traveling band of actors originated their play at CHS, and have now returned to present for the sophomores. The troop consisted of six actors, and each presented different testimonials.

Adam Weinstein, a history teacher at CHS, believes that seeing the event moves historical knowledge beyond abstract textbooks, bridging the gap between the classroom and real life.

“A lot of times, when you study history, it’s a lot about statistics and numbers. The play helps bring it to life in a way that you might not get in a regular classroom setting.”

Weinstein explained that the play is based on real survivor testimony, allowing students to connect with the material presented.

“It’s actors playing the roles, but it’s based on real-life survivor testimony,” Weinstein said. “The more ways that students can engage with these kinds of things, the better off they’ll be with their understanding.”

By presenting lived experiences, Survivors encourages deeper engagement with difficult topics. Weinstein noted that the production has consistently strengthened students’ comprehension of complex and catastrophic history.

“You’re seeing it in a different perspective than you see in the classroom,” Weinstein said. “This play has certainly contributed toward my students’ understanding of very difficult histories.”

Beyond learning about past events, Weinstein highlighted the purpose of studying history.

“If we’re aware of the past, you can take those things and take steps to hopefully stop it from reoccurring in the present,” Weinstein said. “It’s supposed to also provide encouragement for people to stand up against antisemitism or any other type of discrimination.”

Jade Redfield, a sophomore at CHS, explains why it is important to remember the holocaust and why events like these benefit students.

“They gave a bunch of examples of how history repeats itself, and I think that is true. The genocide of the Holocaust mirrors things that happen today. So I think awareness of the Holocaust and how a lot of people just went with it and were bystanders discourages people from being bystanders in discrimination today.”

The play also demonstrated the many people who helped the Holocaust survivors by allowing them to hide and giving food to Jews. The writer of the play and various actors are descendants of Holocaust survivors, and they drew their inspiration from them.

Organizing the event requires extensive planning and coordination by school admin. Assistant Principal Dr. Katie Booth, who oversees the process, emphasized the importance of setting up logistics.

“We needed to make sure that we have a location and a date that works with all the current productions that are already in place. It’s a lot of coordination about locations and timing, and then meeting with teachers and letting them know.”

Beyond its historical focus, the production connects to broader themes of empathy. By using individual testimonies within a larger moral framework, the production challenges students to not only remember the past, but their own responsibilities in the present.

Booth explained that planning for the event began months in advance.

“The coordination actually started back in August,” Booth said. “One of the first things is finding a space like the PAEC and making sure it works with everything else happening on campus.”

In addition to logistics, Booth shared the importance of the play’s message.

“It is about teaching tolerance and how we can help make a better community by being understanding and kind. So, although it centers around the Holocaust, it also centers around conversations about how we can ensure that we don’t exhibit negative behaviors that have been seen in the past,” said Booth.

Weinstein shared what he hopes his students will learn from the event.

“It’s supposed to also provide encouragement for people to stand up against antisemitism or any other type of discrimination,” said Weinstein.

For educators, the value of studying events like the Holocaust lies in recognizing trends across history. Exposure to these can ensure students have the awareness to break harmful patterns.

“If we’re aware of the past, you can take those things and take steps to hopefully stop it from reoccurring in the present,” said Weinstein.

Part of the goal for students attending is to become aware of injustice and to appreciate all diverse communities.

“We want students to understand how to support others and stand up for people who may be experiencing challenges,” Booth said. “It’s about creating a more supportive and aware community.”

Booth emphasized that the Holocaust remains a critical topic for students to study.

“It’s important that we understand its impact, how that could potentially impact other student groups, and how we can move forward as a community, knowing that we have so many amazing, different groups and individuals on our campus,” said Booth.

Abigail Freeman, a sophomore at CHS, expressed her opinions about the survivors’ play.

“At first, I was thinking, Why would they make this into a play? That sounds really disrespectful, to turn the Holocaust into a play, but I think that they portrayed it really well. They showed the point of view of survivors, and then they also talked about all the different people who died, and I felt that they weren’t going to talk about that. So I’m glad that they mentioned it. I think that it was a good experience,” Freeman said.

Freeman also shared what she hopes students will remember about the performance.

“I hope that they would take away the messages that hate could still happen in the real world today. And to remember the Holocaust, because knowing the past will help us change the future for the better.”

Lastly, Freeman shared why she thinks it’s important to remember the Holocaust and the past.

“There have been stories about how right after the Holocaust, many people didn’t believe that it actually happened. So I think that educating people about it and going to different high schools and telling people a story of the Holocaust is really important,” Freeman said.

The Survivors play encourages students to reflect and apply its lessons to the present. The annual performance remains a tradition that fosters empathy in the Calabasas student body and serves as a reminder of the lasting impact of the Holocaust.

– written Olivia Holzman and Dipanjali Suresh, Calabasas High School