Harper College is closed on Friday, April 18, for Reading Day.
Carrie Fullerton, CPRE - Executive Director, Arlington Heights Park DistrictCarrie A. Fullerton, CPRE has 30+ years of experience, and serves as the Executive Director of the Arlington Heights Park District. She started working at a Park District at the age of 15, got “hooked on Parks” and never left! Carrie has held various positions at the Park Districts in Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Wheaton, Bloomingdale and at the Village of Hinsdale.
She was selected as a Fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA). Carrie has also served as Chair of the NRPA National Revenue School. She currently sits on the U of I College of Applied Health Sciences Board of Visitors.
Carrie received the “Honored Professional Award” from the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD), the “Robert Artz Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Professional of the Year Award” from IPRA.
Alexander Kantorovich, PharmD, Senior Medical Science Liaison, United Therapeutics
Corp.Dr. Kantorovich arrived at Harper in 2006 under the Distinguished Trustee Scholarship and graduated in 2008 with his Associate of Science degree. He went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from the UIC College of Pharmacy and as valedictorian with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2012. Following graduation, he completed a rigorous, two-year pharmacotherapy residency with an emphasis in cardiology and critical care at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Dr. Kantorovich previously served as Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University (CSU) College of Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Advocate Christ Medical Center. Currently, Dr. Kantorovich is a Senior Medical Science Liaison at United Therapeutics focusing on pulmonary hypertension.
Steven Mastandrea, Vice President of Engineering, VibesSteven Mastandrea attended Harper College from 1992-1993 and studied both engineering and emergency medical technician coursework. After Harper he transferred to UIUC where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. He has a 25+ year career in crafting state-of-the-art software, developing innovative engineering processes, and recruiting and managing engineering teams. Steven currently serves at the Vice President of Engineering for the Vibes, an industry leading mobile marketing software company, where he manages the Vibes Connect product line and leads multiple engineering teams around the globe. He rose through the ranks while at Vibes after beginning his tenure as a software developer in 2007. Steven served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT for the Village of Mundelein for 22 years. He was a member of the Lake Country Underwater Rescue Team and was an American Heart Association CPR instructor.
Sandra Torres, Bilingual Reporter, NBC5 ChicagoSandra Torres is a bilingual journalist, currently working as a morning and midday reporter for NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago.
Previously, Torres worked as a general assignment reporter for CBS 2 in Chicago from 2015 to 2017.
For Torres, returning to the NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago family, meant coming home. She left NBC 5 in 2012, after working as a content producer for the morning show for 2 years. She joined the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2012 to gain experience as a multi-media journalist. While there, she covered stories that made national headlines such as the mass shooting at a Sikh temple and the Slenderman stabbing case. The station also gave her the opportunity to anchor the 10 p.m. show for Telemundo Wisconsin-- the only local Spanish-speaking station in the state.
Torres began her career in broadcast journalism in 2006, after graduating from Illinois State University with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication and a minor in Spanish. Her first job out of college was at Telemundo Chicago, where she freelanced from 2007 to 2010, as a general assignment reporter and fill-in weather anchor.
Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, she moved to Chicago's Northwest suburbs with her family when she was a teenager. She’s a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School.
Torres is also a proud board member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists- Chicago Chapter.
Moderator: Esmeralda Guerrero Lopez, Coordinator of Student Diversity Initiatives, Harper CollegeEsmeralda Guerrero Lopez is currently the Coordinator for Student Diversity Initiatives at Harper College. In this role, she provides a full range of retention, engagement and direct student support services to support historically underrepresented students to address barriers and successfully navigate systems.
Esmeralda has over 15 years of experience in higher education and has worked in a range of offices including admissions, academic advising, and student life. She serves as the advisor for Latinos Unidos student organization and sits on the executive committee for Diverse Relationships Engaged in Affirming Multiculturalism (DREAM) Employee Resource Group.
Esmeralda has a master's in Educational Leadership in Higher Education, a bachelor’s in Psychology and she completed her associate degree at Harper College. She is also a member of the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education professional group.
Sarah Alhayek, Employee Engagement Generalist, ALDI USASarah Alhayek left Harper in 2015 and went on to Roosevelt University in Chicago receiving her BA in Psychology in 2017, with a concentration on Neuroscience giving a path to the medical side of psych. She worked as a Behavioral Specialist for the Kenneth Young Center in Schaumburg. She returned to school at Roosevelt University and received her MBA and MA in Industrial Organizational psychology. IO psych focuses on human behavior in the workplace, allowing her to the business side of psychology. Sarah was a DEI intern for the Village of Arlington Heights, rolling out Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts for their municipal government employees. After completing her degrees, she began working at ALDI. She currently works to support the wellbeing and engagement of employees through project management and organization wide initiatives. Sarah shares that a fun fact about her is that she is bilingual and speaks both English and Arabic.
Marion Bensing, Occupational Therapy Doctorate Student at Rush UniversityMarion earned an Associate in Science from Harper College in May 2020, where she served as president of the Honors Program, Phi Theta Kappa (honor society), and the Scientific Journal Club. She then transferred to Boston University to pursue a Bachelor’s in Behavior and Health. While at BU, Marion was a member of the Sargent Honors Society, conducted research through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and played trumpet in the university’s pep band. Currently, Marion is in her first year in the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program at Rush University. She serves as Vice President of the Student Occupational Therapy Association and is preparing to attend the American Occupational Therapy Association Conference this April. Outside of her studies, Marion works part-time as a barista and enjoys reading in her free time.
Farah Khan, Package Quality Engineer, TricorBraunFarah attended Harper College from 2018-2020 and served as Student Body President for a year. She received her A.S. and successfully transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While at UIUC, Farah participated in the Illinois Student Government as a Senator and served in officer roles in her sorority, A.O.E. Farah graduated from UIUC in 2023 with her B.S. in Chemical Engineering and joined TricorBraun at their Design & Engineering office as a Package Quality Engineer. Farah aspires to attend law school and pursue the field of intellectual property.
Jamil Nabers, Software Engineer, Scale ComputingJamil Naber is a skilled software engineer with a strong background in C++, Java, and modern development technologies. He currently works at Scale Computing, where he helps build and maintain HC3, an on-premises storage and virtualization platform. His role involves designing software components, improving system performance, and collaborating with teams to create reliable solutions.
Before joining Scale Computing, Jamil worked at Computer Projects of Illinois, where he developed web services and applications to streamline data processing. After graduating from Harper, he earned his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating Cum Laude with a focus on software engineering.
Dana Romero, Licensed Professional Counselor, Guada Psychological ServicesDana Romero received her bachelors in Psychology at Northern Illinois University. During her time at Northern Illinois University, she also obtained a minor in sociology and certificate in criminology. She also holds a certificate in pharmaceutical and medical ethics. Dana had obtained her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in Wisconsin. While completing her master’s degree, she specialized in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling.
Dana was honored as the recipient of Harper College’s 2024 Outstanding Recent Alumni Award in October of 2024. Dana was featured as a guest speaker on the BHE-Talks podcast in November of 2023. She was also the 2024-2025 season opener on Harper’s alumni podcast Harper Talks: The Harper Alumni Podcast.
Dana works primarily with children, adolescents, and young adults. She has experience working with clients who struggle with a variety of presenting concerns that include but are not limited to trauma-related concerns, anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, survivors of domestic violence, survivors of sexual abuse, community-impacted violence, disabilities, and daily living skills.
Alumna Moderator: Maham Khan, Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts, Harper College Maham Khan is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at Harper College. Her professional and personal development journey started at Harper College first as a student in 2001. At Harper, Maham was deeply involved in extracurriculars like the Speech Team and student leadership, serving as a governing member of many clubs and organizations. Then she transferred to Northwestern University to pursue a degree in communications. Later, she completed her masters degree in journalism from DePaul University and worked as a journalist, producer and freelance media producer for many years before transitioning into teaching full time at Harper College in 2018. In 2023, Maham won The Chicago Sun-Times “Chicago’s Next Voices” award. Today, Maham serves as advisor to the award-winning student-run newspaper and magazine www.harbinger.media and mentors students seeking careers in journalism, media and communications.
Workshop Presenter: Annie Sylvester, Job Placement Resource Center
Learn to showcase your strengths, experiences, and skills in this resume writing workshop
hosted by the Job Placement Resource Center.