Harper Talks Harper Radio

As an immigrant from Italy, Luigi De Matteo found himself in a new country, learning a new language and culture, but with a determination to succeed and find his path by taking advantage of all the educational opportunities available. He joins Harper Talks to discuss Harper’ s role in his journey, his start at Jewel Osco and longevity with the company, and why mentoring students is so important to him. Luigi is the District Manager for Jewel Osco, overseeing stores in the northwest suburbs.

Dr. Ruth Morales’ road to becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy started with a single anatomy class at Harper College. From teen mom to Harper Honors Program to graduating with honors from Northwestern University’s esteemed physical therapy program, Dr. Morales shares her inspiring journey on Harper Talks.

Harper Talks welcomes alumni Carrie Fullerton, Executive Director of the Arlington Heights Park District. Carrie discusses her extensive career in parks and recreation, leading one of the largest park districts in the state of Illinois and what she’s doing to help mentor the next generation of female leaders in the field.

Jenn Mepham, the 2023 Outstanding Recent Alumna, joins Harper Talks and shares insight into her career as the System Simulation Education Specialist for Advocate Health system. Jenn talks about training nurses for all types of medical scenarios through simulation and what it was like pivoting to an unexpected role during the COVID-19 Pandemic. She earned her Bachelor of Applied Science in Biology from ISU in 2011, her Associate Degree in Nursing from Harper College in 2014, and her Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2019.

2023 Harper College Distinguished Alumna Kari-Ann Ryan joins Harper Talks and discusses the journey to receiving her degrees, her role as Director of Marketing and Development at Mid-West Moving and Storage, building relationships in the community, and her proactive volunteerism that’s transforming lives.

Alumna Nicole Buchanan joins Harper Talks and discusses working her way up during her career which started at 15 years old at a McDonald’s restaurant to ultimately becoming Vice President of Operations with Bear Family Restaurants, which owns and operates 35 McDonald’s restaurants in the suburbs. Nicole talks about the Harper/Bear partnership, shares about her time at Harper, and at the University of South Carolina.