Career Advice Column

January 2021 Professionals Share Their Insight With Students Interested In Pursuing Similar Career Paths

— Kelsie Hildebrand, Editor-in-Chief

In this issue of students seeking career advice from professionals, psychology and graphic design are featured by two MHS seniors and two college graduates who have followed their dreams. Senior Livia Obrigewitch and Dr. Nicole Cross-Hillman will share about the path to a career in psychology. Senior Karley Cermak and Bismarck business owner Chelly Ontis share about graphic design dreams. Senior Livia Obrigewitch has a passion for neuroscience which covers brain functions, behavior and the nervous system. “I recently figured out that psychology is what I want to do for my career, because I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field,” Obrigewitch said. “I want to go into psychology, because I am really interested in how the brain works and how it affects different people and their actions.” She hopes to find a job revolving around psychology and behavior analysis research after attending the University of North Dakota, and like many teenagers who grew up in North Dakota, she would love to go out of North Dakota for her career. “After I graduate high school, I will major in biology with a minor in psychology at UND,” Obrigewitch said. “In order to be able to do Research Psychology, which is what I ultimately want to do, I will need my PhD in psychology.” Doctor Nicole Cross-Hillman is a licensed psychologist who discovered her path back in high school during psychology class sophomore year. She continued on to take an AP psychology class as a senior, which opened her eyes to different careers and opportunities. “At first, it was the ‘sensational’ things such as, Freud, dream analysis, lobotomy with Phineas Gage and other abnormal psych topics,” Cross-Hillman said. “I have always enjoyed helping others, and the notion of what it means to ‘help others’ has continued, and will continue, to evolve throughout my career.” Cross-Hillman specializes in child psychology at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities for four years before applying and getting accepted into graduate school. Cross-Hillman’s goal was to earn her Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology. “I really did not spend much time considering career paths other than a Psychologist,” Cross-Hillman said. “I enjoyed being around, learning about and working with children and adolescents.” She continued on for two years after completing the work for her Master’s Degree, which included an Assessment Practicum (Psychological Testing) and a Therapy Practicum. A year long internship and “Post Doc,” which is gathering hours of supervised practice, was also required. “As a psychologist, I am trained to do psychological testing as well as mental health therapy, which provides a variety in my dayto-day work,” Cross-Hillman said. “It is certainly a commitment, but worth it, if it is something you really want to do.” Feature 16

Senior Karley Cermak has recently changed her path to graphic design due to her love for canvas work, such as banners or posters. “That is what I have been doing for a long time because it is fun to design,” Cermak said. “If someone needed a banner or poster for something, I would be their go to person for designs like that.” Cermak’s plan right now is to attend the University of North Dakota and earn her bachelor’s degree in graphic design in hopes to stay in North Dakota for family. After college, she plans to pick up odd jobs here and there to get a feel of the environment. “If a smaller business needs something whipped up, I would probably start by doing that,” Cermak said. “I do not expect to start working for a big company right out of college, but one of my top tier goals is to be self employed and do things for different events, such as weddings.” Owner of Elegant Designs in Bismarck, Chelly Ontis, is a graphic design professional who found her path back in high school while watching a sitcom on televisions called Who’s The Boss featuring a lady who worked for an advertising agency. Ontis went to her school counselor’s office and told her about her newfound passion. “We did some research and found the program at Bismarck State College and Moorhead,” Ontis said. “ I completed the two-year technical at BSC, and honestly, most of the things I learned were on the job.” After college, Ontis moved from a print shop to an advertising agency at a local furniture store before losing that job and realizing her next step. “I decided I did not want to spend the rest of my days putting out everybody else’s designs,” Ontis said. “I started to work for clients that I knew from the print shop that had reached out to me, and 23 years later from word of mouth I am my own boss.” When Ontis first started, the internet was not as evolved as it is today, so a majority of the work she did was print, such as magazines. “I think what really helped sustain my business all these years was I did not plan to do it, but I ended up in a situation where the customers I had were regulars,” Ontis said. “I ended up with a ton of clients, and I help with conferences and conventions and do designs such as, printed material, staging sets, posters, et cetera.” Ontis is grateful for her time at the print shop and furniture store, because it taught her how to become her own boss. Jumping into things can lead to one’s own failure instead of taking things one step at a time. “I do not think I would have gotten to where I was if it was not for the years working in the print shop,” Ontis said. “If you have that creative eye, there are so many things out there between web and print.”