One outcome of an Oak Knoll education is that our alumnae/i develop a global sense of responsibility to significantly impact the world. To highlight this, each year, our student academic council hosts a Career Day Assembly, where they invite a panel of graduates making major strides in their respective fields to campus to answer thoughtful questions submitted by students in grades seven through twelve.

This year’s expert panel included Kelly McManus ‘12, a resident physician specializing in psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City; Kathleen Wright ‘04, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a specialization in eating disorders; Laura Dodds ‘11, the Director of Product Program Management at Harry’s Inc., a company known for its innovative shaving and personal care products; and Annie Savage ‘99, a licensed architect and the Design Director at Studio 1200 in Short Hills, NJ.

The panelists addressed questions regarding challenges and adversity they have faced in their fields, what motivated two of the panelists to make major mid-career professional pivots, what most satisfied them in their fields, and many more. 

On adversity she’s faced in the workplace, Dodds said, “I think being a female in manufacturing was big for me. Manufacturing is a very male-dominated field. At my first internship, I was 18 years old, figuring out what that space was. So, it was a new experience that I had to overcome and navigate.”

Over the past 10 years, Dodds has worked in the consumer goods industry in various roles, focusing on problem-solving and teamwork to bring products to life. She credits Oak Knoll for creating the environment where her love for problem-solving and engineering took root. She studied Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Architecture at Lafayette College. A manufacturing internship with Colgate-Palmolive introduced her to the fascinating world of consumer products, and she’s been hooked ever since. She now leads a talented team at Harry’s that oversees the product development process from concept to launch. 

Savage was questioned about her choice to leave a successful career in finance and re-educate herself to enter the field of architecture. Though she had always been interested in arts, science, and their convergence in architecture, her passion for playing competitive sports in college influenced her to pursue a less time-consuming liberal arts major. However, the architecture bug continued to grow, so she began design classes at night, juggling academic assignments with her day job. At 26, the pull was too strong, so she made a significant career pivot and quit her job to enter the Career Discoveries Program at Harvard. The program bolstered her conviction to become a full-time architect, and she enrolled in grad school. 

“Being open and flexible and having the courage to make a change is something I would encourage,” Savage advised the students. “Maybe I was entering the architecture field a little bit later than other people around me, but I did, and fortunately, had a great experience. I always wanted to be in a creative field and was able to make a change to do so.”

Savage is now the Design Director at Studio 1200 in Short Hills, NJ. Her portfolio includes a variety of projects from New Jersey to Bangkok. Before Studio 1200, she was a Design Director at Kohn Pedersen Fox, leading the design of some of KPF’s most prominent projects in New York City, including One Madison, home to IBM, Hudson Commons, now Peloton’s headquarters, and Hudson Yards. 

Further supporting the notion that Oak Knoll graduates are courageous decision-makers, McManus also made the leap from a career in finance to pursue a passion for medicine.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, she worked in investment banking. She made the bold decision to switch to medicine in 2018. Following a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at Bryn Mawr College, she worked as a research assistant in stroke recovery. She then attended Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where she was actively involved in addiction medicine, contributing to several research publications. In 2024, she received her Doctor of Medicine Degree and works as a resident physician specializing in psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

An Oak Knoll senior contemplating a medical career asked McManus how she balanced the long years of study with the satisfaction she now gets from the job.

“I was struggling with the academic requirements when considering medical school as well as wondering if there were other medical fields requiring fewer years of study,” McManus related. “Take your time and explore before making the decision because it definitely is a big time investment. I think it is important to do a lot of soul searching, shadowing physicians in different fields.”

Wright confirmed another cherished Oak Knoll outcome: graduates become people with purpose. As a clinician working with patients struggling with various disorders, she was asked how she balanced the heaviness of that work with its rewards.

“Every time I go to work, I come home feeling better,” she explained. “I genuinely love what I do and care about my clients. Hearing people share their struggles is hard, but they’re choosing to share that with me. They’re putting faith in me.”

Wright earned her Master of Social Work degree from the prestigious University of Southern California in 2011. She worked with people experiencing homelessness, in schools, and medical settings in California. In 2015, she relocated to New Jersey, where she took on the Supervisor of Social Services role in a hospital setting. Fueled by her passion for helping individuals struggling with eating disorders, she took a significant step forward and established her private practice in Clinton, New Jersey. 

All four panelists praised Oak Knoll’s robust alumnae/i network and the help they have received from other graduates as they navigated their career paths and choices. As our students leave Oak Knoll, they will join that wonderful community of globally conscious, courageous, and compassionate people making a difference in the world.