Cassidy Smith, Andrew Hoover and Kelley Lowe will come to Fresno State’s Satellite Student Union on Thursday, Oct. 13, as part of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Pay it Forward Luncheon Series. The three will share insights on how they landed their post-graduate positions with Orbitz.com, Google, and McCormick Barstow LLP, and lessons they learned along the way.

Smith and Hoover are Fresno State alumni from the class of 2011. Both studied Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ) during their time at Fresno State. Smith was a Smittcamp Family Honors College alumna and graduated as the Dean’s Medalist of the College of Arts and Humanities. She continued her education by earning a master’s degree at Georgetown University and now works on the public relations team at Orbitz.com, managing the company’s CheapTickets brand.

Hoover began his time at Fresno State by studying music before transitioning to MCJ. He currently works as a program and product manager at Google in the San Francisco Bay area. Hoover originally worked with Google X and helped with the release of Google Glass in the US and Europe. He is now focused on how Glass can help large businesses improve the performance and experience for their workers and customers.

Lowe is a Central Valley native, born and raised in Fresno. After graduating from Edison High School in 2007, she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended USC to pursue a dual degree in history and political science. Lowe continued her education at USC Gould School of Law before returning to the Valley, and now works at McCormick Barstow LLP as an associate attorney.

The trio will share tips with students and community members on important business and life lessons learned during the early years of their professional journeys, as well as share the paths they took to obtain their current positions, the challenges they have faced in the professional world thus far, and their future growth potential in their chosen fields.

“The group of young professionals that make up this month’s speaker panel bring a unique perspective that provides real-life experience about the transition from student to full-time employee,” said Mendy Laval, intrapreneur-in-residence of the Lyles Center and moderator of the Series. “These three are a great example of how determination, passion and a great attitude build a strong foundation for post-graduate success.”

“We are very excited to hear from these three successful individuals at the upcoming Pay it Forward Luncheon,” said Dr. Scott Moore, interim executive director of the Lyles Center. “The advice they are going to share will be invaluable, and we can’t wait for students to learn from their journeys.”

Attendees are also encouraged to bring gently worn business attire to the Pay It Forward event to donate to the Fresno State Clothing Closet. This project provides students with professional clothing for interviews, career fairs, and first jobs.

Register for the free Pay it Forward Luncheon.

For more information, contact Erica Bermudez at ericabermudez@csufresno.edu or 559.278.3726.