COMMUNITY, COMMITMENT, CATAN:

ENTER THE WORLD OF DR. CASSIE LOPEZ-JENG

CURRENT POSITION: Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University

LOCATION: Kalamazoo, Michigan

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEGREE: BS in Biology

GRADUATION YEAR: 2009

ACTIVITIES AT MICHIGAN: I was part of the Taiwanese American Student Association. I spent some time in ballroom dancing, and RC chamber music. I worked in multiple research labs. But mostly, if I wasn't spending time with Pops, I was hanging out at home with friends.

MICHIGAN POPS ORCHESTRA INSTRUMENT: Violin

Listen to one of Cassie's favorite Pops pieces while you read about her Pops Life!

A CONVERSATION WITH CASSIE

KELLY COMPTON, our Pops Life correspondent, talks with Cassie about her musical memories and how the life lessons she learned with the Pops still impact her today...

KC: Cassie, tell us a bit about your musical background before coming to Michigan!

CJ: I started playing violin at 4 or 5, and I joined a youth orchestra at 8. I spent Saturday mornings playing in that orchestra for 10 years, and I was quite sad to leave it when I left for college. I also played clarinet and piano, dabbling a bit in band and solo performances, but I enjoyed the orchestra setting the most.

KC: What drew you to the Michigan Pops Orchestra once you arrived on campus?

CJ: I loved my time in youth orchestra so much that I immediately looked for opportunities in college to continue playing in an orchestra setting. Of all the options out there for non-music majors, Michigan Pops seemed like the most fun. I joined my first semester in college and loved it so much that I stayed for every semester until graduation!

KC: Tell us about some of your favorite Pops memories!

CJ: Some of my favorite Pops memories include the promotional events. I loved gathering with fellow Pops people at the Diag and telling everyone about how awesome we were. I also loved every concert we did - no matter what the theme was, the music was always great and the theatrics were always entertaining. It was easy to convince my friends to attend!

KC: What does your current job entail, and how did you get into this field?

CJ: I currently work as a professor at Western Michigan University. When I finished my Biology degree, I wanted to get into the health field, so I went into an MPH program. From there, I decided that I wanted to continue pursuing public health. I stayed in New Orleans for a PhD program and graduated two years ago. I was incredibly lucky to have a job offer that brought me back to Michigan. My job involves teaching a variety of undergraduate classes, several research projects, and a variety of service commitments. It feels like endless multitasking, but I love it.

KC: What are your favorite/least favorite aspects of your job?

CJ: Teaching is one of the best parts of my job. I love interacting with students, being a part of their professional development, and watching them grow and develop. One of the mixed blessings about professorship is the relative autonomy of your position. There is a lot more self-selected and self-driven work, which makes it hard to maintain work-life balance.

KC: What advice would you give to students interested in a similar career path?

CJ: Public health is a wonderfully diverse field, and if you are interested in a public health career of any kind, my advice is to be involved, be committed, and be proactive. Whether you are in a BSPH, MPH, PhD, or DrPH program, the best thing you can do for yourself is to find something you love to do and volunteer, intern, and/or work there. Don't wait until you have graduated to start this, and don't wait for opportunities to fall into your lap.  If you are interested in an academic career, my advice is to be flexible, be confident, and be proactive. There's a lot of buzz out there lately about the shifting job market in academia, and it may or may not be true. If you want to get into academia, learn to be flexible about what you learn, what you work on, and who you work with - you never know what kinds of experiences may just make you attractive to an employer or who you meet that may have the right connection.

When you do enter the job market, sell yourself well. This is a fine balance of showcasing your accomplishments and potential without coming across as arrogant and difficult to work with. And finally, for both types of careers, being proactive is so important. Rarely will the perfect job seek you out and wait for you to take it. Put your best foot forward and be on the lookout for what you want - it may feel awkward at first, but remember that "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

KC: How did the Pops influence your time at Michigan and your life after graduating?

CJ: While I was at Michigan, Pops gave me something to look forward to every week, every semester. It gave me a chance to be immersed in music and to be a part of something bigger. No matter how well or not well my semester was going, Pops was a consistently enjoyable time every week away from everything else.

After graduation, I have not had the time or the opportunity to be a part of something like this again - and I very much wish I could! When I moved to New Orleans, I made new friends and they loved to hear about my time in Pops. I would share recordings with them, which definitely gave me some cool points.

KC: What does the Pops mean to you personally?

CJ: As I reflect back on my time at Michigan up to now, one of the things that I would not have understood about Pops at the time is how much value there is to this kind of community and the time spent together. I think about the friends I made through Pops, the camaraderie between Pops members, and the fun, joy, and laughter of the time spent at Pops... and I know that Pops was a major part of my college experience. It gave me something that no other experience at Michigan could have given me, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it throughout my time at Michigan.

CASSIE'S FAVORITES

• ROLLER COASTER: Millennium Force at Cedar Point because it's the perfect combination of speed, height, finesse, and thrill
• RESTAURANT IN A2 AND KALAMAZOO: Ann Arbor - TK Wu (though I may be biased because the owners are family friends); Kalamazoo - El Gallo Blanco and Food Dance
• EXPERIENCE AT DISNEY WORLD: if I really had to pick, it would have to be the nightly fireworks shows at Magic Kingdom
• BOARD GAME: Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride
• PLACE IN NEW ORLEANS TO BE: NOMA's Sculpture Garden in City Park
• MOVIES: The Sound of Music, followed closely by the Lord of the Rings trilogy
• POPS PIECE: The Firebird by Stravinsky

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT A CAREER IN ACADEMIA? OR DO YOU JUST NEED SOME ADVANCED STRATEGIES FOR CATAN FROM A PRO? CONTACT CASSIE AT CASSIE.LOPEZ-JENG@WMICH.EDU TO CHAT TODAY!