Theme: Climbing the Ladder: Wabash Success Stories

Four Wabash students and four alumni will share their own experiences and tips for success. Each speaker has a unique perspective of their own Wabash experiences. The alumni will speak on how they have used these experiences and lessons to propel themselves into their lives and career.

Salter Hall
Fine Arts Center, S Grant Ave
Crawfordsville, Indiana, 47933
United States

Brian Confer

Alumnus and Co-Founder of Capturely

I am the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Capturely, a marketing content company focused on humanizing personal and company brands. I am currently pursuing an Executive MBA Candidate at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA graduating in June 2023. How consumer, brand, and individual value is measured and exchanged is shifting. In an interdependent and hyper-networked world, community, trust, and authentic engagement enable the co-creation of value that will power innovation, from Web 2 to Web 3, the metaverse, and beyond.

Caden Friedt

Student and Founder of Humble Confidence

I grew up in a small town in Indiana and attended Bellmont High School. I am now a Junior, biology major, psychology minor, and wrestler at Wabash College, IN. My plan after Wabash is to become a sports physical therapist and a sport psychologist. I am an aspiring inspirational speaker. As a hobby, I am the founder and owner of the brand Humble Confidence. This brand embodies concepts that I am passionate about such as my faith, inspiring others, and advocating for mental health which, are the three main points of my speech.

Christian Merrill

Student

My name is Christian Merrill and I am a current senior at Wabash College from Chesterton, Indiana. I am majoring in Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics with a minor in Spanish. Currently, I am still narrowing in on my post-graduation job search, but I plan on attending law school after taking a year to work. In the past, my involvement on campus has been from wrestling, the Diversity Equity Inclusion committee, Student Life Committee, pre-law, and student senate.

Gabriel Anguiano

Alumnus and Business Consultant

I was a Rhetoric major class of 2020, Orr Fellow, and 2-year captain of the Wabash College Soccer team. Business Consultant at CCC Intelligent Solutions. First-generation Latino from Hammond, IN. The focus of my talk is on taking action, getting unstuck, and navigating through imposter syndrome.

Quinn Leous

Student

My name is Quinn Leous, and I am a senior studying Financial Economics here at Wabash. As a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha, a member of the Sphinx Club and the CIBE, I have grown to care about Wabash more than I ever thought I would. My Ted Talk will encompass how we can improve at "acting on the fly" when life throws something at us out of the blue.

Ron Dostal

Alumnus and Retired Consultant

My name is Ron Dostal and my talk is centered around the question: Is Success What We Accomplish? Armed with a strong work ethic, a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College, and an Ivy League MBA, I embarked on a 29-year career in management consulting. Now living in early retirement after a surprising turn, I reflect on life as a “high achiever” and propose three keys to real success.

Seth Kirkpatrick

Student

I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. I am a junior at Wabash College majoring in Political Science and Rhetoric and minoring in Spanish. My love for Wabash starts with those I see the most, my brothers in La Alianza: Unidos Por Sangre, the Pre-Law Society, and Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse. My talk is about tackling the fear of ignorance through the liberal arts method. Be an expert in your field, but a student everywhere else; this is the balance that makes the world's infinite amount of information just a little more digestible.

Sky King

Alumnus, Entrepreneur, and Founder of Modern Stoa

My name is Sky King, and I am an entrepreneur and podcaster who is obsessed with the business models of media and the impact that they make on our society. I am the founder of Modern Stoa, a podcast monetization agency that works with Podcasters like Chris Williamson, Aubrey Marcus, Impaulsive, Paul Saladino (CarnivoreMD), and many others. I launched the first-ever long-form podcast NFT with my podcast Sky King's Mental Playground, where I have conversations on the tension between centralized and decentralized systems. My talk will be a survival guide on how to find truth in the modern media machine.