Meet some members of Syracuse University’s Class of 2024 with jobs waiting for them after graduation. Whether designing software solutions for blue chip companies, analyzing data for a professional sports team or making a difference in the lives of children, our graduates turn passion into profession, making the world a better place.
Jake Hyman To Develop Software Solutions for Bank of America
iSchool student marshal Jake Hyman is joining Bank of America’s Global Technology team.
When Jake Hyman ’24 graduates in May, he’ll be following a rich family tradition. “I’m the last of my line to graduate,” says Hyman, whose parents, Lauren ’89 and Paul ’89, L’92, and brother, Zachary ’19, are Syracuse alumni. “All of us bleed Orange.”
While Hyman will miss good times on campus, like supporting the men’s basketball team in the JMA Wireless Dome, he’s excited to redirect his energy toward Bank of America’s Global Technology team. Hyman has been hired to design and develop software solutions for Erica, a virtual financial assistant on the Bank of America mobile banking app.
“Syracuse University has given me the tools to succeed after graduation,” says Hyman, an information management and technology major in the School of Information Studies (iSchool), where he also serves as a lead peer advisor and an admissions ambassador. “I’ve met many professors and alumni who have helped me chart my path. They’ve taught me that the purpose of leadership is to serve others.”
Valerie Goldstein To Put ‘Education Into Practice’ at Teach For America
Valerie Goldstein ’24 believes in learning by doing. It’s an attitude she’s fostered through opportunities like the Skills Win! Coaching Program. Created by Policy Studies Professor Bill Coplin, the program provides underserved students in grades 6-12 with the skills they need for personal and academic success.
Goldstein was a first-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs when she learned about Skills Win! in Community Problem Solving (PST 416), despite not being enrolled in the course. “Skills Win! was unlike anything I had experienced before,” recalls the policy studies major.
Valerie Goldstein hopes to advance educational equity "at the ground level" through her role at Teach for America.
She eventually registered for PST 416 and became COO of the program, in addition to studying abroad in London, England and Florence, Italy; helping Coplin write The Path to Equity: Inclusion in the Kingdom of Liberal Arts (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023); and laying the groundwork for a Skills Win! spin-off business.
Goldstein is excited to graduate early and spend the next two years in rural North Carolina working for Teach For America, a leadership development organization. “I’m excited to put my Syracuse education into practice, advancing educational equity at the ground level,” she says.
IBM Lands Symphony Hylton as Brand Technical Specialist
Symphony Hylton ’24 has had many crowning achievements, not the least of which was being named Royal Orange Queen of Orange Central 2023. “It’s my favorite Syracuse memory—not because I won, but because of all the Orange pride that surrounded the experience,” she says.
Hylton will get another dose of Orange-mania at Commencement 2024 before joining IBM as a brand technical specialist. There, she will draw on her expertise in AI, cloud computing, blockchain and data science to help clients as well as IBM sales teams and business partners implement technical solutions.
Symphony Hylton ’24 is leveraging her iSchool skills and experience into a career at IBM.
“It’s important to understand clients’ business and technical requirements and the competitive landscape, in general,” says Hylton, an information management and technology major. “This kind of work is pivotal for the future of IBM.”
The iSchool standout is accustomed to orchestrating change. As president of the Theta Tau Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Hylton has successfully revived the affiliate after two years of inactivity. She also has held leadership positions at the Shaw Center and Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity.
“There are so many opportunities at Syracuse, from hands-on learning to alumni networking,” Hylton says. “I already feel like a success."
Detroit Tigers Hire Alison Gilmore as Baseball Analytics Associate
Alison Gilmore ’24 loves baseball despite never having played it. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age, she grew up on the sidelines watching her friends and siblings compete and, in the process, acquired an intricate knowledge of baseball and softball.
In June, Gilmore joins the Detroit Tigers as a baseball analytics associate. She’s excited to collect and study data to help make informed decisions about player performance, game strategy and team effectiveness.
“I feel ready to embrace this opportunity,” says Falk College student marshal Alison Gilmore of her new job with the Detroit Tigers.
“My degree in sport analytics equips me to thrive in Major League Baseball,” says Gilmore, a member of the Department of Sport Management. “Given my technical, statistical and communications skills, I feel ready to embrace this opportunity.”
Committed to breaking the glass ceiling, Gilmore participates in several student organizations in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, including the Sport Analytics Women Club (of which she is president) and the Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club.
“I’m surrounded by people who support my growth,” says the 2023-24 Remembrance Scholar and Disability Cultural Center peer mentor. “They help bring out the best in me."
