Emmy Award-winner Carlos Watson to discuss ‘The Future of Work’

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Emmy Award-winning journalist Carlos Watson will speak and then moderate a panel of Purdue graduates on Feb. 12 as part of Love Liberal Arts Week.

The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 6 p.m. in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall, followed by a reception at 7 p.m. in the Ringel Gallery.

Watson is CEO and co-founder of OZY, a news media website dedicated to profiling “people, places, trends and technology that are ahead of their time,” according to ozy.com.

Watson will speak about “The Future of Work” – a regular theme in OZY’s content. A Harvard graduate with a law degree from Stanford, Watson has made a mark in politics, business, education, and in the media. He has written for the Miami Herald and Detroit Free Press while in college, appeared as a political commentator on CNN and worked as a news anchor on MSNBC.

Watson’s insights on entrepreneurship and where the job market is headed will offer valuable insights for students across academic disciplines. “For the past year OZY has been touring the country visiting college campuses and hearing from students, professors, and administrators about the issues on their minds,” said Watson. “Each visit I learn something new that broadens my perspective. I am excited to be coming to Purdue and have an opportunity to share my unique career journey, and engage with students and young alumni about their career aspirations and the road to getting there.”

Following his talk, Watson will moderate a panel of young alumni and highlight their entrepreneurship ventures since graduating from the College of Liberal Arts.

The panel consists of:

Amy O’Shea (Political Science ’09), founder of Bright Books in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Purdue, O’Shea volunteered at a rural school in Uganda, where she found basic necessities such as electricity were not available. The experience inspired her to start Bright Books, which donates a solar light to a child without access to energy for every pair of journals sold.

Molly Longest (Public Relations and Strategic Communication ’13), co-founder of The Lala in New York City. Longest created a popular lifestyle blog for Purdue students. Her newest blog, The Lala, has expanded worldwide with the mission of producing “creative, powerful and substantial media for college women, by college women,” according to the website.

Ryan Ma (Political Science ’15), CEO of OWL LLC. Ma launched a smartphone app and fitness tracking device called OWL, which aims to encourage children to become more physically active. The technology earned third place and won $1.500 in the 2016 Boiler Mini-Accelerator Competition. Ma was also a member of The Anvil, a student-run co-working space at Purdue.
 

Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu  

Source: Gabby Hlavek, ghlavek@purdue.edu