What's the Word? is an interview podcast featuring career highlights and advice from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Prescott campus alumni in a range of fields, from engineering, global security, business, and aviation.
Transcripts are hosted via the Prescott campus Writing & Design Lab: https://eaglelife.erau.edu/pwc/blog/ (https://eaglelife.erau.edu/pwc/blog/)
Publisher
Department of Humanities & Communication, ERAU-Prescott
Makayla Gill (2025, Cyber Intelligence and Security) works on the Threat Informed Defense team at American Express, where she manages technology-standard exceptions and collaborates with teams across the company. Her role includes presentations for vice presidents, professional emails, and creating tutorials and FAQ materials. She says lessons in bottom-line-up-front writing and her experience as SGA treasurer helped prepare her for the workplace, though corporate presentations often require more detail than classroom presentations. Her advice to current students and new hires is to stay curious and ask questions: doing so can deepen your understanding, reveal gaps, and lead to new projects and career opportunities.
9 Oct 2026
Taylor Begley,
Taylor Begley (2024, Global Security and Intelligence, with a minor in Emergency Management and Planning) is an emergency management consultant supporting the Department of Health and Human Services’ emergency preparedness and response operations. Her work includes preparing for and responding to incidents that affect public health and healthcare, as well as producing daily intelligence briefings and other reports for agency leadership. She says Embry-Riddle’s emphasis on concise writing—especially putting the bottom line up front—has helped her communicate critical information effectively. Her advice to students is to use college as a safe space to take on challenges, learn from mistakes, and build soft skills such as resilience, teamwork, and public speaking. She also emphasizes developing leadership experience, including learning how to “lead up” and communicate respectfully with senior officials.
28 Sept 2026
Dr. Kathy Wood, Aeronautical Engineering
Dr. Kathy Wood, now dean of the Prescott College of Engineering, was a 2019 graduate of Embry Riddle's Prescott and Worldwide campus. Dr. Wood her use of highlighted writing in her role, including writing letters of recommendation and furthering program development. She talks about her 30-year aerospace career, which took her from AlliedSignal to Collins Aerospace, and about returning to teach in 2021. Kathy shared her advice in leadership and emphasized the importance of listening and supporting her team.
Who has been a guest on What's the Word? Eagle Alumni Spotlights
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Maria Icenogle
John Barragan
Somaralyz Grullon
Nick Kopacek
Nicole Drake
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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