Address
Illinois Institute of Technology
Career Services
McCormick Tribune Campus Center Room 106
3201 South State Street
Chicago, IL 60616
Phone: 312.567.6800
Fax: 312.567.6801
Email: careerservices@iit.edu
The Team
BJ Engelhardt
Executive Director
Phone: 312.567.5921
Email: jengelha@iit.edu
BJ serves as Executive Director of operations for Career Services. He has worked at Illinois Tech since 2007 in both enrollment management/recruiting roles and Career Services. In his current role, BJ manages the day-to-day activities of Career Services and assists in determining the strategic direction for the office to most effectively engage students, employers, and alumni to ensure that our students are successful in the first step of their career journey. BJ is a proud alumnus of the Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business, receiving his Master of Science in Marketing Analytics and Communication in 2014.
What is important to you? It is very important to me that students feel like their college education is worthwhile and will help them be successful for the remainder of their life. I want them to really have the opportunity to reflect on the skills and knowledge they are gaining and know how that can translate into a successful individualized career path.
If you weren't in Career Services, what would you be doing? I am a HUGE macro economics geek—I listen to econ podcasts daily and devour books/articles about econ (yes, reading an edition of The Economist cover-to-cover is thrilling for me). So, if I wasn’t in Career Services, I would want to either be an economics professor or work at a think tank focused on economic issues.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I have, since completing my bachelor’s degree, had a side career as a singer/actor. I’ve been in approximately 15 plays or musicals in Chicago, and have sung in a handful of choirs professionally. I am also an avid rower and am a proud member of the Chicago Rowing Union.
What is your favorite book? Anything by Bill Bryson. I love his unending curiosity about the world and how things came to be. If I had to choose one of his books to be a favorite, I’d probably say Home.
Career Coaching
Nicholas Mancari
Director of Career & Professional Development
Phone: 312.567.5270
Email: nmancari@iit.edu
Nicholas Mancari is the Director of Career & Professional Development. Nick's primary focus is to lead career development and related education efforts through a range of services and programs to meet the needs of Illinois Tech students. Collaborating and foraging relationships with students, faculty, staff, and hiring employers is essential in Nick's role.
Nick has a Master of Business Administration from Saint Xavier University. His professional experience consists of higher
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I enjoy watching and playing sports regularly. I am a big Chicago sports fan. I have played many sports competitively when I was younger and still do today. I feel like I can connect with anyone when it comes to being a fan and playing sports.
What is your absolute favorite quote? "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" Franklin D. Roosevelt
What can students expect from an appointment with you? Students should expect a productive and motivating meeting where thoughts, ideas, and insights are shared. It should also be a time where we get to know each other and can connect both professionally and personally.
What brings you joy? In this job and profession, the most satisfying thing is seeing our students grow and develop into professionals throughout their time at Illinois Tech and going on to be our next leaders in their respective industries.
If you weren't in career services, what would you be doing? I can envision myself being in the marketing industry, working on branding, consumer behavior, and marketing strategy. All of these areas interest me deeply and I love researching organizations and their marketing plans.
Bernie Floresca
Senior Career Development Coach
Phone: 312.567.3023
Email: bfloresc@iit.edu
Bernie is a seasoned educator and an adjunct at McHenry County College in adult education who loves coaching and mentoring. He now brings this passion to Illinois Tech’s Career Services. Bernie worked as an engineer/program manager for AT&T Bell Laboratories, a Lyft driver, and an account executive for various companies like Ricoh USA. He even pitched credit cards for Chase/United at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Being self-employed in marketing operations for the last three years, he also created a student workshop that teaches business strategies in the #JobSearch space. Bernie gives his expertise to his alma mater with the workshop now in-house.
If you weren't in career services, what would you be doing? Teaching. After I was done with night school at IIT I had some 'extra' time and I thought I'd try to teach for some extra cash -- I enjoyed it more than I anticipated and have been doing it ever since.
Tell us something we don't know about you. I was the high school pianist, taught piano for pocket money in college and also played at local churches as an organist. Before graduating, I was a founding member and directed a choir of high school and college kids, The Daybreakers, that sang for Sunday 6AM Mass.
What brings you joy? The look on people's faces when the light bulb appears.
What is your absolute favorite quote? "I touch the future. I teach." Christa McAuliffe
Emily Ginger
Mentorship Coordinator & Career Coach
Phone: 312.567.3227
Email: eginger@iit.edu
Emily serves as Mentorship Coordinator and Career Coach. Her background is in clinical psychology, having worked with many individuals from diverse backgrounds in psychology, research, and career services settings. Emily developed and coordinates the Alumni Mentorship Program for current Illinois Tech students using evidence-based mentorship practices. She uses her background in psychotherapy training to deliver effective career coaching guidance to help students navigate their career paths and achieve their goals. Emily is a proud alumnus of Illinois Tech and received her Master of Science in Psychology in 2021.
What can students expect from an appointment with you? A tailored approach based on students’ knowledge, background, and skills. Everyone has different needs when it comes to preparation for, and navigation through finding their career path. I meet students where they are, wherever that may be, in their journey to obtaining jobs/internships and navigating their career path.
What motivates you to come to work everyday? Being able to work with students to help them meet their goals. I chose a career of helping people; being a career coach and mentorship coordinator allows me to do just that.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Spending time with family, hiking, and gardening.
What is your absolute favorite quote? “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
There’s a lot to learn in life that cannot be taught in the classroom. Curiosity about the world around you is essential.
Tell us something we don't know about you. Fun fact: I spent 5 months hiking the Appalachian Trail (over 2,000 miles) from Georgia to Maine. Also, I enjoy speed rollerblading and skateboarding.
Employer Relations and Alumni Networks
Lisa L. Montgomery
Director, Employer Engagement
Phone: 312.567.3777
Email: montgomeryl@iit.edu
Lisa L. Montgomery is the Director of Employer Engagement. In this role, she strategically works to pair students with robust internship opportunities at companies that are university partners. Outside of work, Lisa has a nonprofit organization, Dreams & Beyond, that supports girls and women serving organizations through research, training, and coaching. She also advocates for literacy through her program, The Wild Formula Learning Network, by providing free books to youth and promoting sensory learning. Additionally, her Cultural Kitchen Club program has revealed the secrets of kitchens around the world!
What brings you joy? It is my heart's passion to help young people find their passion and fulfill their dreams.
What is important to you? Spirituality is the key to all of my everything! It is my North Star.
What else should we know about you? I love house music, nature, and peach cobbler with ice cream.
What is your favorite book? Devil in a White City by Erik Larson
What is your favorite movie? Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Crash—two amazing films that address the deep layers of human diversity
What is your absolute favorite quote? "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." —Albert Einstein
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Alabama—soothing laid-back, great food, and an abundance of nature and hospitality!
Celestine McGee
Associate Director of Employer Engagement and Outreach
Phone: 312.567.6484
Email: cmcgee1@iit.edu
Celestine McGee develops relationships with employers to generate employment opportunities for students. Celestine is passionate about helping others and bringing them together through collaboration and synergy! Outside of work, Celestine is passionate about running races, writing beauty blogs, and helping others find their inner calm through mindfulness. She is also a passionate entrepreneur for marketing, fashion, beauty, and holistic approaches to healthy living concepts.
Where is your favorite place to vacation? Rome is so beautiful! It is like being in a walking museum of fine art and intricate detail for the beauty of all things.
If you weren't in Career Services, what would you be doing? I would definitely be in the fitness industry, guiding others and helping them achieve their fitness goals through diet, exercise, meditation, and holistic living.
What is important to you? Respect and fairness toward others. Treating people that we come in contact with how we in turn would want to be treated—setting an exemplary standard to all beings that we come in contact with.
Experiential Learning
Cynthia P. Stewart
Associate Director of Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education
Phone: 312.567.6800
Email: cstewart4@illinoistech.edu
Cynthia serves as the Associate Director of Experiential Learning and Cooperative Education. She will oversee the implementation of the Elevate and Cooperative Education Programs as well as working with undergraduate and graduate level students to guide them through their professional and academic growth as they matriculate through college.
Illinois Institute of Technology is not new to Cynthia. While in high school from sophomore year to her senior year, each summer she participated in the Early Identification Program (EID), which focused on learning about the different aspects of engineering. This led to her first career as an Electrical Design Engineer and Construction Manager for major Chicago projects like Southside’s White Sox Park and Westside’s United Center, McCormick Place Expansion, O'Hare International Terminal 5, Soldier Field skybox, Chicago Public Schools, and many other projects even internationally.
After 14 years in the industry, she transitioned to higher education, where experiential Learning and teaching have been her focus. She has worked with many Chicagoland and out of state employers to secure academic internships opportunities for undergraduate and graduate level students. She is a scholar practitioner, who is currently a Society for Experiential Education (SEE) fellow and is a co-author and editorial board member for Coalition of Urban Metropolitan Universities – Metropolitan Urban Journal (MUJ). Here is a link to the journal and article. She has presented about experiential learning and how it impacts the lives of students and employers at many conferences.
Cynthia earned a PhD in Theology and an Advanced Master in Theological Studies in Theology and Ethics from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University. She also earned a Master of Arts and a Master of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary. Cynthia's diverse academic background includes studies in Electrical Engineering at Western Illinois University.
What brings you the most joy? Being around water and feeling the presence of God.
What is important to you? Faith in God, self-care, networking, and mentorship
What else should we know about you? You can always find me watching a tennis match. I had the pleasure of volunteering for Roger Federer’s first ever USA Laver Cup tournament here in Chicago. I was assigned as his stand in during volunteer training (so exciting).
What is your favorite movie? Finding Forrester – The movie shows how a kid from an underrepresented community is not only an athlete, but very smart. He finds his passion for writing through a mentor who opens his mind and world to things he never imagined.
What is your absolute favorite quote? Nelson Mandela famously stated, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Where is your favorite place to travel or vacation? My favorite travel was to Rome a few months after Pope Francis was installed; I was able to attend Mass and see him in person.
What can students expect from an appointment with you? A sense of calmness, directed questions to help them think outside the box, providing any advice and feedback to assist them advance professionally and academically.
What motivates you to come to work every day? I love watching the “light bulb moment” happen in students, when they realize, they are meant to make an impact in the world and be change agents.
Jennifer Komorowski
Experiential Learning Advisor
Phone: 312.567.5280
Email: jkomorowski@illinoistech.edu
Jennifer is the Experiential Learning Advisor at Illinois Tech, overseeing curricular practical training (CPT) and student internships. She ensures student applications are completed and processed within university and federal regulations, advises students on the application procedures, and provides career development coaching as well. Jennifer studied and worked in three different countries over ten years as an English teacher, and also has a background in museum education programs and grant writing. Jennifer utilizes her international and educational background to build relationships with students and help guide them in their professional development.
What brings you the most joy? Eurovision, absurdity and zaniness!
What else should we know about you? I’ve lived and taught in four different countries on different continents, so I understand the challenges and rewards that entails.
What is your absolute favorite quote? The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Where is your favorite place to travel or vacation? Thailand is my favorite, I’ve been three times, though I most enjoy travelling in SE Asia in general.
What can students expect from an appointment with you? That I expect you to come prepared! I view appointments as a collaboration, where we work together, not where I read instructions or order you to do something. Ultimately, whatever brings you to the meeting, the ultimate goal is to foster YOUR professional development and growth, build your understanding of how to achieve your goals, and rely on what you learn throughout your time at the university and beyond.
Freddrick Logan
Experiential Learning Manager
Phone: 312.567.6800
Email: flogan1@illinoistech.edu
Freddrick serves as the Experiential Learning Manager in Career Services. He develops the Elevate initiative, connecting students with internships, research opportunities, and co-ops. Freddrick maintains the Elevate portal and Career Services webpages while building relationships with partner organizations that provide experiential learning opportunities.
With a background in educational technology, Freddrick has evaluated thousands of technical projects and mentored thousands of students and professionals globally. He holds multiple postgraduate degrees and professional certifications from Oxford's Saïd Business School in Strategic Projects, Enterprise Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
What motivates you to come to work every day? Seeing students connect classroom knowledge to real-world applications and watching that moment when they discover their professional path. There's nothing more rewarding than helping someone bridge the gap between academic learning and professional application!
What is important to you? Creating equitable access to opportunities. Technology and education should be pathways that open doors for everyone, regardless of background. I believe experiential learning is one of the most powerful ways to level the playing field and help students discover their unique strengths. It is my passion to serve!
If you weren't in Career Services, what would you be doing? I'd likely be leading educational technology initiatives in executive consulting or conducting research on how technology transforms learning environments. My passion lies at the intersection of technology, education, and human development.
What is your favorite book? Cal Newport's "Deep Work" has been particularly influential in my approach to both education and technology. Newport's research-based argument for focused, distraction-free work resonates strongly with how I view experiential learning—creating environments where students can engage deeply with meaningful projects rather than skimming the surface of multiple disconnected experiences. His ideas about honing craftsmanship and quality standards align perfectly with helping students develop career-ready skills through deliberate practice and mentorship. I consistently implement these techniques and work to champion student success in every aspect of my professional work each and every day.
Student Staff
Career Services is proud to have several outstanding student staff who provide reviews of résumé, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles, as well as a host of other services. Please visit the Student Staff Page to learn more.