BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:Rooted in Oberlin\, Branching Out Together X-WR-TIMEZONE:Eastern Time (US & Canada) BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260720T040534Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_51277885316081 DTSTART:20251208T170000Z DTEND:20251208T183000Z DESCRIPTION:Do you have four majors because you couldn't bear to pick just one?\nAre you unsure of how your academic focus will translate to a career ?\nHave your extracurriculars opened your eyes to new interests you didn't even know you had?\n\nHear from alumni who are currently employed at the Cleveland Museum of Art during an interactive panel designed to explore th e many ways an Oberlin education can prepare you for your career post-grad . Although these alums have distinctly different backgrounds and Oberlin j ournies\, they have all found success in a common place. Many institutions hold prefessional opportunities far beyond what you may expect. We hope t his panel provides information and inspiration to students who are explori ng their own professional interests! There will be a Q&A portion of this e vent.\n\nThis panel features:\n\nGabe Pollack '11\, Director of Performing Arts\nGabe Pollack currently serves as Director of Performing Arts at The Cleveland Museum of Art. In his role\, Pollack is responsible for oversee ing the internationally recognized performing arts program at the CMA whic h includes the annual Solstice Festival\, City Stages concert series\, and monthly MIX events. He also programs the museum’s atrium\, galleries\, auditorium\, restaurant\, recital halls\, and its satellite locations incl uding Transformer Station and Community Arts Center with concerts from cla ssical to contemporary as well as global music traditions\, dance\, and fi lm.\n\nPrior to joining CMA\, Pollack served as Director of Bop Stop\, a v ibrant jazz club in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood that was voted Be st Jazz Club in America by readers of All About Jazz in 2019. In his work at Bop Stop\, Gabe presented more than two thousand concerts spotlighting local\, national and international artists – including more than 180 Gra mmy Award winners or nominees. Under Pollack’s leadership\, nearly 20 li ve albums were recorded at Bop Stop. During the pandemic\, Pollack launche d the terrestrial radio program and podcast “Live at the Bop Stop.” Cu rrently\, the show airs on 89 stations worldwide\, and it won Best Innovat ion by a Club\, Venue or Festival from the National Independent Venue Asso ciation in 2022.\n\nPollack was the recipient of the Jazz Journalist Assoc iation’s Jazz Hero Award in 2023. \n\n \n\nTara Bobinac '22\, Associate Developer in the Digital Innovation & Technology Services\nTara is a 2022 Oberlin graduate with a BA in Computer Science and Russian (with a minor i n Linguistics) who now works at the Cleveland Museum of Art as the Associa te Developer in the Digital Innovation & Technology Services department. S he got her MS in Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in spring 2025 before being hired by the Museum and returning to Ohio. She feels that working at an institution like CMA grants her the ability to p ut her technical skills to use\, while being grounded in a creative enviro nment motivates her to continue pursuing her own artistic endeavors in her free time\, including printmaking\, painting\, and writing. She feels tha t Cleveland is an underrated city in terms of all it has to offer and she likes making the occasional trip to Oberlin to get the kimchi ramen at Kim 's and to visit a few of the professors and friends she still keeps in tou ch with. She looks forward to making the most of her time at CMA over the next few years before figuring out what's next.\n\n \n\nSteven Mentzer '20 \, Exhibition Project Manager\nSteven Mentzer is an arts professional from Oberlin\, Ohio\, with a career shaped by a deep interest in how artwork i s cared for\, presented\, and preserved. A 2020 graduate of Oberlin Colleg e\, Steven began building that foundation early—working as a student ass istant at the Oberlin Art Library’s reference desk and later interning a t the Brooklyn Museum through Oberlin’s museum-focused programs and conn ections. After graduating\, he moved to New York City and immersed himself in the contemporary art world. He spent time in artist studios before mov ing into high-end art framing\, producing custom preservation-quality fram es for major galleries\, museums\, and private collectors.\n\nNow working at the Cleveland Museum of Art\, and following federal IMLS funding cuts a nd internal restructuring\, Steven now works as an Exhibition Project Mana gement at the CMA. In this role\, he manages installations for smaller exh ibitions and coordinates the movement and installation of artworks across all permanent collection galleries. Every artwork installed\, rotated\, or relocated passes through his coordination\, requiring close collaboration with curators\, designers\, registrars\, conservators\, and security to e nsure everything runs safely\, efficiently\, and smoothly.\n\n \n\nCallan Engstrom '25\, Collections Management Intern\nCallan Engstrom (she/her) is from Anaheim\, California. She graduated from Oberlin in 2025\, double ma joring in History and Politics with a minor in Art History. While at Oberl in\, she worked at the Allen Memorial Art Museum as a Gallery Guide all fo ur years\, and as an Education Department Assistant for one year. She also worked at the Oberlin Heritage Center one summer as the Education and Res earch Intern. Callan is currently working at the Cleveland Museum of Art a t the Nord Network Intern in Collections Management\, a 10-month position working under the Exhibition Registrars. Callan intends to pursue a career as a Museum Registrar.\n\n--\n\nStudents who register for and attend this panel will be awarded ten raffle tickets for Jingle Bowl\, which takes pl ace the following Friday\, December 12.\n\nRSVP to let us know you're comi ng! GEO:41.290703;-82.221931 LOCATION:Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies\, Hallock Audit orium SUMMARY:Rooted in Oberlin\, Branching Out Together URL;VALUE=URI:https://calendar.oberlin.edu/event/rooted-in-oberlin-branchin g-out-together CATEGORIES:Lectures/Symposia/Workshops CATEGORIES:Alumni Conversations CATEGORIES:Panel CATEGORIES:Dialogue END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR