What advice do you have for current westside students?

Colonel Michele Zipay Olsen
Class of 1993
Chief of the Globally Integrated Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Functional Integration Team within the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington D.C.

“I honestly think the best advice I could give you is don’t limit your imagination, don’t limit yourself to what you think you’re able to do. Keep your opportunities open because you never know when you might stumble into an opportunity that might be the perfect answer. Along those lines, dabble in things you don’t think you’re interested in. Take a class that might open your horizons to see potentials that you did not think were there. I am still after 21 years in the military stumbling across opportunities that I did not know existed and jumping into them with two feet whenever I get the opportunity. Putting it simply: Don’t limit yourself. Take advantage of all that Westside gives you to really explore what is out there and use it.”

Admiral (retired) Jordan W. Tappero, MD, MPH
Class of 1975
Senior Advisor for Global Health, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“My three closest friends in the world are from high school and we see each other at least once a year. Whenever I am going through different milestones, decisions, and challenges in my life those are the three people that I call. So think about your friendships now, it’s very likely that you think that it will be hard to maintain those friendships, but where you are now in your life, those are the truest best friends and bonds that you’re probably ever going to have and they can last forever. The second thing is the exposure to so many different things at Westside is what allowed me to also have the ability and the courage to change my pathway along my medical career. I think the last thing about my time here [is that] I learned about how you have to discipline yourself. As you went to the modular scheduling, it really was true. There were a lot of people that hung out in these areas that would get away with their smarts without applying themselves and there were others of us that went to these IMC’s and did our homework together and studied hard because we weren’t going for the grade, we were going to understand what it was they were trying to teach us. So you can’t rest on you knowing you’re going to get by and do well, you have to grasp it because it’s exciting and when you go to college and on to your profession it is a lot more fun and you can do anything you want.”

Brian L. Halla
Class of 1964
Was a member of:
Control Data’s cyber-field support team, NASA Sky Labs Project, Senior Vice President of LSI Logic, and CEO of National Semiconductor Corporation

“My advice would be that you never have to do anything that you don’t want to do that doesn’t feel right to you, like something your boss assigns to you. I’m not just talking about things that feel right whether they’re corrupt or not, but I mean so many times in my career when somebody called me into the office and said, ‘our job is going to Oregon’ and I’d say, ‘o it’s not. And I can walk out and not embarrass anybody.’ and they would say, ‘ever mind your job is staying here.’ If you are in the exceeds category, you don’t have to be forced to do anything your management needs to develop. You have an agenda too. So keep that in mind when you get out there. You’re working for yourself no matter who you are working for and you never have to do anything you don’t want to do or doesn’t feel right.”

Nancy A. Keegan
Class of 1978
Served as Vice President of Simmons & Company International, Managing Director of Crosshill Financial Group
She is currently a Director of the Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Global Investment Company, L.L.C.

“I would say keep your glass half full, be optimistic, be willing to take some risks, and manage your reputation. It’s about your most valuable asset. Take very good care of it and manage it carefully. “

Pamela Rowe Smith 

Class of 1968 

Established leadership programs for women, encouraging equitable rights and opportunities spanning three continents, six countries and 14 cities.

“I had a lot of trouble establishing a career and at the beginning, I tried to blame it on my husband because he had a great career and he was corporate climbing the ladder and we kept moving every two years or less. Then we had kids and I was like what about me, but finally, we got overseas and it was impossible for me to find a job because his visa required that I didn’t take any jobs from local people. So I had to reinvent myself several times, and it really taught me that you need to be nimble, you need to be open, you need to think outside the box, and you need to create opportunities for yourself. You’ve got to make your life and my decision was to make other people’s lives better so that’s what I eventually did after my children were off to college.”