February 01, 2012

Recent Alumni Spotlight: Leah Scott-Zechlin

Welcome to our new series highlighting recent graduates who are surviving (and even thriving!) out in the “real world.” Starting in January 2012, 3CE will periodically highlight recent grads who have found a fulfilling job or are enrolled in an engaging graduate study program.

Welcome to our new series highlighting recent graduates who are surviving (and even thriving!) out in the “real world.” Starting in January 2012, 3CE will periodically highlight recent grads who have found a fulfilling job or are enrolled in an engaging graduate study program.

Do you know a recent graduate who has landed a job they love or has been accepted into their dream graduate program? Perhaps you are a recent grad with a story to share. We want to hear about it! Email kdomann@lclark.edu for more information on being a featured recent graduate on the 3CE website.

 

Q. Have you started your new job? How is it going so far?

Leah: I just finished my first month as an Investigator…there is major information overload and every investigation I do seems overwhelming, but it is satisfying to complete them, especially if I wind up finding a sneaky fraudster. I mostly had experience with small nonprofits, so it’s definitely a change to work at a large company. There are very cool benefits (working in a beautiful spot in downtown Seattle, discounts on services across Seattle, free public transit pass, ergonomic evaluation for my workspace, ) and though I was worried about feeling anonymous in a company of over 50,000 people, I am very much part of a small, cohesive team.

Q. What do you do as a “German Merchant Risk Investigation Specialist?”

Leah: I investigate risky German and British third-party sellers on Amazon. Right now I’m looking at sellers who present a fraud risk to Amazon…I look at lots of data points about a seller and decide whether to take action. For the most part, it’s really fun and I feel like a detective. It’s also cool to be connected to people all around the world in my work.

Q. What do value about your L&C liberal arts education now that you’re out there in life beyond college?

Leah: The ability to write—in every informational interview I’ve done, the need to write well was always emphasized as being of the utmost importance. While I typically focused on my internships in cover letters and interviews, my education is very much the base for my strength in both quantitative and qualitative areas, which has allowed me to be very versatile in the jobs I chose to apply for. Though I was an Econ major and took a fair amount of Math courses, I always found room for a History class that forced me to focus on my writing. Also, the chance to be involved in whatever one chooses at a small liberal arts school was so valuable to me. For instance, even though I was an Economics major, I received so much support from professors in different departments who initially didn’t even know me but respected my interest. In Foreign Languages, Juan Carlos Toledano let me audit Spanish classes and Therese Augst provided opportunities for me to serve as a Language Assistant to maintain my German skills. As I’ve seen in the “real world,” foreign languages are so important, and the faculty who devoted time to help me, a student not majoring in their department, allowed me to continue to develop my strengths.

Q. What would you tell students, if anything, about 3CE?

Leah: Simply, just come visit! Even I, as a seasoned 3CE visitor, always found new resources there, whether in the book library, doing an informational interview with a counselor I was less familiar with, or speaking with the alumni you began bringing in my senior year. One doesn’t need a specific reason to visit 3CE—there is so much there that you will undoubtedly find something that strikes your interest or visit with a counselor who gets you thinking about your future.

 

Click here to learn more about starting a career with Amazon.com!