The students in Event Planning (PRL 318-810) will host a presentation on Nov. 7 about career experience during and after college. The event director, Kyle Spisak has been working on the preparations to make sure the presentation is a total success. The preparation of this event represents the practical implementation of all the theory the students have learned during the course.

“This event is something our class has put a lot of hard work and effort into,” Spisak said. “We think this topic is really important because a lot of us are graduating soon and don’t know what we’re doing yet. Dresden is going to give us advice on how we can figure it out. We’re extremely excited and hope to see everyone there”

Dresden Engle is a graduate of SUNY Oswego’s class of 1988. At Oswego, she majored in writing and theater and she went on to earn her master’s degree in communication at SUNY Brockport. Once a founding member of Oswego’s first sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Engle is now a member of the Oswego Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is a national award-winning communications professional, playwright, and author who owns and operates Dresden Public Relations. 

She has secured lead features with The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC World News and CBS News Sunday Morning. Her professional honors include Online Marketer of the Year, Athena Award finalist, 40 Under 40 recipient and Rochester Business Journal’s Women of Excellence. Also a performer, Engle has written and performed sketch comedy for two decades plus starred in and co-wrote “Two Tickets to Paradise: The Eddie Money Musical” alongside late rock star Eddie Money.

In 2020 she wrote and published Eddie Money’s biography, titled “Hold On.” She is also the creator of two original musicals, “Beyond Rainbows” and “The Cougar and the Cabana Boy” and has written the script for a new musical titled “Susan B.”

Engle will speak about her career experience and give students useful tips that will help them overcome the difficulties they may face in college.  

On the topic of fraternities and sororities, Engle said that between the 1950s and 1980s, the SUNY system banned these types of organizations.

“I am proud to be a founding sister of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority,”  Engle said. “From the 1950s through the mid-1980s, the SUNY system banned all national fraternities and sororities. As a result, previously national chapters altered their Greek letters and became ‘local’ chapters. When that ban was lifted, we founded our national sorority in March 1986 the only national sorority on campus at the time.”

She explained what the sorority gave to her and the opportunities you can find when you enter this type of organization.

“Through the sorority, this girl from a very small town was able to attend a national convention in Pittsburgh my first plane ride, in fact, and learn leadership, event-planning, and teamwork skills, which I never would have had the opportunity to experience during my college years if I had only attended classes and not joined an organization,” Engle said. 

Engle wanted to emphasize the importance of joining a club while in college and explained that she used to write for the independent student newspaper The Oswegonian.

“I also wrote for The Oswegonian and ‘Eye on Oswego’ and was active with the theater department,” Engle said. “I encourage all students to participate in one or two clubs or organizations during their college years. It’s vital to learning and executing leadership and social skills.”

She became more specific when speaking about the skills she developed thanks to the clubs she joined.

“The majority of my college social skills were fostered through my sorority involvement,” Engle said. “One basic skill, that we all need to possess, is, frankly, dealing with people with whom we’d normally not socialize. Yet, we needed to roll up our sleeves and work side by side to get a task done.

Engle wanted to emphasize the importance of socialization during college life, especially when the cold weather arrives.

“The sorority highly elevated my social life during college through organized events and parties and interaction with other Greek organizations,” Engle said. “The cold months of winter can force us to stay indoors, and perhaps only socialize with friends in the dorm. With the sorority, there was no time for hibernation or sitting still, we had parties and events to plan and attend, new members to recruit, and fundraisers to execute.”

Engle highlights that “It’s okay to rewrite the narrative on present career goals.” She explained why the meaning of the phrase is so important for students to understand.

“This May will mark 35 years since I’ve graduated from Oswego,” Engle said. “That number is daunting to write and read, but it’s a heck of a runway on which I can look back. And while the world looked pretty scary in 1988 when I walked across that graduation stage, I wish someone clearly told me I had many opportunities for career fulfillment and the ability to help make the world a better place in my own way.”

While Engle was at Oswego, she said she had several career ambitions, including being a publicist for a national rock band, starring in Les Mis on Broadway, and writing for Cosmopolitan magazine. However, in order to accomplish these goals she believed she would have to move to New York City. 

She also illustrated the importance of rewriting your own history as you move forward. “A look to your future while giving yourself permission to rewrite the narrative,” and “Embracing opportunity.”

“Having put myself through college, I surely did not have the funds to make a move to the city, so I accepted a newspaper reporter position in Rochester, New York, “Engle said. “Well, I’m still here. Does that mean I failed or sold out or didn’t fulfill my dream? Definitely not. I simply rewrote the narrative.“

She has had plenty of opportunities despite the narrative change she made in her life. According to Engle, “this is a good example of how you should proceed no matter what.”

“Fast forward three decades and today I do rep national musicians as their publicist,” Engle said. “I have been featured in Cosmopolitan magazine far better than just an article byline, and I have performed in Les Mis, just not on Broadway, but have performed Off-Broadway with my comedy troupe.”

She wanted to encourage students to take part in performances or in abilities that can help them develop useful skills for your professional career, like writing. According to Engle, it does not matter what your major is, you should spend time on improving your writing skills.

“From the view in my long lens of life, every major can benefit from classes in journalism or creative writing as writing is needed for every professional job, theater performance, and public speaking,” Engle said. “You will find that communicating confidently through word and in person one-on-one or in front of a group is imperative to job success. However, writing and being up in front of people are the traits that cripple many people, including top executives. Their competency may be at the top of their game, but if they cannot write or relate to others well or easily, their confidence is challenged every day.”

To conclude, as a former SUNY Oswego student, she gives general advice to the new students that are starting and finishing college this year.

“My strongest advice to incoming students is to choose a major and a minor or double major as I did by studying with writing and theater …” Engle said. “I knew I had to pay the bills by day while I wore pretty costumes and funny wigs at night. Get all the learning in that you can. Also, embrace the college campus … so many opportunities are at your disposal. Never again in life will opportunities be this plentiful and accessible i.e. courses, professor advice, clubs, organizations, master classes, lectures.”

For those finishing college, know that you can rewrite the narrative. Embrace it all. Do it all. It’s an amazing ride.” Engle said. “And in between my career has presented me with amazing mind-blowing experiences, which I look forward to sharing with the students on Nov. 7.”