John Zalesky is a government accountant, husband, and father living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was a Catholic seminarian from 2014-2016 and earned a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2017). Topics Discussed: the work world before & after studying philosophy; "meaningful work"; integration and living a well ordered life; fatherhood and entering history. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-zalesky-96828811/

Anna Bradley works in digital design consulting as a Web Content Strategy Director at Reingold Inc. in Virginia. She graduated in 2016 from Mount St. Mary's University with a double major in Philosophy and Criminal Justice and then earned an MBA. Topics Discussed: what her job is like; usefulness of logic; going from philosophy to business study; experiences of women in philosophy; advice to current students. Anna's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annarbradley/

Fr. Dominic Verner, O.P., is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College and a 2011 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with a Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies degree. He entered the Dominican order in 2010, was ordained a priest in 2016, and earned his Ph.D. in Moral Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2022. Topics Discussed: philosophy in his vocation story; relation between teaching philosophy and teaching theology; use of the term "preach"; philosophical...

Jarrod Thome is Manager, Global Operations Strategy and Standards at the McDonald's corporation. He earned a BA in philosophy (2005) from Conception Seminary College, and later a MBA and a Master's in industrial engineering. He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his wife and four daughters. Topics Discussed: Jarrod's education & career trajectory; raising 2 sets of twin daughters; what Discrete Events Simulation Modeling is; philosophy as source of self-knowledge, wisdom, humility; how...

Gary Gasse is the cofounder of Coronation Media in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and a 2012 graduate of Mount St. Mary's University with a double major in philosophy and theology. Topics Discussed: Founding a company right out of college; choosing a philosophy major; benefits of liberal arts education for creative & business work; how businesses live or die by their culture; no regrets; thinking & communicating after the rise of generative AI. Coronation Media:...

This is some of what you’ll hear on the Life After Philosophy podcast. Tom tells us about the philosophical roots of his public policy work Rebecca shares how studying philosophy prepared her for law school Brian says every part of his life was changed by philosophy Olivia mentions an important insight from the philosopher Martha Nussbaum that informs her high school teaching today And we might have to agree that in a sense, there is no life AFTER philosophy. For more, check out these...

Fr. Chiedozie (Dozy) Ononuju is a newly ordained Catholic priest of the diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Born in Nigeria, he came to the United States in 2010 and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Bucknell University before enrolling in Mount St. Mary's Seminary in 2017. He was ordained in 2023 and is now associate pastor at St. Patrick Catholic Church and chaplain at Dickinson College, both in Carlyle, Pennsylvania. Topics Discussed: philosophy and...

Tom Crowe is a Montessori guide in Steubenville, Ohio, and cohost, with his wife Noelle, of the American Catholic History Podcast. He studied philosophy as a seminarian at Mount St. Mary's Seminary from 2005-2007. Topics Discussed: living life With (not After) philosophy; hands, intellect, love; Montessori teaching philosophy; synthesis as grasping reality as a whole; importance of good classmates and good professors; humility and honesty as requirements for philosophy study.

Olivia Aungst teaches English at Catoctin High School in Thurmont, Maryland. She was a Philosophy and English double major at Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2014), where she studied with the late Prof. Trudy Conway. Olivia wrote her honors project on on Thomas Aquinas' virtue of misericordia in light of Portia's speech on mercy in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Topics Discussed: value of philosophy for high school teachers & students; self-improvement; legacy of Trudy...

Fr. Joshua Miller is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Joliet. He is the pastor of parishes in Coal City and Braidwood, Illinois. He studied philosophy in the seminary pretheology curriculum at Conception Seminary College from 2004-2006. Topics Discussed: his prior study for a Ph.D. in English Literature (Derrida!), reading philosophy to feed a hunger for truth, relevance of philosophy to theology, learning how to think, how philosophy improved his understanding of mathematics, the role of...

Rebecca Schisler-Adams is a real estate attorney in Annapolis, Maryland. She graduated from Mount St. Mary's University in 2017 with a double major in philosophy and sociology, and from law school at Catholic University of America in 2020. She practices civil litigation with the firm of Council Baradel, located in downtown Annapolis. She is married to another Mount grad and they have a 9 month old daughter. Topics Discussed: the importance of logic for law school; legislation, advocacy, and...

Brian Fink is a homesteader, goat farmer, and middle school teacher in Michigan. He earned an M.A. in Philosophical Studies from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2010), and is a former seminarian. Topics Dicussed: living an integrated life, applied philosophy, freedom, benefits of still reading philosophy, advice for anxious zoomers, and philosophy as an antidote to modern malaise. The video series about Josef Pieper that I mention is here:...

Emma Weinheimer was a student worker in the Mount St. Mary's University Philosophy Department office for 4 years. She earned a B.A. from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2022) with a communications major and a philosophy minor. Topics Discussed: working in the department, "I think" vs "I feel," acting early if you choose a Philosophy major, the importance of relationships in education, reducing the role of emotions in conversations, talking about virtue with 5th graders,...

Tom Venzor is Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference. He earned an M.A. in Philosophical Studies from Mount St. Mary's University (Class of 2016) and is a former seminarian. Topics Discussed: how public policy is philosophy in disguise, role of philosophy in seminary formation, relation of philosophy to politics, how philosophy makes us more human, importance of the affective/emotional life, marriage and gift of self in John Paul II's play "The Jeweler's Shop," reason in the...

Welcome to Life After Philosophy. I'm Christopher Anadale, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After 22 years of teaching philosophy, I decided to track down and interview my former students and ask them: How has philosophy changed your life? How does it shape your vocation and your self-understanding today? This podcast is a personal project of mine, not sponsored or endorsed by any other person or institution. I hope you...

What difference does studying philosophy make in a student's life, 2 years after graduation? Or 5 years? Or 10? I decided to locate and interview some of my former students, and ask them. I'm Christopher Anadale. Join me to find out their views on Life After Philosophy.