UT Department of English to Hold Roundtable on Careers in Tech on September 30th
Join University of Tennessee English alumni Leah Rang, Kyle Gray, and Dylan Platz for a roundtable discussion on careers in tech including types of tech jobs, internships in tech, how to prepare for the job market, and more. This online discussion will take place on Tuesday, September 30th, from 5:00-6:00 PM EST on Zoom. Log in here to join the conversation or email your questions in advance to esmith83@utk.edu.
Dylan Platz is the Salesforce Product Manager at Vanderbilt University, where he oversees the enterprise use of Salesforce CRM, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and MyEmma to help diverse campus teams meet and exceed their goals. A strategic leader with more than a decade at Vanderbilt, Dylan serves as the bridge between business needs and technical solutions, designing unique systems to solve complex problems and fostering success through collaboration. Throughout his career, Dylan has partnered with senior leaders to align technology initiatives with institutional priorities, leading projects that range from implementing enterprise platforms such as Salesforce CRM, Oracle ERP/HCM, and Snowflake Cloud Data to creating long-term strategic plans and governance frameworks. His contributions earned him selection to the 2024 Greater Nashville Technology Council ELITE Cohort as well as multiple honors, including Vanderbilt’s Excellence in Corporate Collaboration Award and VUIT’s Pacesetter Award. Dylan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he earned a degree in English with concentrations in Technical Communication and Creative Writing, with a minor in Information Science (he was also a Writing Center tutor). He lives in Murfreesboro with his wife, Katie, their son, Booker, and their pets, a cat named Caesar and a dog named Bindi.
Leah Rang is a New York City-based product manager and instructional designer for educational content and software products. She holds an MA in English Literature from UT-Knoxville and a MEd in Learning Design and Technology from Penn State. After teaching composition and rhetoric courses, she began working in educational publishing at Macmillan Learning, developing the very textbooks and assessment products she had taught students from in Tennessee. Leah transitioned to content and software product management information security and compliance startup, Thoropass, and is now a Senior Product Manager at Transfr, an edtech and VR company providing immersive skills training as a pathway to upward mobility. She lives in Brooklyn and volunteers with Badass Animal Rescue.
Kyle Gray is a Content Writer at the tech care company, Asurion. He creates internal support material in partnership with clients like AT&T, Google, and Verizon. On any given day he researches, asks questions, drafts, edits, and reviews content enough to make any English major proud. He is passionate about creating great user experiences through concise communication and thoughtful design. Outside of work, Kyle is a published poet, husband, and father of two boys. He is a Vol and English major for life.
This event is sponsored by the English Department’s Career Development program. Find out more about how our department supports its students and grads with career support at the Department of English careers page.