Alumni Spotlight Details

Mike Reese ‘06 graduated from Xavier University in 2010 where he majored in Public Relations and minored in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.  He worked at Ohio Hardwood Furniture before moving to Denver, CO, where he worked at Jackson National Life Insurance, Trulia.com (now Zillow), and then at Western Union while getting a Master of Arts in Digital Marketing Communication & Analytics at the University of Denver.  He is currently the Mobile Strategy & Product Marketing Leader for the Americas region at The North Face and lives in Denver, CO with his two dogs.  

Describe how Whitfield prepared you for college and beyond. 

Whitfield provided a strong foundation for college preparedness in the sense that I had the confidence and skills needed to do high-quality research and understand the writing process well before entering a classroom, which gave me an advantage in having those fundamentals that provided success in writing at the college level.  It was nice being able to share that knowledge with friends as we were assigned research papers in English, Philosophy and Theology courses freshman year.  I was able to leverage research tools to find good support for the points I was trying to get across and understood how to cite and weave them into my assignments properly. 

What are you most thankful for from your Whitfield experience, both in and outside of the classroom?

For me, the authentic learning opportunities that Whitfield provided along with the people I met are what I value the most and look back on fondly.  I have friends that I have known for 24 years who are still a part of my life today.  Being able to come back and visit the school and reconnect with alumni and former teachers has been great when visiting family in St. Louis. The relationships I formed then are still a key part of my life today.

What are some of your favorite Whitfield memories?

Some favorite memories include our wonderful lunch ladies and the meals they prepared for us, morning assemblies, events like Glowfest, our homecoming bonfire and the lip sync competition, our many athletic championships, the musicals, senior week activities, and graduation. I remember all of these fondly.

What were your primary interests and activities while you were at Whitfield?

On the sports side, I played soccer, track and field, and cross country. From the arts side, I loved photography and theater. I really enjoyed writing as well and appreciated having teachers throughout my experience who pushed that creative exploration.

What were some of your favorite classes at Whitfield? Why?

Theater with Mr. Borzillo and Ms. Allen over the years was a treat, along with Ceramics with Mr. Cano. Spanish was also a favorite working with Senors Casado and Morey over my time at Whitfield.  Ms. McCarthy’s Latin class was a great way to build the foundations of language and how they are all derived from mostly the same place.  Last, but certainly not least, to all of my English teachers: my love of books and writing was established throughout my six years at Whitfield, with special shoutouts to Ms. Astuto, Ms. Lotz, and Ms. Ringe.

Describe your career. 

In my current role as Senior Manager Mobile App & Loyalty Marketing, I straddle the line between marketing and e-commerce product management at The North Face.  I manage the mobile app from a product and feature roadmap strategy standpoint, but also from a content and apparel and gear education standpoint.  Additionally, I was recently given oversight of the XPLR Pass loyalty program and how it integrates with our mobile app experience for our customers.  Essentially,  the app’s function is to merge our loyalty program with our product education and e-commerce sales of our products and gear for our customer base.  Currently, the app is only in the Americas region. My goal is to expand the app globally so our customers around the world can access the brand at their fingertips 24/7.