Paige Yepko (CWR ’18) may be more than 3,700 miles away from Case Western Reserve University, but she knows a simple truth: If not for pivotal guidance, support and turning points tied to her undergraduate experience, she wouldn’t be living in England and forging connections for others.
“I really do attribute the life I have today to Case Western Reserve—and all the friendships I have today too,” she said.
In some ways her story is emblematic of CWRU in its 200th year—a university where a student can weave together disparate interests, explore new territory, seize on transformative experiences, and help add to its international complexion. Now, Yepko helps lead The Alumni Association’s London chapter, its first in Europe.
Yepko’s undergraduate majors in political science and theater provided the ideal blend of public speaking skills and government relations knowledge for her work as a senior manager of member relations and engagement at BritishAmerican Business, which serves as both the American Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom and the British Chamber of Commerce in the United States.
Why live abroad? That too she credits to CWRU and the scholarship that allowed her to study abroad in London, where she met her future husband. They married in 2019.
And she values close ties with CWRU friends who live nearby. There’s nothing quite like being in a British pub sharing stories with people who witnessed you grow up and know the CWRU culture, she said. “It’s fantastic; they know your references to the Jolly Scholar or going to [Kelvin Smith Library] on a Friday night instead of a party.”