NSU University School VIEWPOINT Spring 2019

24 MARYLAUREN ILAGAN C L A S S O F 2 0 0 0 After graduating from NSU University School, Marylauren Ilagan studiedmechanical engineering at Rice University. While deciding to attend graduate school or enter the engineering workforce, she worked as a paralegal for a large law firm in Dallas where she found her passion for intellectual property law and saw firsthand how engineering and law can intersect. Ilagan attended law school at the Franklin Pierce Law Center (now University of New Hampshire School of Law) to study in the university’s renowned intellectual property program. Ilagan then worked for five years with Novak Druce & Quigg LLP (now Polsinelli LLP). As a patent attorney, Ilagan workedwith a variety of high-tech and consumer product corporations to protect their innovations and brands worldwide through patent and trademark filings and anti-counterfeiting efforts in China. In this role, her work focused on software and communications technology and consumer products like automotive sports racks and construction equipment. “It was fun to write patents for sports racks because it was technology directly related to my engineering background, and I could see exactly how my undergraduate degree tied to my law degree,” Ilagan said. In 2012, Ilagan began working at Mary Kay, where she is currently the director of intellectual property. She is responsible for more than 10,000 intellectual property assets and the global IP strategy for the company. “The logic and reasoning that you learn as an engineer still bleeds into my everyday work life. I work with chemists and inventors who are developing innovative skincare technologies and devices, and I get to geek out and deploy a strategy to legally protect that and build the value inMary Kay’s products and brand,” she continued. “In my legal department, our goal is to preserve the brand’s integrity and ensure there is a viable Mary Kay business opportunity for the millions of Mary Kay beauty consultants worldwide. Our company’s mission is to enrich women’s lives. When I decided to go in-house, I searched for a company whose mission and product I believe in, and Mary Kay was the perfect fit – it was genuine in its mission, and I was able to personally witness the impact and enrichment the company has on its beauty consultants,” Ilagan said. Ilagan, sister to Mandel Ilagan (’95), was a USchool student from JK through grade 12. She recalls fond memories of her time at USchool and recognized that her teachers were invested in the students academically, personally, and in their extracurricular activities. When Ilagan or her sister achieved a goal, their teachers were quick to show their pride. To this day, she is still in touch with many of her USchool teachers. “The quality of a USchool education is outstanding. It not only prepared me for college, it also taught me how to think well and have perspective,” Ilagan said. ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS