In this issue…

Volume 2   •   14 February 2007  •   Issue 2  

	Welcome from the Executive Director The education of a lifetime		Take the Lead Leaders wanted
	Student Reporter Beat New York networking		Web News Change your address through My Page and check out Mount Blog
	Cori’s Career Corner The rewards of research		Making News Mount Holyoke alumnae in the media
	Campus Calendar Upcoming gender studies conference		Online Class Notes Read the latest news from your sister alumnae

Welcome from the Executive Director

Mount Holyoke education education doesn’t end at graduation—far from it. For MHC alumnae, our education continues throughout life. Work, family, graduate school, travel: experiences both professional and personal continue to shape our thinking and our actions in the world.

Another important way we stay intellectually active is through our connection with the scholarly life of the College and its faculty. Perusing the Quarterly, reading a book chosen for the College’s Common Read in the fall, hearing a popular MHC professor speak at a Lyon Lecture, joining a Back-to-Class workshop at reunion—all are great ways to stay current with the world of ideas. Now there’s one more way: a new feature on the College’s Web site called “Questioning Authority.” This lively e-column examines hot topics in the media through recent interviews with MHC faculty. Would you like to know Lee Bowie’s true opinion of the Super Bowl? (You may be surprised.) Saundra Lawrence’s thoughts about Young America’s Foundation, which chose her course on racism for its annual “Dirty Dozen” list? (She’s in good company.) Richard Moran’s analysis of the final days of Saddam Hussein? Visit “Questioning Authority,” and take part in the conversation.

A true Mount Holyoke conversation goes both ways, which is why faculty and staff travel year-round to meet with alumnae. You’ll find Speakers Bureau faculty or career consultant Cori Ashworth on the road, keeping you informed and getting informed by learning about you. You’ll also find me: this year, I’ve traveled to New York, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Antonio, meeting with fantastic alumnae and finding out what you’re thinking and doing. Look for me in your area soon. I can’t wait to start a new conversation—or continue an ongoing one—with you.

Stay warm and enjoy the rest of your winter—spring is here next month!

With best wishes,

W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83
Executive Director, Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College

Take the Lead

o you know a dynamic high school sophomore? Action-oriented young women in their sophomore year of high school are eligible to be nominated to Take the Lead, a leadership program sponsored by Mount Holyoke College.  Take the Lead gives 40 “feisty, intelligent, idealistic participants” the opportunity to develop leadership skills and design action projects that address social issues.  One Take the Lead student created and constructed a diversity class, while another organized a weeklong summer camp for children from homes afflicted with domestic violence.  High school students attend the program at Mount Holyoke in the fall of their junior year and are selected based on their leadership potential.  Nominations are due April 10, 2007. Any adult can nominate up to three sophomores by going to the Web site www.mtholyoke.edu/takethelead and clicking on “nomination.” Nominate a student today! For more information please e-mail Rosita Nunez.

Student Reporter Beat

eporter Stephanie Miedema ’07 traveled to New York City for a special alumnae gathering at the home of Alumnae Association president Mary Graham Davis ’65. Shoshana Walter ’07 photographed the event:

Nearly sixty Mount Holyoke alumnae journalists, TV producers, writers, and editors gathered on Monday, January 29 for the first-ever networking reception for New York alumnae in the communications and journalism industries. Hosted by the Alumnae Association in coordination with the College’s Office of Communications and Career Development Center, the event was held at the home of Mary Graham Davis ’65, president of the Alumnae Association. According to Graham Davis, the event was a “spectacular success, if the noise level was [any indicator] of how much networking was going on.” More…

Web News

My Page

Use My Page as your personal starting point for the Alumnae Association Web site. Through My Page, you can view and update your contact information, post a photo to your directory listing, check out the latest online class notes, bookmark your friends’ directory listings—an easy reference for future visits—change your broadcast e-mail status, and more. My Page also features a Quick Links menu, which gives you instant access to all of our password-protected services, including the online directory, job and resume postings, yellow pages, and LifeNet.

If you are not yet registered for the Alumnae Association Web site, click here to register now.

Mount Blog

Student blogs this month have covered topics ranging from J-term newspaper internships to the “Ice Cappella” concert—a performance by Mount Holyoke’s a cappella groups—to the meaning of community at MHC. Here’s an intriguing excerpt from “In my Head,” the blog of student reporter Stephanie Miedema ’07:

I feel like “community” is one of those words that is thrown about a bit about Mount Holyoke and no one ever takes a step back and thinks about it.

Alumnae fuss that community on campus is not like it was “back in the day” and that students don’t know each other like they used to. Current students complain that the administration is trying to erode campus community by cutting back on traditions like M&Cs and dorm dining halls. My best friend whines that she can never find anybody to eat with during lunch (of course, considering that she wakes up at 1, this is hardly surprising).

But while we are all obsessing over the sense of community on campus and how it’s changing, are we letting “the best four years of our lives” go by? In the long run, will the changes matter? More…

Cori’s Career Corner

s you take all the steps to prepare for a successful job search, you’ll need to do your research. Although research is an important part of any job search, it is the one most often overlooked or misunderstood. I find it helpful to think of “research” in two components: the formal and the informal. For the first, you’ll need to do more than check the Web sites of companies in which you’re interested. You’ll also need to seek information on the company in trade journals, regional newspapers, and professional membership journals or Web sites. These sites can reveal more subtle trends and information that can be very helpful to you. Standard business resources such as Dunn and Bradstreet and Hoovers are accessible on the College’s CDC Web site. If you need passwords to use these resources, call the Career Development Center at 413-538-2080 for guidance and passwords.

Informal research is the second tier of information, gained through people and casual networking. If you have the basic, formal information, talk to others who know the company, or who are in the field or in related professional associations. These contacts will help you understand the culture, future direction, requirements, and values of a field or professional firm. This information will help you refine your data, and form the basis for a strong assessment of your match to the company or industry. This type of research, although informal, is a critical component for marketing yourself effectively. It is hard work, but it produces great information and may well result in introductions to people who can forge important connections for you. Sometimes the networking contacts are the key to landing a position, because you are in touch with people in the know before the opening occurs. As a position opens, you will come to mind, and a referral will take place. This is the most effective search process of all!

Finally, I want to let you know about a very interesting program: Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence. This organization provides funding for women-owned businesses that have been operating for two or more years and demonstrate high growth potential. An application is required, and the deadline is March 5, 2007. To learn more, take a look at www.makemineamillion.org.

Making News

his month, a number of alumnae have made the Mount Holyoke community stronger—and our pride more visible—through achievements ranging from winning a state office to appearing on National Public Radio. We’re making news—and making history while we’re at it.

Lila M. Gierasch ’70, a biochemistry professor at UMass, received a Pioneer Award for $2.5 million to study how proteins form within living cells. More…

Audrey McNiff ’80 was honored with an award at the Stern Women in Business Annual Conference at New York University. Her award was featured in a Web publication of NYU/Stern. More…

Sharon E. Har ’90, real estate litigation attorney and second-generation Korean-American, won a decisive victory to become a state representative of Hawaii in the U.S. midterm elections Nov. 7, 2006. More…

Clare M. Robbins ’04 provided radio commentary on NPR’s “Marketplace” on January 17, 2007. Responding to a current Congress debate about the reduction of student loan interest rates, Robbins discussed how students with ideals confront their student debt. More…

Campus Calendar

everal exciting events are still ahead as part of Mount Holyoke’s month-long celebration in honor of Black History Month, “Phenomenal Women.”

The series opened on February 3 with “Girls and Women in Sports Day,” an all day festival of female athletes, and will close with “An Evening with Suzan-Lori Parks ’85” in the Rooke Theatre on March 4. Upcoming events in February include lectures, informal discussions, music, dance, and socializing.

The department of gender studies will host an exciting conference, “The Global and the Intimate: Gender Studies and the Present Crisis of Citizenship,” Friday and Saturday, April 27-28.  The conference will be co-sponsored by the journal WSQ, and speakers will include Carol Cohn, Joy James, Paula Johnson, Geraldine Pratt, Victoria Rosner, Donna Rowe, and Ara Wilson.

Conference sessions will address such themes as: “Human Rights and (Vexed) Citizenship,” “Prisons and Other Spaces of Exclusion," “Intimate Economies,” and “Arts and Action.” Details to follow. For more upcoming events, please visit our events calendar.

Online Class Notes

o read more online class notes, or post your own notes and photos, please visit our Web site.

Kathleen Saradarian (1983)
Kathleen Saradarian (1983) writes, “I don’t know if I have ever written a class note before so here goes. I became a Family Physician in 1990 and went into a two women practice in rural Northern NJ. Three and one half years ago I made a big change opening my own solo practice. I was married in 1995 and we have one daughter who is now 10. My husband was a helicopter pilot but after getting frustrated with flying…”

P. Russell (1985)
Brooke Russell (1985) and John Zaccone are very, very happy to announce their engagement!Haven’t quite figured out yet how things will work between a winery manager in OR and an attorney in NY - but they will, and news to follow soon. Meanwhile, anyone up for a visit to the wine country in Oregon to brainstorm event planning with me and a glass of Pinot?  

Kara (Louison) Hannon (1997)
Kara (Louison) Hannon (1997) and Scott Hannon are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Liam Patrick. He was born on December 1, 2006 in Baptist Hospital, Miami FL, and weighed 8 lb., 5 oz..  

Shannon (Adams) Piner (1999)
Shannon (Adams) Piner (1999) recently accepted a position at Eastern Maine Medical Center located in Bangor, Maine as Registered Nurse. “I graduated from the University of Maine with a BSN in December of 2006. I have just started working at Eastern Maine Medical Center as a registered nurse on the surgical floor. I’m loving every minute of it! My husband Christopher and I are also thinking of expanding our family…”

Katharine Nelson (2000)
Katharine Nelson (2000) writes, “Wow, what an exciting year I have had! The two line synopsis is that my boyfriend, John Beaber, and I moved in together, got engaged, I changed jobs, John and I eloped, and now we will be moving into San Francisco from Oakland.”

Ruby Littman (2003)
Ruby Littman (2003) and Charley Landow are happy to announce their engagement. The wedding ceremony will take place on September 8, 2007 in Vermont. “We first met in Paris and almost 5 years later, while on vacation, we got engaged in Paris. Vive l’amour!”  

Hayley Beers (2005)
Hayley Beers (2005) writes, “Hayley has recently made the move to Manhattan to attend Columbia University’s School of Social Work where she will be pursuing a MSW with an expected graduation date of May ’08. She’s enjoying living, working, and attending classes in NYC and was thrilled to spend time with fellow MHC alumna and New Yorker, Susan Friedman.”  

Rebecca Richardson (2005)
Rebecca Richardson (2005) writes, “Greetings! I haven’t posted before, but I’ll be brief. I’m in my second year of graduate work at Stanford, where I’ve (mostly) adapted to CA life. Currently I’m teaching in the Program of Writing & Rhetoric, a program that all the first year students at the university go through. My theme is “The Rhetoric of Fear,” and I’ve been enjoying the process of designing my own syllabus…”

Lena Wood (2005)
Lena Wood (2005) recently accepted a position at Metropolitan Family Services located in Portland, OR as SUN Extended Day instructor. Lena recently was employed at Providence Montessori as Assistant Teacher. “I now get to work with elementary age children, which is very exciting. I will be tutoring math and developing my own earth science curriculum for first graders.”