A Welcome for Firsties

Student reporter Anindita Dasgupta ’08 reports on the Alumnae Association’s annual welcoming event for first-year students, “Next Steps for First-Years,” held on April 6 in Gamble Auditorium:

You’re not alone. You don’t have to figure everything out right now. Plan ahead but know that you have a support system to help you along the way.

These messages rolled over a group of eager first-year students on Sunday, April 6. The Alumnae Association’s “Next Steps for First-Years” event kicked off in Gamble auditorium with introductions by the first-year class board president, Meredith Nelson ‘11; dean of first-year students, Leah Glasser; and Alumnae Association executive director W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83. An alumnae panel followed their addresses, featuring a wide range of alumnae with advice from all fields and walks of life. The mass of first-years followed the neon footprints spray-painted on the ground to Willits, where they snacked on desserts and chatted with alumnae, professionals, career counselors, professors, and upper-class students in round-table discussions.

Nelson’s speech set the tone for the event as she explained how she tended to plan ahead. Glasser discussed how faculty advisors were available to help first-year students do just that without getting overwhelmed. Calhoun continued Glasser’s thought, as she highlighted the ways the Alumnae Association would be able to help students through their time at Mount Holyoke.

Just as students visibly relaxed, the accomplished members of the alumnae panel chimed in with their experiences. Each panelist came with an impressive job, but before students had a chance to stress out about how to get to such careers, they were reassured by the news that not one of the panelists had planned out her path to where she is today. Brooke Paige ’93, for example, majored in music and designed her own special neurochemistry minor. She now works for a pharmaceutical company. Vidya Sampath ’07 majored in international relations. She planned to go directly to graduate school after graduation and work with international populations. Instead, she is now an employee at the Russell Sage Foundation, the nation’s premier organization for research, where she works primarily on research focused on the United States.

“It’s good to know other people are in the same places,” said Alie Schonbek ’11. Kunzang Wangdi ’11 echoed her sentiments. “Until now, I had been looking into internships on my own,” she said. “Now I’m actually excited and I feel good knowing that I’m not alone. Overwhelmingly, students said that hearing alumnae speak about their personal experiences at MHC (so similar to what students are going through now), and share stories of their success after college, was a huge highlight of the event. 

The most important message of the day?  You're on the right path.  Just keep going, and you'll get there.

Photos from the event:

Be good to yourself. You can’t fill anyone else’s cup until you fill your own. — Susan Taylor, editor, Essence magazine, Black History Month keynote address, 1997