Encounters with alums shaped current student’s summer experience
This past summer was an amazing, Mount Holyoke-filled adventure. I left campus for an internship in New York City, and it seemed that everywhere I went, I met another Mount Holyoke alum. I knew it already, but meeting so many alumnae in the world made me realize again that my decision to attend Mount Holyoke in 2016 was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and the network of Mount Holyoke grads extends far beyond Pearsons Hall and the rest of this beautiful campus.
THE STRAND
I interned in the publicity department of Minotaur Books, the crime and mystery fiction imprint of St. Martin’s Press. But, as a book-loving English major, of course I went to the Strand Bookstore on my rest day in New York City. I struck up a conversation with two people in the store and found out that they were both Mount Holyoke alumnae who had just returned from Reunion!
FLATIRON BUILDING, 19th FLOOR
On June 27, I took over the Mount Holyoke Instagram account. Because I was working in such an iconic building, I decided one of my photos had to be of the Flatiron Building. Ariel Russ ’13, who works on the 19th floor, saw the post and commented, “There’s a bunch of Mohos here at Macmillan, myself included! Come say hi!” I went upstairs and chatted with her. She has her green griffin scarf at her desk. I also contacted Sylvan Creekmore ’13 on the 19th floor. Creekmore and I later went out for lunch, and we talked about her career as an editor. While I’m still learning about and experiencing different departments in publishing, our conversation gave me some helpful insights into what it’s like to work in editorial at a major publishing house and advice for when I enter the work-force as a college graduate.
THE ELEVATOR
A few days after my Instagram takeover, I was in the elevator when the other person in the elevator happened to recognize my water bottle from the photo on Instagram. Her sister is a Mount Holyoke alumna who had sent her the posts.
FLATIRON, 15th FLOOR
My work at Minotaur Books included writing galley letters and press releases, managing book mailings, and, yes, rearranging the contents of some ling cabinets. And on my second-to-last day of work, I found out that one of the publicists I interned under was the son of Mount Holyoke alumna Sally Blanning DeJean ’66!
ASTORIA
For the last week of my internship, I stayed with Bridget Mahoney ’06, who is part of the Alumnae Stay Program. I also happened to meet her at the MHC NYC Intern Networking Event earlier in the summer. I am so grateful that she and her husband opened their home to me so I could finish my internship program after the dorm I had been living in closed to prepare for the new academic year.
Emily Krakow ’20 is a junior at Mount Holyoke and splits her time between South Hadley and Austin, Texas. She is an English major and German studies minor and has worked as the Alumnae Quarterly’s editorial assistant since January 2018. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Emily quickly made herself an invaluable member of the team. We kind of hope she never leaves.]
This article appeared as “My MHC Summer” in the fall 2018 issue of the Alumnae Quarterly.
December 12, 2018
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