Thank You to Our Incredible Barnard Alumnae Mentors!

It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in the Barnard Career Development seminar room with stacks and stacks of papers strewn about the long conference table.  This pile of papers summarized the dedicated 80 participating alumnae, and 80 exceptional selected students that would make up 2011-2012 Alumnae-to-Student Mentoring Program.  Being that this program was in its third year, I had even higher hopes for its success.  At the closing celebration, I wanted more than anything, to celebrate with productive, happy, motivated and engaged pairs.

It is no surprise my hopes to celebrate with productive, motivated and engaged pairs became a reality on Thursday, April 26th.  The Alumnae-to-Student Mentoring  program is a success because of the commitment and dedication of the alumnae mentors.  All of you mentors did not simply think about giving back to your communities,  but you actively and enthusiastically joined the program, attended our events, and worked closely with Barnard  students throughout the academic year.

It’s been a real joy coordinating this program and getting to hear all about what pairs have been doing.  Mentors, these are just some of the things that your satisfied mentees have told me you have done with them.

You have:

·         Sent a care package to your mentee during finals because you knew that she, an international student, missed the comforts of home

·         Taken your mentee to the Barnard Gala

·         Offered another mentee in the program (who you weren’t matched with) a job after meeting her at the Teach and Do Networking Night

·         Taken your mentee out for a lovely Sunday brunch on the upper east side to discuss her post graduate plans

·         Toured your mentee around your architecture firm and visited her architecture lab space to check out her work

·         Introduced your mentee to various teachers and principals in the NY area to help her decide if teaching is right career for her.

·         Attended your mentee’s leadership award dinner

Mentors, your contributions have not stopped here.  You have also helped the Barnard Career Development Office in others ways.

You have:

·         Served as speakers for our workshops and programs

·         Shared employment opportunities with our students

·         Provided your professional expertise regarding other Career Development programming

Again, these are just a few of the ways all of you mentors have helped our students, our office, and the Barnard Community at large.  We also know that these relationships do not end here and  they will continue to grow and add to the existing Barnard network.  Because of you alumnae, today’s students will be inspired to serve as tomorrow’s mentors.

Thank you for being such motivations, resources and role models.

Warmest regards,

Rachel Tannenbaum, Associate Director, Barnard Career Development

Closing Celebration Recap

For all of you that attended, it was great to celebrate with you!  Thank you to the speakers that shared their varied and rich experiences.  See below for some of the evening's happenings:

(from left to right) Kate Bergin, Peer Career Advisor and Valerie Chow, Program Director, signing in students and alumnae in at the Empire Room



(from left to right) Mentor Dr. Julie Levine and her mentee Joy Harrison reflecting on their year in mentoring

Students and alumnae listening intently to prgram speakers

(from left to right) Mentee Deena Mitlak speaks with her mentor Rochelle Schneider

(from left to right) Mentor Marcia Weller speaks with her mentee Sultana Ahmed

(from back left to back right) Mentor Laura Kenkel, mentee Ariel Endacott, mentor Renee Silverman, mentee Lia May Tung and mentee Leeron Hoory take some time to network

An update from mentee Nana Ankamah

I just wanted to express my appreciation for the program. At the last networking event, I met Kyra Lanchester, and we exchanged contact information. I kept in contact with her, and fortunately enough she was very receptive to my emails and questions about paralegals and the legal field in general. She put me in contact with a co-worker who had a legal assistant background and she was able to answer my questions and relate her experience to me. 

Kyra asked if I would be interested in temporary position at her job, and of course I said yes! So, as of now, I will be working as a temp. at her law firm for two months.  My first week was great, and honestly, her kindness and eagerness to mentor me has renewed my faith in finding a job! Her guidance thus far has been beyond my expectations, and I know this is the beginning of a long mentor-mentee relationship!

I appreciate this program a lot , and I just thought that you should know that, alumnae's like Kyra really do take interest in students who are serious and honest about what they want to gain from this experience. I think my experience speaks for many seniors who have met great Barnard Alumnae's who are willing to take the time out of their busy schedules to mentor their Barnard sisters.

Also, by the way, my mentor Liza Tripp is great as well, and has also given me quite a lot of people to reach out to!

Closing Ceremony Venue Chosen

Barnard Career Development has selected the spot for our Alumnae-to-Student Mentoring Closing Cermony, on Thursday, April 26th from 6-8pm.  The event will be at the Empire Room in the Empire State Building.  I will be reaching out to mentoring pairs shortly to have them speak at the event!







An update from mentoring pair, mentee Helenka Lepkowski Ostrum and mentor Julia Burghi

Mentee Helenka Lepkowski Ostrum
I was very excited when I found out that I was matched with an alumna in the food industry!  It's a lot of fun to talk to someone who is as enthusiastic about food as I am. Julia and I have attended events on campus and also explored places around NYC.  During the first semester we went to the Barnard panel, "What's on Your Plate: The History and Politics of Food".  The panel consisted of an anthropology professor, a biology professor, a history professor, and an english professor. It was interesting to hear how food related to each of their fields of study. Off campus, we have waited in a very long line to get macarons at Laduree and spent an afternoon exploring the MET.  It has been wonderful getting to know a recent Barnard graduate and hearing about all of her jobs and food adventures.  Talking with Julia, I have realized that there are various job opportunities related to the food industry.  I can't wait to explore some more restaurants around NYC with my mentor!

Mentor Julia Burghi
Helenka and I have bonded over a mutual interest in (or, more accurately, obsession with) food and cooking. We have enjoyed attending the program events, a Barnard-sponsored panel on food and globalization, the BC/CU Vagina Monologues, as well as several food outings off-campus. I really enjoy sharing my experiences in the restaurant and hospitality industry with Helekna and it is always exciting to hear about her latest project or meal that she's cooked. I feel lucky to have bee paired with such an industrious and enthusiastic student!

An update from mentoring pair, mentee Caitlin Lynch and mentor Kyra Lanchester

In my last email, I asked all of you to update me regarding how things are going with your mentor/mentee.  Very soon after I sent that email, I receieved some feedback from an alumna, then a student, and noticed they happened to be a pair.  Both of them had extremely nice things to say about working together and what they have accomplished thus far.  Please see below to read their updates.

Mentee Cailtin Lynch:

I'm emailing to give a little feedback on my mentor-ship with alumnae Kyra Lanchester. Kyra has been an amazing person to know this past year as I've applied to law school, and has offered critical advice with regards to picking my school, launching my career, and adapting to the realities of being a lawyer. She's also been wonderful in her networking efforts, and has put me in contact with an array of people who can offer me a variety of perspectives on corporate law. Today, for example, Kyra hosted me at her firm, Sullivan and Cromwell, for part of the day. She organized a series of half-hour meetings with women from the recruiting department, human resources, and a mid-level litigator, all of whom were very receptive to my questions and offered fantastic feedback and advice on law school, the hiring process, and work life at various firms. I also got to help Kyra and one of her colleagues as they worked on staffing requests. Overall, it was an invaluable insight to Big Law, which, without my mentor, I would not have had until after my second year of law school. I'm very grateful to have had this opportunity through Barnard's Alumnae-to-Student Mentoring program, and I'm looking forward to future meetings.

Mentor Kyra Lanchester:

I wanted to provide a bit of feedback on the mentor program overall as well as on my mentee, Caitie. When Caitie and I first met, I told her that I was willing to put in as much time and effort as she was. She has really been an active mentee in her willingness to learn, to reach out to me for discussion and advice, and more importantly, it’s been wonderful to get to know her as a person. When I mentioned that I had been involved with V-Day when I was in college, she got us tickets to see this year’s production of the show as one of our mentor/mentee get togethers.  Many thanks for organizing this program. It’s been a truly enjoyable experience for me.

A Fun & Inexpensive Meet-up

Take some time off of your busy schedules to go see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. This theatre production of many plays is not your average Broadway show.  It is based on the everyday life events of the actors themselves, which may often reflect one's own personal experiences.  Even more exciting is the random assignment of 30 short plays chosen by the audience and performed within an hour. With new plays being added each week, the production becomes a novel experience no matter how many times you have viewed it in the past.

This intimate experience takes place at Kraine Theater, located on 85 East 4th Street (between 2nd & 3rd Avenues). It is accessible by taking the F Train to Second Avenue or the 6 Train to Bleecker Street. 

The show will play on February 24^th and 25^th but is performed every Friday and Saturday night at 10:30 pm. Admissions ticket (at the door) are decided through a random process which requires you to pay $11 + the roll of a 6-sided die. That said, you may also get tickets online at http://www.nyneofuturists.org/site/ for $19.