A Fun & Inexpensive Meet-Up

Why limit yourself to the MoMa or the MET when you can explore the Museum of Jewish Heritage or the Brooklyn Museum? There are two exhibitions that are worthy of consideration and may stimulate nice conversation between mentors and mentees!

The Emma Lazarus: Poet of Exiles is a temporary exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 36 Battery Place Battery Park City. The exhibition traces the footsteps of Lazarus life, an advocate and writer of Jewish experiences of immigration, home and exile in the U.S. She is considered one of America’s earliest prominent Jewish writers and is much revered for her poem that is now found on Lady Liberty! This exhibition is just a moving reminder of the previous women that have left their footprints embedded into the course of our history. Admission is only $12!

Hide/Seek is located at the Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing in the 4th Floor of the Brooklyn Museum. It is the “first major museum exhibition to focus on themes of gender and sexuality in modern American portraiture”. It displays a wide variety of photographs, paintings and media that deal with the ideas of sexual identity as well as works that openly express gay and lesbian topics in contemporary art. In addition, the exhibit shows the response of certain artists to the AIDS epidemic and the Stonewall Riots of 1969, creating an open discourse within the artwork. The suggested contribution for visitors is $12 and $8 for students.

An update from mentee Camille Van Kote

On Friday 11/18 I met with my mentor, Ashley Kelly, a 3 year associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. I waited in the firm’s lobby on the 35th floor of an impressive dark building, which was overlooking Manhattan. It was a crispy but beautiful day so the view was quite incredible. I met up with Ashley who brought me to a nice Mexican restaurant called Pampano on 3rd and 49th street. Over lunch, we talked about her first jobs upon graduating college,  her law school experience at Brooklyn Law School, her time as a clerk back in New Mexico where she comes from as well as her current position in the law firm. It was interesting for me to understand her background and to hear about her personal experiences as I am interested in attending Law School. We also talked about her Barnard College years as she reminisced about the places she used to go to around Morningside Heights, her college friends, the Marching band she was a part of and so on. It was great to be able to connect with another Barnard student even though she graduated in 2004. A lot of things have changed but there is an essence about the Columbia University environment that makes it special. I really enjoyed meeting with my Mentor and look forward to seeing her at the fireside chat !

An update from mentor Catherine Burns Wilson

Last Friday, October 28, Stefie Gan came to my office at Callison, an architecture firm located on Lafayette Street in Soho. I gave Stefie a brief tour of my office and then we headed to lunch at Ruby's Cafe on Mulberry Street. At lunch, we talked about my experience in the architecture field from portfolio development to graduate school applications and eventually choosing which firm to work for once in the "real world." Stefie shared with me the work she is currently doing in her senior studio for which she is traveling to Chandigarh, India on November 3 for an intense week long charrette and research experience with her classmates and professor, David Smiley. I am really excited for her to have this opportunity to explore architecture from such a unique perspective and look forward to hearing about her adventures. We already have plans to get together when she returns so I can see the book the studio put together for their trip and hear Stefie's reaction to her experience.

I am really happy to have been paired with Stefie and look forward to our mentor/mentee relationship growing over the next several months.

Dana Points to facilitate the Fireside Chat

Career Development is excited to announce that Barnard alumna Dana Points will be facilitating the Fireside Chat on December 1st!

Dana Points is the Editor-in-Chief of Parents and American Baby magazines and oversees content for the two brands on all platforms. Under her guidance Parents has won 18 awards in the past 2 years recognizing its excellence for editorial and design, including a National Magazine Award nomination, and debuted its first monthly issue for the iPad.

Before joining Parents in September 2008, Points worked as an editor specializing in women’s health and well-being for more than 15 years. She was named Executive Editor of Self in August 1999. There, she edited the food magazine Self Dishes, as well as the magazine’s book 15 Minutes to Your Best Self.

Points has also been Executive Editor of American Health for Women, a Reader’s Digest publication and has held editorial positions with Mademoiselle and Family Circle. She serves on the board of Safe Kids, an organization working to prevent unintentional childhood injuries. Points has appeared on “Today” and “Good Morning America”, as well as on CNN. She was chosen as one of MIN’s 21 Most Intriguing People of 2010.