Sophie Waskow '07 has learned that a senior's fall semester isn't just fun and games.
"It can get a little scary," she said. "No one told me senior fall gets as scary as it did in high school."
But in times of stress, Waskow can look forward to a monthly phone call with her mentor from a program called "Women's Launch Pad." The program, which is in its pilot year, matches female seniors with female Brown alums who are established in their respective fields.
Waskow said her mentor Michele Sacconaghi, vice president of philanthropic programs at Time Warner in New York City, gives her "nuggets of wisdom" about internships, career concerns and pursuing her passions after graduation.
Waskow said that, as a senior, it's easy to feel that "what you do next year sets up the path for the rest of your life and it's not." When she does feel this way or has career concerns, Waskow said it's "nice to talk to someone outside who has been through it."
Though Waskow's mentor is highly successful and powerful in her field, she still has time for her three children, Waskow said. Advice about how to "juggle a career and family" is of particular interest to Waskow, who said she does not want her children to be "raised by a nanny."
Waskow, who attended an all-girls school in New York City before coming to Brown, said she appreciates a program that focuses on women's needs.
The program kicked off last year with "Dessert and Dialogue," an event that brought together female students and faculty to talk about issues women encounter in the workforce, said co-chair Sunisa Nardone '07 and mentoring chair Swathi Bojedla '07.
Nardone said last year's event was so popular that people had to be turned away at the door.
This fall, Women in the World expanded its offerings by introducing the Women's Launch Pad program. Together with the Women's Leadership Council, the Career Development Center and the Office of Alumni Relations, Nardone, Bojedla and other members of the Women in the World executive board organized the mentorship program, which currently includes 37 pairings of students and alums.
Nardone and Bojedla said they read through 50 applications before selecting 37 seniors to participate in this year's program.
Accepted students had the opportunity to meet their mentors during an Oct. 12 luncheon at the Brown Faculty Club. Nardone and Bojedla said mentors flew in from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago and even San Francisco for the event, which included speeches from Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, members of the Women's Leadership Council and Nardone.
"(The luncheon) was really inspiring," Nardone said. "It could have been intimidating, but the mentors were so warm and interested in talking to Brown students."
After the luncheon, Nardone said the mentors and protégés posed for a group photo on the steps of the Rockefeller Library.
"It was really inspiring to see ... (a big group of) women in business suits and heels click-clacking down the street," Nardone said.
Jennifer Humphrey '07 met her mentor, a clinical professor of pathology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, located in New York City, at the luncheon. Humphrey and her mentor share a common passion - AIDS research - making the two an "awesome match," she said. Humphrey's mentor has offered to read her grant proposals, and the two hope to meet up the next time Humphrey is in New York City.
Humphrey and Waskow both said the Women's Launch Pad program fills a significant gap in female networking that does not exist for men.
"(The program) is a good idea. ... It seems like men already have mentors through sports and fraternities," Humphrey said.
