Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Value of an Art & Design Education

Here's a great video from Moore College of Art & Design, the first and only visual arts women's college in the United States, "Creative Minds Transforming Society." If you are thinking about a career in the visual arts, I know you will enjoy this video as much as I did.

"Art and design is a growing sector that has a significant impact on our economy. Additionally, people who pursue a degree at a specialized school for art and design are prepared for careers in a wide range of fields. Perhaps most importantly, they are more likely to be working in careers that they find meaningful, while also pursuing their passion outside of their jobs. For all these reasons, we know that art and design degrees at schools like Moore College of Art & Design are a great investment."

Plus, Moore College is dedicated to their students and careers:

"Moore College of Art & Design continues a strong commitment to its founder Sarah Worthington Peter’s promise of “empowering women to achieve financial independence by providing a high-quality, career-focused education.”    Its 2012 BFA graduates are already enjoying successful careers.   93% are employed and 79% of those are with organizations in their fields of study, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Daroff Designs, Inc., Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Princeton University Press, Triangle Home Fashions, Tyco and numerous others."

Learn more about Moore's career focus and commitment here.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

In Praise of Women’s Colleges

Sandra Moore, a women’s college alumna and college adviser, wrote a blog post, “In Praise of Women’s Colleges” having returned from visiting several colleges in the Northampton, MA  area -- Her campus visits included two women’s colleges; her Alma mater (Mount Holyoke College) and Smith College.

Blog Post Highlights Include:


Mount Holyoke and Smith are intellectually demanding and, equally important, treasure-troves of  leadership opportunities, where, for example, the student government president is always a woman. (Fact:  Although females comprise 60% of college students, 80% of student government presidents are male and the vast majority of secretaries are girls.) Attending Mount Holyoke or Smith opens up countless doors to elite graduate schools and professional careers in all fields, including those typically deemed “non-traditional.” Like the remaining five of the prestigious Seven Sisters (i.e., Barnard, Bryn Mawr and Wellesley), they also are known for providing students with a warm and supportive living and learning environment.


Yet, despite their rich histories, gorgeous campuses, state-of-the-art facilities and top-notch teachers, women’s colleges, unfortunately, are often overlooked by the very young women who might gain the most from all that they offer. With the smallish,  self-selecting pool of applicants they attract, women’s colleges are quite accessible, but so many girls instead beat their heads against the wall trying to gain admission to schools with a gazillion applications and where males (by virtue of their shortage in the pool) are often preferred.”


As a former college admissions director, Sandra Moore provides advice to college-bound students and their parents via her consulting practice Next Step College Counseling. Her office is located in Hyde Park, NY. In addition to her college advice blog: College Aid, she also can be found on Facebook.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Why You Should Consider a Women’s College

Carrie Wofford wrote an excellent blog post entitled, "Why You Should Consider a Women’s College" and one that I very much enjoyed.

I found myself smiling and shaking my head "yes" after reading the following words she wrote, "Those of us who went to women's colleges (I went to Byrn Mawr) are never surprised to hear the news that the "first" woman ever to do x, y or z, just happened to go to graduate from such a school."

Here's my favorite part:

"The campus communities also tend to be nurturing and supportive. Women's colleges develop very strong community bonds, passed down through generations of female graduates. "Traditions" at women's colleges differ from those at coed, with regular "step sings," "lantern night," "hoop races," special tea parties, and "canoe sings" – not unlike the special songs and traditions a girl might find at an all-girls' summer camp, and many of them common to all women's colleges. My husband said he didn't fully appreciate my college experience until he saw me at a reunion, singing ancient songs in Greek and Latin, in the dark night, with lanterns (colored by class year) swinging from our hands. The reality is that young men are simply less willing to stand around singing ancient songs in Greek and Latin about wisdom and beauty.

Citing all the studies about how women's colleges succeed so much better at nurturing and educating young women, Smith College offers the perfect tag line: "Of course, the world is coeducational. But Smith women enter it more confidently than women graduates of coed schools." A women's college might just be worth considering when you make your college choice this Fall."


 Below is a short bio of Carrie Wofford:

"Carrie Wofford is a Democratic strategist who served as a senior counsel in the Senate and a policy aide in the Clinton White House and in the Labor Department under Robert Reich. A veteran of many presidential and Senate campaigns, she also worked as a lawyer at WilmerHale and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Follow her on Twitter at @Carrie_Wofford."

Friday, October 25, 2013

The Feeling You Get When Visiting a Women's College

In this video you will hear from Miya Evans-Walker about her visit to Converse College and how she knew Converse was the college for her! Enjoy!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Women’s College Quiz

Which women’s college ranks first among select U.S colleges in the number of women graduates who are now professors of chemistry and is one of the top schools in the nation in the number of female graduates who have entered the medical profession?

Click here for the answer!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Why a Women’s College?

Here’s a recent blog post by Paulina Mangubat entitled “Why a Women’s College?” that I really enjoyed reading and I know you will as well.

Paula’s blog post starts with the following: 


"Who runs the world? Girls. No, really. Women’s colleges are all the rage nowadays, and from the looks of hallowed alums such as Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, and Anna Quindlen (graduates of Wellesley College, Smith College, and Barnard College, respectively), they’re here to stay.

Women’s colleges have become the backbone of pro-female pursuits for a good reason: they offer stellar educational opportunities, refreshingly liberal environments, and a steady catalog of successful female alumni ready to help with post-graduation networking. What began as a union of seven colleges—the aptly named “Seven Sisters”—has morphed into a nexus of elite liberal arts institutions ready to take in the next Hillary Clinton. Yes, I mean that Hillary Clinton.

Don’t try to persuade me that women’s colleges contribute to some kind of sexist, separatist worldview, because if you do, I’ll promptly slap some statistics in your face and look fabulous while doing it. Here’s the rundown: graduates of women’s colleges are more likely to earn PhDs than their coed counterparts. They’re more likely to succeed in male-dominated STEM fields. And, most importantly, they’re more likely to give back to the sisterhood, creating a tightly-knit network of talented, hardworking women."

Monday, October 21, 2013

Quote: Women’s Colleges and Your Lifelong Sisterhood Network

Janet from Fairfax Station, VA says this about going to a college for women, “You know why you should go to a women's college, because some day, your life may get a little hard and you will reach out to sisters across the years and they will lift you, support you, and offer you hope. That has happened to me the past few days and it has made all the difference.”

Friday, October 18, 2013

Project Runway Season 12 Winner Graduated from a Women’s College

Dominique Streater (also known as "Dom") graduated from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia in 2010 and is now the winner of Project Runway Season 12.

Just how cool is that I ask?

Congratulations Dominique! I'm thrilled for you. This is so incredible and well deserved.

If fashion is your dream and you are college bound, I encourage you to consider Moore College of Art & Design. Who knows, you might just be the next Project Runway winner!

Moore College is the first and only visual arts college for women in the United States and has many amazing graduates. Check out the BFA Programs at Moore College.

“Moore's BFA programs are designed to cultivate each student's creative talents, and provide the technical and professional skills essential to building a successful career in the visual arts.


Students learn from award-winning, professionally active faculty who bring real-world knowledge and expertise into the classroom and encourage excellence, creative exploration and self-expression to prepare students for lifelong learning and leadership in their chosen field.


Moore also offers its students an array of minors that complement their course of study and allow them to advance their interests in support of their artistic and professional goals.”


With over 160 years of educating women for careers in art and design, Moore College of Art & Design is the first and only visual arts women’s college and continues to be dedicated to its founding mission: “empowering women to achieve financial independence by providing a high-quality, career-focused education.”

Once again, congratulations to Dom Streater for winning Project Runway! I look forward to seeing more of her fashion designs. Check out her Store Link, Work Link, Facebook Link, and/or Twitter Link.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Confessions of a Women’s College Graduate

I love sharing success stories about graduates of women’s colleges. Here’s one I know you also will enjoy: “Sweet Briar is my ‘happy place’ ” and appears on the college Web site.

After 13-years of graduating from a women’s college, Christine Bump is a lawyer practicing food and drug law in Washington, D.C. and this is her story:

“When my family and I began looking into all-women’s colleges, my mom fell in love with Sweet Briar from the brochures we received. Coming from California (and with all of the insight of a teenager — ha!), I was adamantly against attending college below the Mason-Dixon line. I only applied to Sweet Briar to appease my mom. However, when I arrived on Sweet Briar’s campus for the first time as a prospective student, my outlook completely changed. The gates, the winding road onto campus and the beautiful landscape made me feel at home before we even reached the checkpoint. Attending classes, touring the campus and staying in the dorms during that visit made me 100-percent confident that Sweet Briar was the perfect place for me. And, second only to marrying my husband, it is the best decision I ever made!”

You also can read entire blog post.

Sweet Briar College is located in Sweet Briar, VA and has a campus of 3,250 acres. Learn about the academics as well as student life or athletics. Horse women can learn more about Riding at Sweet Briar.

The reasons for attending a women’s college are varied and well documented -- most notably, graduates of women's colleges achieve higher rates of success than their female counterparts at coed institutions.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Quote: Well-known solution to the problem of training women scientists: Women's colleges

I learned about a recent newspaper post written by two professors (Audrey J. Ettinger, Ph.D Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Amy J. Reese, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences) at Cedar Crest College and wanted to share it here. The part I liked best is the following:

“We are proud to be part of a well-known solution to the problem of training women scientists: Women's colleges like Cedar Crest College have been shown, over a period of decades, to produce a higher proportion of graduates in the sciences and to produce women leaders in all arenas.”

The literature suggests that college-aged women in a single-sex environment are more engaged in their education and have higher levels of self-confidence, perhaps due to being taken seriously for four years. We and others have observed that the single-sex environment drives women to participate in all parts of the learning process, which seems particularly important for science laboratory training. Young women considering careers in science should seriously consider a women's college as a helpful step on their pathway to scientific success.”


If you are interested in a STEM career, I encourage you to read their post entitled, Ettinger and Reese: Eliminate barriers to science and math jobs for womenas well as consider attending a women's college, like Cedar Crest.

Cedar Crest College is located in Allentown, PA and offers many different STEM based programs including: Biological SciencesBiology, Genetic Engineering, Neuroscience, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Global Diseases (Minor); ChemistryChemistry, Biochemistry; Forensic ScienceNuclear Medicine Technology; Nursing; Nutrition; Mathematics; Pre-Professional Programs (Pre-Med, Pre-Dent, and Pre-Vet); and Psychology.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Blog Post: Powerful Women and Women Colleges

Today I'm sharing with you a blog post from Pia Matthes entitled, "Powerful Women and Women Colleges."

Highlights:

"Overall, there are different aspects that individuals retain from a women’s college education. A lot of us simply became more confident through being able to hold various leadership positions, being challenged by each other in a safe and very diverse environment and being able to choose male dominated fields while receiving a lot of support."
 

Friday, October 11, 2013

Horse Women and Women’s Colleges . . . Perfect Together

Depending upon your horse interest, many of the women’s colleges offer horse related programs.

If you are really into horses and also college-bound, here’s a blog post, “A Visit to Smith College,” from Randi Heatherman, The Equestrian College Advisor that you will enjoy. In this blog post, Randi writes about the equestrian program at Smith College. 


Randi begins her blog post with the following:


“Regular readers of this blog undoubtedly know that I have made it a point to make trips to many of the top women’s colleges in New England in the past couple of years and that my reasons for doing so have been twofold: The majority of my clients are young women, so all-female education is something that I feel is an important option for them to consider when embarking on the college search – and many of the top women’s colleges are also home to top riding programs.”

Randi knows horses and she also can advise you with college selection. Learn more about Randi and her college advisement services by visiting her Web site.


Smith College is a women's college located in Northampton, MA. To learn more about the college, visit their Web site.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Reflections of a Women’s College Graduate

I’m a big fan of Arianna Huffington, founder, chair, and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. I became her fan when I heard her 2013 commencement address at Smith College. She was funny, insightful, and shared a powerful message about “redefining success.”

When I came across this blog post, “Reflections of a Graduate: "Redefining Success" by Rachel E. Smith, published several months ago, I was thrilled. Rachel is from the 2013 class of Smith College and enjoyed Ms. Huffington’s address in person.

Rachel begins her blog post with the following:

A little over two weeks ago, Huffington Post founder, chair, and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington delivered a much-needed commencement address at my college graduation, which was the deliverance of the Smith College Class of 2013 out into the world. One of her central points was the importance of "redefining success" for our generation. As she acknowledged the quirkiness, intelligence, and ambition of this class off over 600 women, she stressed the importance of examining what we saw personally as success, outside of the traditional paradigm of money and power. While obviously we all received this as still needing to make a living and be successful in whatever field we were entering into, it was clear her message that the world needs those who are using their skills to make change in all areas of their lives.

I’m glad Ms. Huffington’s words hit home for Rachel. And I’m really glad Rachel decided to attend a women’s college!


Smith College is a women's college located in Northampton, MA. To learn more about the college, visit their Web site.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Why First-Year STEM Girls Attend Women's Colleges

I'm now blogging over at The Huffington Post and here's a recent blog post entitled, "Why First-Year STEM Girls Attend Women's Colleges." I really enjoyed writing it and hope you like it.

Highlights include:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is on the minds of many these days -- from the president of the country to educators and employers. One puzzling question remains, "How do we encourage more women into STEM careers?" And while this question remains unanswered, the good news is that women's colleges have excelled at educating women in these fields for more than 100 years, and have added STEM programs along the way. Women's colleges are resolute in their dedication to the task at hand and have a track record for preparing students to start a STEM career or to obtain an advanced degree.

The even better news is that more and more STEM girls are discovering this hidden college treasure. Once high school girls become aware of the supportive, nurturing, focused, research-based environments, they understand how a women's college will benefit them and their STEM career goals.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Alumna Wows Coaches on NBC's "The Voice"

I love watching "The Voice" and Blake is my most favorite coach. On Tuesday I saw Ashley DuBose and she was sensational!!!! I later learned she’s an alumna of a women’s college: St. Catherine University, class of 2012!

Below is the post from the college's Web site.

"All four chairs whipped around on NBC's "The Voice" as the coaches vied for the attention of Ashley DuBose '12 after her knockout performance of Rihanna's "Diamonds." Her blind audition aired on October 1.

Adam Levine was quick to get the first comments in about Dubose.

"Your voice cuts like a razor through this entire place," said Levine. "Those are the voices that make it really far on the show. So from a purely genuine standpoint, I can say your voice just overtook the room — it really did. That's why we turned around."

He apparently got the last word too, since DuBose "went with her gut" and chose Levine as her coach for the season.

DuBose was active in music during her time at St. Catherine University, taking voice lessons and participating in the Student Performance Hour. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Kate's with a degree in mathematics and currently works full-time at Securian. But if Levine has his way, she's a singer now.

View photos of her performance at KARE11.com"


Congratulations to Ashley and all the best!!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Quote: Why Kari Attended a Women's College

Kari from Alexandria, VA has this to say about single-sex colleges: “I went to an all-women's college in North Carolina, and without the culture and support of my college I would not be who I am today. I would not have gotten the same experience or education from a co-ed institution.”