Summer 2020 Update from the Athena Alumnae Network
Athena alumnae are several hundred creative, collaborative, resilient and social action-oriented women who graduated from Barnard College from the class of 2010 and later. In 2020, with a New Athena for a New Decade, there are new program offerings at the Athena Center, and the alumnae network widens to include graduates who are Scholars, Fellows, and more such as those who have participated in Athena Digital Design, the Athena Film Festival, Athena Challenges, and other programs affiliated with the Athena Center.
This Medium account will help alumnae learn about and from each other; there will be shared stories, career connections and themed recommendations among alumnae who are affiliated with the Athena Center. Join our LinkedIn group too. The goal of the Athena Alumnae Network is to help alumnae connect with each other and to the Athena Center.
This Medium account is maintained as a volunteer effort and is updated quarterly through crowdsourcing input across the alumnae network.
💌Questions, comments? Want to get involved and submit to this account? Email: athenaalumnae@gmail.com
Check out our previous stories published on Tumblr.
Note to the Class of 2020 alumnae
🎓Congratulations on your graduation. Welcome to the network! We are living through unprecedented and uncertain times, but there is still hope all around us, including hope for change, hope for health, and hope for justice. In addition to hope, activism is alive across the country and beyond- through strength in numbers and strength in dialogue, we are working towards social change both online and in real life. Don’t forget to prioritize wellness for yourself along the way as you go through transition or you start a new chapter of your post-Barnard life- from staying hydrated to going on a walk outside- little activities like that help with the fatigue that comes with social distancing and staying indoors.
In this season’s update, we hear from Jo Chiang ’15 who reflects on five years of hustle and finding joy in New York City. Her personal piece shows both vulnerability and bold strength as she navigates friendships, self-compassion and her local community. I hope you enjoy her story (and her amusing and honest writing style!)
All the best,
Amy Chen ’10 (Founder, Athena Alumnae Network)
Cheers to Alumnae
Kaylin Marcotte ’12 is hiring at JIGGY, her new startup which makes puzzles worth framing.
Eve Halimi ’19 and Anam Lakhani ’19 launched Alinea Invest, an all in one trading platform where you can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies that you believe in.
Alejandra Figueroa ’16 founded Mintorship, a program committed to uplifting, empowering, and inspiring a network of young minority professionals with an entrepreneurial mindset by building strong relationships between “mintors” and “mintees.”
Career Connections
👀Looking to connect with an alum about career questions and exploration? These alumnae are open to outreach about these topics:
Jennifer Pei Lin ’12 — early-stage tech entrepreneurship, partnerships and operations; Japan-US business relations. Also: competitive bridge.
Marci Leveillee ’10 — networking in a new city; getting involved with Barnard as an alum; taking on volunteer leadership roles; careers in social work, fundraising, and/or philanthropy.
Recommendations from Alumnae
Sharing interesting links from around the network- these recommendations are focused on social impact with regards to current events and are submitted by Marci Leveillee ’10 and Amy Chen ’10. Feel free to reach out to either of us if you’d like to discuss these recs.
📚Books
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
- Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares by Aarti Namdev Shahani
- Nilda by Nicholasa Mohr
🎧Podcasts
- Code Switch (NPR)
- Still Processing (NYT)
- The Sporkful, specifically the episode “A Reckoning At Bon Appetit”
