girl, having a supportive woman as a mentor would be a wonderful gift of encouragement and hope. • Are you a new mom? Inquire about “mommy and me” groups at your local hospital—and if there isn’t one, start one. Support among mothers is essential for women, for children, and for the families that these women nurture. • Want to get to know your coworkers? Start a monthly lunch date with women in your office to provide an outlet for some off-site stress release and communication. By building these networks, we can be a force for positive change in our communities and make life better for ourselves, our neighbors, and all the women whose lives will be touched by our efforts.
“the effects we have on the lives we touch daily will never be fully known to us, but will always be more far-reaching than we could ever imagine.” The cornerstone of any support system is communication. By starting small and reaching out to the women around us, we will take baby steps toward big change that will have an impact not only on the women in our local communities but also on women throughout the world. How can a picnic gathering of women neighbors in a park in Small Town, USA, affect women in Russia?
Perhaps the woman sitting next to you has family in Russia and will have an idea that translates to her kin around the globe. The best ideas sprout from active discussion among peers, and the best guidance comes from caring communication from everyday teachers. Friendships turn into business partnerships. A mentor attends her protégée’s college graduation. The effects we have on the lives we touch daily will never be fully known to us, but will always be more far-reaching than we could ever imagine. You’ve made a difference today as a woman by communicating within your community. As we widen our sphere of communication, we will empower more and more women to reach their full potential. Our small networks will grow into a global village that will help make women’s dreams a reality.
President Creighton: On Writing It probably won’t surprise anyone that writing has been central to my life, first as an English major turned professor and scholar and later as an administrator. There are few endeavors I find more challenging and satisfying than to attempt through the written word to grapple with the inchoate, to draw undeveloped ideas into a cohesive structure, to construct an argument, and finally to coax the prose into graceful lucidity and economy. We’ve all experienced this Yeatsian “fascination of what’s difficult” in some version from our earliest school days onward. Some of us—especially those of us in academic fields, but certainly many others as well—find ourselves writing all the time for our livelihood. Whether you write daily or infrequently, for business or for pleasure, alone or collaboratively, I hope that your Mount Holyoke education taught you to hone your writing skills and to value the rigors of the writing process. One of the core premises of a liberal arts education is that discourse— sometimes oral but often written—and critical thought are intertwined and inseparable. Not only does writing serve as a vehicle for our most sophisticated thinking, the process of writing allows us to explore and test the cogency of our ideas when we articulate them as words, sentences, and paragraphs. At its best, writing is an intellectual exercise that draws deeply from our understanding and humanity.
Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly | Spring 2006
Writing is broadly infused across the curriculum at Mount Holyoke, and students can bolster their skills through our innovative Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program. We twice used an iterative writing process to set new direction for the College, resulting in The Plan for 2003 and The Plan for 2010. Multiple public drafts helped us find common ground about what matters to the institution and what makes the most sense for its future. But writing isn’t always so public; it serves multiple purposes: every letter to the editor, every business plan, e-mail, blog entry, or even holiday note to friends is an opportunity to capture our thoughts and feelings in words. We never know for sure the extent of the influence our writing may have. (I was reminded of this recently as we revisited the Edward R. Murrow papers in the College archives. Even Murrow’s casual and private writings paint a vivid picture of the cultural and political landscape of his time.) So with that in mind, I am delighted to see how interested alumnae have been in the Alumnae Association’s essay contest. I hope you’ll take a moment to read the winning essay, a heartfelt statement about building connections and making a difference in the world: the very essence of the College’s resonant mission. —Joanne V. Creighton
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