THE STEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION
alumni news
SPRING 2017
WHAT’S NEW AT STEPPINGSTONE? Building Professional Connections In Fall 2016, Steppingstone launched its new Professional Connections program, which offers Scholars in college the opportunity to have oneon-one informational interviews with professionals in a career field of interest. Through this program, Scholars first attend a workshop to learn networking skills and the basics of informational interviewing. Scholars are then offered resume review and a mock interview with a Steppingstone staff member before finally connecting with a professional (who is often times a Steppingstone Alumnus!). Interested in serving as a Professional Connection? Contact Ashley Goliti-Chase at agoliti@tsf.org. ABOVE: Steppingstone Scholar Destiny Polk ’08, a sophomore at Wesleyan University, recently connected with Wesleyan and Steppingstone Alumna Miranda Haymon ’05. They discussed arts, activism, and life at Wesleyan, and are looking forward to staying in touch throughout Destiny’s college career!
Boys’ University Research has shown that boys more often succeed in their educational pursuits when they have a support network of other males. In response to this, Steppingstone has launched Boys’ University, a group of young male Scholars who meet regularly with a Steppingstone Advisor to discuss topics such as self-identity, self-esteem, motivation, and accountability. Boys’ University aims to provide young male Scholars with a safe space to learn about themselves, feel more motivated and connected to Steppingstone, and to ultimately build a larger support network of boys to help and support each other on their path to college success.
Remembering Analisa Smith-Perez ’97 In November 2016, we shared the sad news that Steppingstone Alumna Analisa Smith-Perez ’97 passed away at the age of 30. As an attorney, Analisa dedicated her career to serving as an advocate for undocumented immigrant children and refugees, and she is remembered by many as a person of passion and generosity. As a tribute to Analisa and to her enduring impact on all those who knew her, fellow Steppingstone Alumna Rocio Palomo ’97 shared this message, “There are certain people in this world who radiate goodness, who are much kinder than you are on a good day, who live the type of life you keep saying you will lead in the future, who are so genuinely empathetic in your interactions that they make you feel instantly close, and those people are extremely rare. Analisa was one of those people.”