VOLUME 11, NO. 2     SEPTEMBER 1997

Female e-mail connects alums, students

Technology is making it possible for female members of WPI¹s Class of 2001 to get to know the university from a woman¹s perspective and, in the process, to form connections and friendships that will guide them through their undergraduate careers and into the future.

Participants in the Alumna/Student E-mail Mentoring Project will be linked together via e-mail to discuss whatever they wish: from choosing a major or finding a summer or full-time job, to learning about the challenges of balancing their personal and professional lives. At press time, nearly 50 alumnae from the classes of ¹78 through ¹96 had volunteered to be mentors, and about 25 female freshmen had indicated an interest in being linked to a mentor.

The seeds for the innovative program were planted last spring, when President Parrish established a Committee on the Status of Women whose members were charged with providing leadership in issues and activities involving all women. The Alumni Association responded to that charge by developing a proposal for the mentoring project.

³This is an excellent way for us to augment the efforts of our women faculty members to make technological studies attractive to female students,² says Parrish. ³Networking is important to our retention efforts and these alumnae will be an asset for WPI.²

³The project is a great way to connect with your alma mater while helping a current undergraduate establish herself in a new institution,² adds Sharon Davis, former director of alumni affairs. ³Undergraduate women welcome the opportunity to connect with successful women alumnae.²

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