As a Pierson College Fellow and First-Year Academic Adviser, I work with incoming Yale students during one of the most significant transitions of their lives. I provide academic guidance, help students navigate course selection and degree requirements, and serve as a steady point of contact as they find their footing in a demanding environment. The goal is to help each student feel seen, supported, and ready to thrive.

Through Yale’s Staff Learning and Development peer mentorship program, I mentored junior ITS colleagues navigating early-career growth in higher education IT. Our conversations covered career pathways, building visibility within a large institution, and developing the leadership presence needed to move into senior roles. I focus on helping colleagues see the full scope of what’s available to them, not just the next step.

I mentored New Haven Promise interns placed on Yale College IT projects, providing hands-on supervision and career guidance for young people from the New Haven community. One standout intern contributed meaningfully to a YaleSites migration project and earned a graduate school recommendation based on their performance. This work reflects my commitment to using my position at Yale to open doors for people who might not otherwise have access to this environment.

I participate in Yale’s Working Women’s Network, a community focused on career pathways and professional development for women across the institution. This network creates space for honest conversations about advancement, leadership, and navigating institutional structures. I bring my own experience as a senior leader who has built a significant career within Yale to those conversations, with the hope that others can see a clearer path forward.

I have directly mentored Yale student photographers, student IT associates, and student developers working on real Yale College IT projects. Rather than treating student employment as transactional, I structure these experiences as genuine professional development. Students have served as project co-leads, built app prototypes, and developed media and portfolio work. Several have gone on to graduate programs and professional roles in technology.

Yale College Voices is, at its core, a mentorship platform at scale. Each episode amplifies the story of a Yale staff or faculty member, giving listeners an honest look at non-linear career paths, resilience, and what it means to build a meaningful professional life. For students and early-career staff, these stories provide the kind of access to senior voices that formal mentorship programs can't always deliver.