The Insider: Program offers a 'mom' away from home
Takeda Ferguson, left, a 1996 graduate of Newcomb College and 1997 graduate of the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, serves as “mom” to first-year student Lauren Mann. (Photo by Cheryl Gerber)
Since the mid-1990s, female first-year students at Tulane University have received the gift of a mom-away-from-home through the Newcomb College Town Mom program.
The idea behind the program is to create a tradition of sisterhood by nurturing relationships between women who are new to Tulane and those who have graduated.
“We try to match students and alumnae based on majors and career interest,” says Sarah McAllister Basinger, Newcomb director of alumnae relations and annual giving. “We also consider hobbies, hometowns or at least regional proximity of hometowns.”
During a reception held Wednesday (Aug. 26), the 76 students who signed up to receive a “town mom” met their match.
Basinger says the program currently has 48 “moms” participating, and many of them happily take two or more students under their wing.
Once the matches have been made, the relationships often blossom into monthly or sometimes weekly dinners with the moms. Past town moms have said they"ve taken their “town daughters” shopping and have even hosted them over holiday breaks.
Visit the Newcomb College Institute website for more information on obtaining or becoming a Town Mom.
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