Students ponder 'What's next?'
Mentor Dr. Elizabeth Bellino, left, chats with Gianna Stoleru, who graduated in 2015 with a dual degree in Spanish and public health at an event on the Tulane University uptown campus. Bellino is a 1998 Newcomb alumna who received a master of public health in international health from Tulane in 1999 and completed pediatrics residency training at Tulane. “Elizabeth went above and beyond what I expected to gain from her mentorship,” Stoleru says. (Photo from Newcomb College Institute)
The Women to Women Mentoring Program, a new initiative this year of the Newcomb Alumnae Association, aims to bridge the gap between college and life after Tulane University by closely linking undergraduate women with the vast network of talented, dedicated Newcomb alumnae.
The program pairs undergraduate women with an alumna who has excelled in her field, providing the means for mentees to make meaningful professional connections early and often. Mentors have the unique opportunity to share their own experiences, wisdom and advice with a student eager to learn more about their field and career path.
After nearly a year of preparation, planning, and implementation spearheaded by Newcomb Alumnae Association board member Liz Clark, the Women to Women Mentoring Program shows that connections forged even in the first year of the program have left strong imprints on both mentors and mentees.
Gianna Stoleru, a 2015 graduate with majors in public health and Spanish and dreams of pursuing medicine, sought a mentor with experience in the medical field who could offer guidance and support through the daunting application process, someone who could “answer questions about the field and medical school that I couldn"t find answers to anywhere else.”
She matched with mentor Dr. Elizabeth Bellino, an accomplished pediatrician with an extensive background of local and global medical service who is a 1998 Newcomb alumna with a public health degree. From their first meeting, Stoleru realized that Bellino"s insight would prove invaluable as she began taking the steps to realize her dream of medical school.
“She serves as a great role model to me and I often say that she is the doctor and person that I can see myself as in the future,” says Stoleru, who began medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine this fall.
Sophie Leonard is member of the Newcomb Scholars Class of 2015, currently pursuing her master"s degree in English at Tulane University.
