IC News

On December 2, alumnae of Ithaca College’s BOLD Women’s Leadership Network came back to IC — virtually — for a panel on women’s leadership. Joined by alumni of the BOLD program from Rutgers University, the women gathered to share their experiences as leaders with current students who make up the next generation of women preparing to lead the workforce.

The panel was part of the BOLD Festival, which is an opportunity for women to connect with others and share their work with the wider community at IC. Current Scholars Jessica Wang ’22, Nijha Young ’23, Miriam Brown ’23 and Sainabou Jallow ’22 organized the event.

The women of the panel shared fond memories of their BOLD experience, and how the program guided them down unique paths.

Hannah Cayem ’19, a member of IC’s inaugural BOLD cohort and current elementary school music teacher in Lansing, N.Y., said her time in the program had a profound impact on her educational and personal development.

“We had a lot of challenging conversations in my cohort,” she said. “It pushed me a lot but being in the program really did make me into the person I am today. A lot of that for me was being a white woman in a group of people of color, and not having had the same experiences and lacking understanding. I needed to learn so much, and BOLD gave me the ability to understand my white privilege and help me see all that I was missing. I’m so grateful that it gave me the basics I need to keep educating myself.”

The experience of Kelly Madden ’20, a member of the third cohort, showed that the program doesn’t just support students while they’re at IC. Madden applied for a Helen Gurley Brown Fellowship upon graduating that allowed her to select an organization that aligned with her career and personal goals and provided funding to make that dream a reality.

While at Ithaca, Madden was a member of Active Minds at IC, a student organization that focuses on providing mental healthcare resources to college students. She chose to pursue the fellowship and worked at the national headquarters of Active Minds. She now oversees the development of the more than 200 chapters of the organization across North America and credits the program with helping her get there.

“BOLD helped me find my voice not only in the classroom but in my job,” she said. “Nonprofit culture can be very chaotic, but BOLD helped me realize that I truly belong and have the confidence to speak up when I see that things need to change. If you take anything away from this program, remember that you can’t learn unless you’re uncomfortable.”

Lesley Rodriguez ’21, who is currently completing her master’s in social work at Binghamton University, shared how the program helped her decide to continue her education after graduating IC.

“I grew so much with my cohort, and I’ll always have so much love for BOLD,” said Rodriguez. “I was able to find my passion for social justice through our different programs on campus. Working together helped me realize I wanted to keep going for my master’s in social work. I only just graduated from Ithaca in May, and I’ve already learned so much and can’t wait to keep learning more.”

Daniela Rivero ’21 shared that the impact of BOLD was felt beyond IC’s campus and provided an opportunity to directly engage with members of the Ithaca community. She currently works with the local nonprofit Khuba International, connecting with local elementary schools to support BIPOC students through literacy initiatives, sustainable farming and encouraging respect for the environment from a young age.

“It’s been so rewarding to be able to connect with this really beautiful land that we live on, and to give back to the local community,” said Rivero. “The relationship building that we practiced in our BOLD cohort was so important to learning how to work in these spaces.”

Chanelle Ferguson ’21 is currently completing her fellowship with MeToo International as a communications fellow, supporting survivors of sexual assault by ensuring accurate, respectful representations of survivors in media content.

“Right now, I have a staff that is all women of color, so to be able to still have a cohort of women leaders to lead with, to work with, and to learn from is something I’m so thankful for,” she said. “A lot of the things I’m doing now for my job were things we were doing in BOLD as students.”

One of the highlights of the event was the fact that, in addition to the voices of former Bombers, cohort members from Rutgers were able to offer their experiences as well. This was thanks to the quartet who organized the event, and decided to expand it beyond just IC alumnae.

“We knew we wanted to invite our own alumnae back, but another thought hit us: ‘What if we made this big and opened up to other schools?’” said Wang, who also moderated the event. “We emailed program directors from partnering schools asking if anyone was interested in sharing their stories and experiences as BOLD alumnae. We were happy to see so many who replied and expressed interest and excitement.”

Natalie Otero, a former member of BOLD at Rutgers, shared that the connections she has made to people in other schools has been fundamental to her success in the workplace.

“Relationship building was such an important part of my BOLD experience. Having a group of women to lean on is so important, and I still keep in touch with many of the people in my cohort,” said Otero.

The importance of relationship building is also something BOLD program director Samantha Elebiary, sees as critical, and it’s one of the reasons events like this are vital.

“Peer, or near-peer, mentorship is vitally important to the success of students post-graduation, and this is why I strongly support programs like the one we hosted,” she said. “It allows current students to gain insight, feel inspired and network with IC alums who can help make connections for them. It can be difficult to imagine what life post-graduation might be like, but by hearing several different perspectives, it becomes a little more realistic to imagine the possibilities.”