Giving Stories

Mock Interview Competition Preps UMW Students to Land the Job

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Senior Aniya Stewart ’24 sharpened her skills before taking part in the Mock Interview Competition at the University of Mary Washington last month. She researched how to answer the toughest questions and reflected on her past performances when applying for jobs.

Still, she was surprised when she was declared the winner. “My shock wore off when the judges explained their reasoning and gave feedback,” said Aniya, a mathematics major at Mary Washington. “I was elated after that and called my mom to share the good news.”

Aniya, who is already looking for her first post-college position, said she feels more prepared than ever after participating twice in the competition, held every other year for UMW Student Alumni Ambassadors, or SAAs. The event equips students with strategies and techniques to nail any interview – and hopefully, the job.

Along with Network Mary Wash, it’s one of many initiatives organized by the Office of University Advancement and Alumni Engagement to introduce UMW students to the vast network of graduates whose guidance can help them launch their careers and lives after college. A recent Mary Talk held on Nov. 15 featured Associate Provost for Career and Workforce Kimberly Young discussing the key competencies the University has adopted to prepare students for Life After Mary Washington.

Aniya Stewart ’24, winner of the 2023 Mock Interview Competition. Aniya is a mathematics major and a member of the Student Alumni Ambassadors, who participate in the biennial competition. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
Shadwick Yoder ’25, an SAA and a finalist in the 2023 Mock Interview Competition. Shadwick is a political science major and an environmental sustainability minor. Photo by Karen Pearlman.
Natalie Baca ’24, an SAA and a finalist in the 2023 Mock Interview Competition. Natalie is a biomedical sciences major and neuroscience minor. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

This year’s interview competition saw 16 participants vie for a job as a program assistant in UMW’s Office of Student Activities and Engagement. While the position was fictional, Aniya will get a real recommendation from Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement Katie Turcotte and an overnight stay at a regional alumni event.

A finalist during her senior year, Assistant Director of Annual Giving Cadiann Treviño Pinto ’22 serves as staff advisor of the SAA program, which fosters relationships between alumni and students. “I provide pointers like ‘dress to impress, come early, and look for verbal and nonverbal cues,’” she said, but ultimately, the students are responsible for matching their qualifications to the job description.

“This is an essential experiential learning opportunity for UMW students, preparing them to succeed in the real world,” said College of Business Dean Filiz Tabak, who served on a panel of alumni, faculty, and staff judges who evaluated the participants over two rounds. While all the students were “well-prepared, personable, and professional,” Dean Tabak said, Aniya’s confidence, authenticity, and comfort with taking risks helped her stand out among her peers.

Michael Gilchrist ’20, who also served as a judge, said that being a former finalist in the competition helped him distinguish a good interview from a great one. His own mock interviews as a SAA helped him secure his current position as a global client and project manager at D.C.-based ROI Training. “Even to this day, I use the feedback I received to better position myself among other applicants.”

Junior Shadwick Yoder ’25 may have fielded a few curveball questions, but he said that making it to the final round gave him the confidence he needs to pursue his future career.

“Being an SAA has given me many firsts in the realm of professional development,” said Shadwick, a political science major and environmental sustainability minor, who applied to the program during his first semester at Mary Washington. “All of the skills I’ve gained are extremely valuable, no matter what field I enter.”

Learn more about the Student Alumni Ambassador program at the University of Mary Washington by contacting Assistant Director of Annual Giving Cadiann Treviño Pinto ’22 at ctrevino@umw.edu or 540-654-1153.

Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04

Beyond the Classroom Endowment Brings the World to UMW Students

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University of Mary Washington senior Nathaniel Huff ’24 attended 19 professional theatre performances in the span of three weeks – more than most patrons see in a year – on the UMW Theatre in London trip last summer.

A theatre major, Nathaniel grew up in a small town with limited access to his chosen field. He said that going abroad exposed him and his classmates to a wide variety of plays and musicals, including several world premieres.

“There is no doubt that the productions I witnessed are influencing my work and giving me ideas on how to engage with the creative process,” said Nathaniel, who is currently directing a play he discovered at England’s National Theatre for his senior project.

UMW senior Nathaniel Huff received the Beyond the Classroom Education Abroad Scholarship to go on the UMW Theatre in London trip last summer. Alumna Mary T. Bradley MacPherson ’71 has sponsored a challenge, which will unlock $10,000 for study abroad if 200 gifts are made to Beyond the Classroom in the month of November. Photo courtesy of Nathaniel Huff.
Nathaniel (back row, third from right) saw 19 productions during the three-week trip, including the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Maggie O’Farrell’s ‘Hamnet’ (a fictional account of Shakespeare’s son) in Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo courtesy of UMW Theatre.

Nathaniel’s participation in the six-credit course, which also took students to the Globe Theatre and other Shakespearean sites, was made possible by UMW’s Beyond the Classroom Endowment (BtC). The initiative, founded three years ago, supports experiential learning such as study abroad, undergraduate research, internships, and travel to academic conferences. Now, the Beyond the Classroom Education Abroad Scholarship, first awarded last year, has given students like Nathaniel the funding to study overseas.

“BtC was started to provide access to those learning experiences that make such a critical difference in the education and lives of our students,” said College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Keith Mellinger. According to UMW’s Center for International Education, one in three students study abroad while attending Mary Washington. “These opportunities set our students apart from others in a very crowded and highly competitive work environment,” Dean Mellinger said.

Generous donors have raised more than $600,000 for the initiative, which is already being used by UMW students. The long-term goal, Dean Mellinger said, is creating a $1 million endowed fund, which will generate tens of thousands of dollars for students each year.

Mary T. Bradley MacPherson '71 (right) with President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová. Photo courtesy of Mary T. Bradley MacPherson '71.
Mary T. Bradley MacPherson ’71 (right) with President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová. Photo courtesy of Mary T. Bradley MacPherson ’71.

Mary T. Bradley MacPherson ’71 has sponsored a challenge, which will unlock $10,000 for study abroad if 200 gifts are made to Beyond the Classroom in the month of November. The timing coincides with International Education Week, Nov. 13-17. Donations made on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, will also count toward the total.

“It’s enriching to see how other cultures live and to be exposed to different perspectives,” said Mary, who majored in American Studies at Mary Washington. Her liberal arts education prepared her for a career promoting organizational capacity building, educational exchange, and entrepreneurship, which brought her to 45 countries across the globe. Since 2010, she led the Slovak-American Foundation, strengthening business partnerships between the two countries, until the nonprofit ceased this year after reaching its final goals.

Mary T. Bradley MacPherson, as a junior at Mary Washington, in the Battlefield Yearbook. Photo courtesy of UMW Special Collections and University Archives.
Mary T. Bradley MacPherson, as a junior at Mary Washington, in the Battlefield Yearbook. Photo courtesy of UMW Special Collections and University Archives.

A longtime CAS Advisory Board member, Mary has supported BtC since its inception and said she hopes her challenge will inspire her fellow alumni to give. “A small amount of money goes a long way in helping students have life-changing experiences.”

That’s true of sophomore Grace Gower ’26, a historic preservation major who went to France last summer for a course taught by UMW Professor of Historic Preservation Andréa Livi Smith and offered through the MICEFA consortium of French universities.

A Paris native, Dr. Smith led Grace and her classmates through the urban and architectural history of the City of Lights, touring museums, cathedrals, city parks, catacombs and world-famous sites like the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, which Grace captured through photography.

“The Beyond the Classroom Endowment helped pay my tuition fees for the course when my family was in a bit of a rough patch,” said Grace, who plans to pursue a career in historic preservation and urban planning. “I’m very grateful that it relieved some of the costs so I could take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

UMW sophomore Grace Gower (fifth from left) received the Beyond the Classroom Education Abroad Scholarship, which enabled her to go on a faculty-led UMW in France trip to study historic preservation in Paris. Here, she and her classmates visit the gravesite of Eliza Monroe Hay, daughter of President James Monroe. Hay was born in Fredericksburg and died in Paris. Photo courtesy of UMW Professor of Historic Preservation Andréa Livi Smith.
Grace’s photo of the Musee d’Orsay, an art museum in Paris housed in a former train station. Photo by Grace Gower.
Grace’s photo of the Cité de l’Architecture, an architecture museum in Paris. Photo by Grace Gower.

Learn more about Beyond the Classroom or make your gift. For information, please contact Jeremy Vaughn ’08 in the Office of University Advancement at jvaughn@umw.edu or 540-654-2063. Visit UMW’s Center for International Education to learn more about study abroad opportunities at Mary Washington.

Article by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04 

A Decades-Long Commitment

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Anne Hope Scott (right) collaborates with a co-worker in an FDA lab.

In 1988, Anne Hope Scott ’59 wrote to inform Mary Washington that she had included provisions in her estate plans to create a scholarship for chemistry students.

Chemistry was important to Anne. She first taught the subject in Atlanta, Georgia, and then began a 34-year career as a chemist and consumer safety officer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She passed away in 2022, leaving her bequest to fund the Anne Hope Scott ’59 Scholarship in Chemistry.

While her career kept her busy stateside, she took time to enjoy travel and adventure on almost every continent around the world. Wherever she went, she was proud of her degree from Mary Washington.

For more information about establishing scholarships now or in your estate, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

 

Article by Donna Harter, UMW Advancement

Skills for a Lifetime

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Psychology major creates scholarship to acknowledge role of theatre in her life and career

By the time she graduated from high school, Heritage Society member Diana Hamilton Cowell ’66 had attended 12 different schools and lived in several states and countries.

Diana Hamilton Cowell and her mother shared a love for theatre.

“As an Army brat and the oldest of seven children, it was serendipitous that I landed at Mary Washington and finally discovered a sense of stability and belonging,” she says. “There, I was able to pursue an interest while being completely immersed in a subject. I learned skills for logical thinking, and I learned more about being honorable.”

Diana majored in psychology and, during her last year, lived in Framar to participate in special seminars. To optimize her finances, she took heavy course loads and attended summer sessions so she could complete her education in three years. Having performed in a play when she was a child, Diana also took college-level theatre classes.

“My mother had performed in a theatrical touring group in France when she was in college,” says Diana. “So, I became a committed theatre-goer at a young age.”

Diana says she enjoyed all aspects of theatre at Mary Washington. She has fond memories of producing, staging, creating costumes, and directing the German fairy tale Till Eulenspiegel for a foreign language festival. Because of these experiences outside of her major, today Diana is in the process of creating a scholarship for students participating in theatre, but majoring in other subjects.

This new Diana Hamilton Cowell ’66 Scholarship will be the second scholarship Diana has established at Mary Washington. In 2015, she created the Grace Cutler Hamilton Scholarship for French Study to honor her late mother’s career as a French teacher.

After graduating from Mary Washington, Diana held several professional positions, all of which utilized her psychology degree and the skills and confidence she gained from her theatre experience.

Dan and Diana have been married for 54 years.

She was an intern psychodrama therapist in the Psychodrama Department at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., for two years. As part of a small employee group at the hospital, she helped create and actively participated in an employee theatre group that coordinated plays for the patient population and surrounding community. “A wonderful result of The SAINTS’ productions was the development of networks among the different disciplines and facilities throughout the hospital,” says Diana.

While at St. Elizabeths, Diana learned sign language to work with a group of Deaf patients. That also is where she met her husband, Daniel, while he was finishing his psychiatric residency.

Diana continued her education and received a master of arts degree in teaching from Gallaudet University and then taught a small class of multiply handicapped Deaf at Gallaudet’s Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. A decade later, she received a master of social work degree from Catholic University and was able to fulfill her ultimate career goal as a medical social worker at Community Hospice in Ashland, Kentucky, and later at Hospice of Huntington in Huntington, West Virginia.

Wherever she went, Diana discovered the stage presence and poise she mastered from her Mary Washington theatre days helped her professionally – from competently leading therapy groups and one-on-one counseling sessions, to making formal board presentations and developing and presenting in-service educational programs.

Diana and Dan enjoy visiting with their family.

“I can honestly say that much of what I have done in my life and career resulted from many of the experiences I had at Mary Washington,” says Diana. “Learning to communicate with people to support facts, lead programs, and provide comfort to those who are dying or losing a family member – you just never know where your life is going to go.”

As Heritage Society members, Diana and Dan have a trust in place to contribute to four charitable organizations close to their hearts, including Mary Washington. “Dan has come to love and respect Mary Washington as much as I do,” says Diana. “I’ve taken so much and learned so much, it’s truly a great honor to be able to give back.”

Now retired, the Cowells live in Delaware. They have four children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. They remain active volunteers in their community and currently are sponsoring two Deaf Ukrainian ladies in their home. Diana is teaching both American Sign Language.

Even with all these commitments, they continue to enjoy theatre, whether it be professional performances or local productions. “I firmly believe that theatre can be a part of your life in many ways,” says Diana. “You don’t have to perform or be on Broadway. You just have to enjoy it.”

For more information about establishing scholarships now or through your estate plans, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

Article by Donna Harter, UMW Advancement

Finding Harmony at Mary Washington

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Chemistry major values opportunities to be creative while exploring career options

Ada is researching career options.

Adelaide “Ada” Gill ’26 has been playing the harp since she was a small child, but she had to leave the large stringed instrument at home in Richmond when she moved into Randolph Hall. Between her classes, labs, homework, and other campus activities, the recipient of the A. Ray Merchent Washington Scholarship can be found plucking the strings on the University’s harp in Pollard Hall.

“Music has been a constant in my life and is a source of joy,” says Ada. While her musical talents have enabled her to perform with the UMW Philharmonic Orchestra and others, she still is fine-tuning her life goals and ultimate career path.

Ada enjoys playing the harp for “gigs” and concerts.

Ada’s major is chemistry, and she has declared a minor in practical ethics. She also is a resident assistant, serves on the UMW Honor Council, plays club tennis, has volunteered with a local EMT unit, and does service work with the College Diabetes Network and the Gwen Hale Resource Center.

“I came to UMW thinking I would go into the medical field,” says Ada. “But after taking some of my humanities courses and becoming actively involved in the campus community, I realize there may be other ways to fulfill my goals and serve people at the same time.”

Ada says her family and her academic advisor are supportive as she continues to research career paths that will utilize her varied skills and talents.

“The great thing about Mary Washington and my scholarship is that I can keep my options open and enjoy learning and being a student,” she says. “I know careers can change and evolve, and I’m looking forward to exploring all the possibilities.”

Ada and her parents at high school graduation.

Ada vividly remembers the day she learned about the scholarship award. “I was in anatomy class in high school, when the guidance counselor called me into her office,” says Ada. “I thought I was in trouble, but the counselor pulled up a Zoom call, and staff from UMW congratulated me. It was so exciting, and I’ll never forget how I felt at that pivotal moment.”

Ada’s scholarship is named for Ray Merchent, a long-time and well-respected administrator and educator at Mary Washington. Ray passed away in 2003. His wife, Mary Alice, a member of the Heritage Society, passed in 2015.

Ray Merchent

Today, Ray and Mary Alice’s daughter, Alice Dearing, and their son and daughter-in-law, Al and Cindy Jones Merchent ’77, remain connected to the University through communication with scholarship recipients.

“UMW has done a wonderful job of introducing us and keeping us apprised of the progress that the recipients are making in their academic lives,” says Al Merchent. “Cindy and I always look forward to the opportunity to interact with the students, and we hope this scholarship serves as a vital turning point in their lives. My dad believed that education is the key to the universe, and we concur.”

For information about establishing scholarships now or in your estate plans, contact Jan Clarke at jclarke@umw.edu or 540-654-2064.

 

 

Article by Donna Harter, UMW Advancement