The purpose of the Graduate Student Mentorship Program is to provide a venue in which undergraduate students can receive advice and guidance about academic and career decision-making. Graduate students across the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are available to discuss a variety of topics such as:
- fieldwork, research and internship opportunities and experiences
- academic coursework
- further education in their field or other career advice
Please note that the program is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of whether or not a graduate program is part of their department. All undergraduate students should feel free to contact any of the Mentorship Program Representatives listed below. E-mail addresses for the representatives can be found through the Bryn Mawr College directory system, or can be obtained by emailing gsa @brynmawr.edu
Classical and Near Eastern Archaology
Johanna Best: I am a 3rd year graduate student in the archaeology department. I am interested in Classical and Hellenistic Greek archaeology, GIS, and educational outreach. I graduated from Earlham College in 2002, and then took 3 years off to teach in an elementary school. I would be happy to assist undergraduates with writing, editing, researching, or discussing their goals and plans for after college.
Laura Surtees: I am currently in my third year of graduate studies in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology. My field of interest is the architecture, religious practices and multiculturalism during the Hellensitic period, particularly in Greece. I graduated with my BA in Classical Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo Ontario Canada. The first year after graduation was a year of determining my interests and future goals while working various jobs as an engraver, barrista and in retail - primarily to earn enough money to return to Greece for an excavation. While on the excavation, I was offered an internship (through the Canadian Government) at the Canadian Archaeological Institute at Athens. I spent the first year working at the Canadian Institute followed another year working at the British Archaeological School and the Athenian Agora (the American School of Classical Studies in Athens). Having decided to pursue archaeology as a career, I returned to Canada and received my MA in Classical Archaeology from the University of Alberta. Throughout the summers, I continued to participate on excavations and maintain contacts within the field. I returned to Athens in 2004-2005 to work on an archival project at the British School funded through a grant from INSTAP. During this year, I decided to apply for graduate studies at BMC. I am confident in mentoring archaeology students but could probably also help with students in other humanity subjects such as classics, history or anthropology.
Chemistry
Kelly Ginion Matz
Greek, Latin and Classical Studies
Betsy Spear
Clinical Developmental Psychology
Karen Grundy, Suzanne Nangle, Mary Riggio, Sarah Scheckter
Mary Riggio: I am a sixth year graduate student in the Clinical Developmental Psychology Program who studies young children’s understanding of mental states and the relationship between name phonology and gender stereotypes. I attended Bryn Mawr for my undergraduate studies and graduated in 2002 with a psychology major, mathematics minor, and neural and behavioral sciences concentration. I began my graduate program in the fall of 2002. I have worked as a research assistant in a psychology laboratory on campus since 1999 and I would be happy to mentor students in psychology, mathematics, biology, and other related disciplines.
Sarah Scheckter is a second year grad student in Clinical Developmental Psychology, and she is interested in adult development, narrative analysis, emotion regulation and mindfulness, and reading, among other areas. During college at Swarthmore, she studied English literature and creative writing, as well as languages (Spanish and Russian), sociology, and documentary film/media. Before coming to graduate school she worked in publishing and also in admissions consulting, and taught adult literacy. She would be happy to mentor students in the social sciences and humanities, especially literary fields.
French
Sarah MacIntyre
History of Art
Amy Haavik-MacKinnon: I am a third year graduate student in the history of art. My focus is modern and contemporary art, but I have taken courses in medieval, 18th century German, Mannerist and Northern Renaissance art, as well as three interdisciplinary graduate seminars (GSEMs) while at Bryn Mawr. I am currently serving as a teaching assistant for the Cities department and will be the TA for film studies next year. I received a BA in the history of art from Vassar College and a MA in the history of art from the University of Manchester in England. I spent several years working in the “real world” both before and after my first stint in graduate school. I have professional editing experience so I would be delighted to assist students with their writing; I also love to research. I enjoy sharing my experiences, and I know how difficult it can be to make decisions about what to do after college.
Mathematics
Eva Goedhart: I was born in the Netherlands and moved to America when I was 7. I grew up in Virginia and call Northern Virginia home. I decided that I was going to be either an art major or a math major in college since those were the two things I was good at in high school. I finally decided that math might get me further in life so I got my B.S. at James Madison University, VA, in mathematics with a concentration on pure mathematics in May 2003. I decided I wasn’t ready for a ‘real’ job and still felt like I had much to learn in math so I went to Wake Forest University, NC. I graduated from WFU with an M.A. in mathematics in 2005. While at Wake Forest, I found out that I really like doing research, so I decided to go on to get a PhD. I am now in my third year in the mathematics PhD program here at Bryn Mawr working with Professor Helen Grundman in algebraic number theory.
Physics
Don Fahey: I’m a first year graduate student in the Physics Department. Although I find most areas of math and physics to be fun and interesting, I plan on pursuing research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics. I began my graduate studies at Bryn Mawr the fall after finishing my bachelors in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007. I’d be glad to offer advice about anything concerning physics/math education, whether it be writing papers, study methods, research, or graduate education and beyond.
Russian
Mark Baugher: I am a 4th year graduate student in the Russian/SLA program, and 2nd year TA of First Year Russian. I received my BA in comparative literature (French and English) from Western Washington University in 1999, and lived in Russia where I taught English as a Second Language from 2002 to 2004. I am currently writing my dissertation on automatic processing of second language grammar, and researching the way in which language acquisition mimics the acquisition of other complex skills, especially the skills involved in learning how to play games. I would be available to mentor any student who wanted to learn more about SLA or teaching foreign languages.
