Alumnae and Friends
Our first WMS graduate, Dawn Paul (1979) has just published a novel, Still River, Corvid Press. Read what one reviewer has to say about her book.
The connections, actual and potential, between three young people are at the heart of this melancholy novel. The characters are caught in the gentle eddies of the river of time, as well as the fascination of an actual river, and a love for wetlands and woodlands blinds them together. Southern New England's Still River dominates the novel, a chattering reminder of death (a winter suicide) and life (tadpoles clogging the brooks in summer.) It's a delicate, carefully observed tale of two families and two friendships, and the unexplored erotic undercurrents that take people by surprise, like unexpected white water leaving you exhilarated but shaken. The Brownells are a typical family with pretensions of propriety and upward mobility. The Bruleys are strange, insular and woods-wise.
David Brownell's inability to deal with the unwelcome crush on a male schoolmate leads to the first connection between the families: Jay Bruley discovers his frozen body in the chilling waters of the Still River. Years later, an awkward friendship grows between Jay and David's sister Eleanor, two young women who have nothing common except that they have nothing in common with anyone else, either. Inevitably, they are parted and their cool friendship lapses into cool memories. In Paul's clear prose, even the landscape seems to take up the mourning for lost opportunities and days gone by. Although the tone is wistful, there's something oddly life-affirming about the book; there's a just-so quality to it that feels right. "Life's hard but it's good," sighs the river, if we only take the time to listen.
Email: Brian Jewell bjewell@baywindows.com
Monica Ann-Jude Anderson
Since graduating, my career path has been multi-faceted in marketing, communications, business development and community relations. I have my professional certificate in Corporate Citizenship Management from Boston College. I have served in the capacity of Director of Marketing for Garden City Center in Cranston, RI as well as for The Providence Civic Center in which I was integral in the sale of the original 4.25 million dollar Naming Rights Sponsorship of the building (aka "The Dunkin Donuts Center"). I have served as the Program Director for the "Downcity Partnership" with the Rhode Island and Providence Foundations for the revitalization efforts of Downtown Providence, which included the formation of the "Downtown Improvement District".
My current post is as Manager of Community Relations for The Miriam Hospital. Here, I oversee all neighborhood and community relations programs and efforts for the hospital within the Summit and Mt. Hope Neighborhoods.
Recently, I have served as President of Groundwork Providence, the city's oldest environmental group as well as an avid fundraiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through my personal participation as an athlete running marathons. I recently qualified for the Boston Marathon and will be participating in that event this April 19, 2010. I continue to serve on my sorority's Corporate Board of Directors, where my special interest is to remind the women of my sorority about our Founding Mother's original purpose, to find strength and support in one another in the academic setting. I've recently become a "Single Mother By Choice", and gave birth to a vibrant baby girl by the name of Catherine Ann-Jude Anderson on November 2, 2009.
My future goals include returning to school to pursue an MSW and to go into clinical counseling with an interest in working with
women. The "glass" ceiling has never been more apparent to me than at this stage of my career. I am incredibly disheartened to see this reality among so many of my female colleagues especially in the health care systems.
Chloe Thompson
May 2009
I graduated in May 2009 with a double major in journalism and women's studies. Currently, I am employed as an editorial assistant for TMG, a custom publishing company that produces more than 70 different magazines and web sites. I spend my days writing, researching and attending media events to represent the company, and I couldn't be more in love with what I do. Not a day goes by that I don't recall great times with the women's studies program, and I cannot thank the faculty enough for its never ending support for ALL of its students. The warmth and drive all the majors, minors or even interested parties have is undeniable.
Janet Foster Graduated August 2007
After graduating with a History degree from URI in August 2007, Janet Foster immediately began her studies at the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Cooperstown, New York. She is currently finishing up her final semester in History-Museum Studies. Janet is thankful for her Women's Studies classes because they provide a fresh lens in which to view history and to tell stories within the museum setting. In addition to finishing up graduate school, Janet is also planning a July wedding in her home state of New Mexico. She hopes to find a job in Rhode Island where she will make her home with her new husband, two cats, and numerous aquatic creatures. I spent the summer in Washington, D.C. completing an internship at the National Museum of the American Indian Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland. I worked in the registration office cataloging objects. This is a picture of Ellen and I examining a southwestern ceramic pot.
Kade Langston Aris graduated Dec. 2008
I am in a dual masters program at Widener for Social Work and The Education of Human Sexuality. I believe that my courses at URI in Women's Studies have a huge overlap in this program. I will still be speaking at the URI annual GLBTIQQ Symposium this coming April. I hope to go into private practice as a therapist for people with gender variance. I also plan to teach at least part time at a University upon graduation.
Bridget Druken graduated May 2008
After I graduated from URI in May 2008, I drove across the country - PA to VA to AL to MI to LA to TX to NM to AZ and finally CA. I am currently earning a MA in mathematics at San Diego State University. I teach a math course for elementary education majors while taking classes and absolutely love what I am doing. By being a women's studies minor, it opened my eyes to some truths of the world and am able to connect to my students because of experiences with professors and students in the Women's Studies Dept at URI. My analytical and writing skills have been expanded with the sensitivity towards diversity needed in order to express myself precisely and boldly. The question plays in my head, not "How has a minor in women's studies contributed to where I am now," but rather, "How has a minor in women's studies NOT contributed?!"
VIcky Paulino graduated
After I graduated from URI I worked at the Women's Center of Rhode Island as a Case Manager working with women and children who are victims of Domestic Violence and/or homelessness. I am now living in Philadelphia and am now working as a Drug and Alcohol Case Manager serving the adolescent population. I must say that Women's Studies has shaped me into the professional I am today. Women's Studies has affected my work choices and aspirations in every way. From understanding the value of self to being a new left feminist and educating those whom I work with, Women's Studies has and will always have a great impact in my everyday life. My goal is to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of women, men, children, and adolescents and to continue educating those who lack the knowledge of the importance of equality and self-worth.
Misty Cranston Bates Graduated May 2009
I am working as a behavior modification specialist with young adults, and adolescents, who are on the autistic spectrum. This was not the job or the specific field I intended to be in. However, I am very happy and passionate about this line of work. I am currently employed through the Groden Center Network, and I just got a promoted to a shift leader position. My drive to empower the clients I work with, to teach them how to communicate their wants and needs in a world where they are often misunderstood and underestimated, and to make sure their human rights aren't being violated all derive from studying issues that center around oppression, power, and justice. Therefore, I can think of no better major to prepare someone to work in the field of human services than Women’s Studies. I also credit Women Studies for teaching me how to assert myself and be respected as a young women in the professional world.
Where are they NOW?
image: http://waldo.wikia.com/wiki/Wilma
