BUILDING A DERRYFIELD NETWORK

In the spring of 2021, the Philanthropy & Engagement Office conducted an alumni survey. One of the survey questions asked if alumni would be willing to connect with current DS students. Over 200 alumni responded in the affirmative. Jordan Cady, Philanthropy Office Coordinator, took the next step, creating a plan to match students with alumni, both through online conversations between students and alumni, and online “visits,” where alumni could share with DS students insights about the college process, career choices, and professional opportunities.

At the beginning of the 2021–2022 school year, Cady sent out the list of alumni to faculty and staff, and asked if they had any students who might be interested in meeting with anyone on the list. When a match was established, Cady set a date for an online meeting, which included the alum, the student, and herself, in the role of meeting facilitator.

In addition to arranging the logistics, Cady also prepared students for their meetings. A week before a meeting was to take place, Cady emailed the students, encouraging them to formulate a list of questions. On the day of the online meeting, Cady logged on early with the student to review their list of questions (and possibly add suggestions), to discuss the structure of the meeting, to remind the students to be “active listeners,” and to give tips for how to generate other questions, during the interview, based on talking points. After the meetings concluded, the students remained on the call with Cady for a debrief session, where they were reminded to send a follow-up thank you email to the alum, expressing their gratitude and appreciation. In addition to valuable information gleaned from a meeting with a Derryfield graduate, the DS students also learned valuable professional skills, including interviewing techniques and meeting etiquette.

Cady says of the experience, “It has been so wonderful helping cultivate relationships between alumni and their peers as well as with students. I have loved getting to know students and alumni through these connections, and am hoping to expand to have even more connections this coming school year. I have been so impressed with the professionalism and active listening skills of our students when they meet alumni for the first time, and it has warmed my heart to see our alumni community eager to foster and mentor students and younger alumni. This program shows how special Derryfield really is, and how DS alumni continue to lead lives of passion and purpose even after graduation.”

Connecting DS students with alumni, whether in facilitated conversations or in a classroom setting, is in line with the school’s Core Value of individuality: Encouraging young people to grow as unique individuals through the discovery of new passions, and a love for learning, self-knowledge, critical inquiry, and reflection. Alumni connections also help to fulfill a critical goal of the Upper School Pathways Program, which aims to help students identify their strengths and connect them to independent study projects and internships.

Anna Moskov, Directory of Philanthropy & Engagement and a student advisor, invited three alums to visit her advisory. Ellie Small ’21 gave the DS students a glimpse into college life, answering questions large and small, including, “What is it like to go to college in a large, metropolitan area?”

Joyia Fazelat ’96 talked about how she explored her many interests through internships and volunteer work, until she landed upon her career in emergency medicine. Charlotte Leyden ’16 discussed with the DS students how she turned her passion for the outdoors and horses into a career running livestock in Colorado.

Moskov commented, “Connecting directly with our alums is one of the best opportunities we can provide our students so they can learn how to create their own path.”

It was great to talk with Derryfield alumni who work in fields (engineering and science) that interest me. They walked me through the steps they took to get to where they are, and described the day-to-day life of their jobs. They also demystified several questions I had, and gave me some advice regarding how I can pursue a similar career. I am grateful for these conversations and am now more aware of what path I want to take moving forward.

-Jaisen Soundar

Derryfield Senior Chalsea Pham ’23

CHELSEA PHAM ’23

My alumni connections have helped me define what I want in my college studies and what I will look for in a career. I met with two Derryfield alumni, Dr. Jared Silverstein ’96, a physician at Boston Children’s Hospital and Francesca Delesco-Frechette ’16, a student at Tufts Medical Center.

My interview with Dr. Silverstein was amazing. I was able to ask him questions about clinical care, his perspective on care accessibility for patients who are uninsured and patients who have medical illnesses that were difficult to treat. This connection was very helpful to me, because we also talked about different college programs, books that I should read that were interesting to physicians, and future opportunities.

My interview with Francesca also went well. Since she graduated from Derryfield not too long ago, and also just graduated from college, I was able to ask her about her perspective and the opportunities she had. I asked her tons of questions about what she is doing now, how her college path went, how her medical school path was going, and what made her choose to become a physician instead of an assistant or nurse. Her story was remarkable because she reminded me that there was no perfect way to go about things.

Derryfield alumna Francesca DeIesco-Frechette ’16

Overall these two alumni connections aided my college journey in ways that are hard to describe. Seeing how well Derryfield prepares you for the real world made me also feel a lot more comfortable with where my future takes me. It also gave me a lot of assurance because I’m a first-generation student, so I was never able to have these opportunities until recently!

Derryfield senior Mary Hodgkins ’23

MARY HODGKINS ’23

I met with Jamie Ducharme, a DS alum who is now a staff writer with TIME Magazine. I initially reached out because as an aspiring writer myself, I wanted to know what working as a journalist was like. I found our conversation informative and inspiring; she gave me wonderful advice about internships, building connections, and putting yourself out there as a writer. Hearing about Jamie’s career gave me a more realistic perspective of what a career in journalism would look like and solidified my interest in writing.

Derryfield alumna Jamie Ducharme ’11

Derryfield alumna Rosie Steiner ’17

ROSIE STEINER ’17

I met with two fellow alums over Zoom; Mallory Rinker and Jamie Ducharme. Both of them were a delight to talk to, and it was very interesting listening to their journeys of how they ended up where they are now. Mallory had a lot of interesting experiences to share with me, and throughout our talk she continuously emphasized the importance of being self-motivated and being confident in the abilities I already have. She also went into detail about how she honed her own skills in certain areas—such as project management, design and creating marketable content for people through freelance work. Jamie’s advice was based on strategies I was a little more familiar with—like interning and searching for jobs that work well with the skills I already have. She reminded me of the importance of flexibility, as in her field of work as a published author and journalist, trends are prone to changing, and having the ability to recognize shifting patterns is beneficial.

Talking to Mallory and Jamie helped me picture my future career, and gave me an idea of the work I should pursue if I want to end up in a similar field as them. Though my current job is in a different field, I often revisit their advice to prepare myself for what my future might have in store. It’s very reassuring to see that not everyone’s journey is the same.

Derryfield alumna Mallory Rinker ’08