Who’s Whoooo Profile – Lil Burroughs, Director of Operations, Campus Safety

What I do: I manage the operations of the Campus Safety departments at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.

• My favorite song: “I’m the Lucky One” by Amy Grant
• Dream vacation spot: Hawaii
• Favorite dessert: Chocolate cake
• Best things about Bryn Mawr: The students that take self-governance seriously and want to make a positive change in our ever changing world.
• Best thing about Campus Safety: Once you get to know us we are the most down to earth people on campus. We care about our job; we love getting to know students! Mostly, we want all of our students to be safe.
• BMC club/activity I’d like to join: Spin class on a regular basis
• How I practice self-care: I enjoy going to the gym
• Best safety tip I received: Always travel with a buddy. This means don’t do things by yourself, especially outside and away from home.
• Favorite thing about my job: I do something different every day. Plus, I get to meet so many great members of the College community.
• Favorite spot on campus: Cambrian Row. It has the best view plus I enjoy watching the birds and butterflies.
• In my free time, I enjoy: Spending quality time with my partner and friends.
• Little known fact about me: I love Broadway and the Philly Theater. You can also catch me checking out the Philly Pops.
• My secret talent: If you ask my friends they will tell you they like to talk to me about stuff. I guess I like to listen.
• On my summer to-do list: Summer is supposed to be a time for me to clean up my office–it hasn’t happened yet….

Who’s Whoooo at Bryn Mawr – Profile of Deb Alder
Learn a little bit about Coordinator of Access Services Deb Alder:

• What I do:  I am the coordinator of services for anyone on campus who has a learning, physical, medical or psychological disability. My job is to ensure that these individuals have access to all aspects of our campus community, but, especially, to books and materials for classes as well as to the facilities.  I also provide academic support to a small group of students.
• My major in college: Special Education (undergrad) & Clinical Psychology (graduate)
• Favorite book:  I love to read so I cannot possibly pick one favorite!  One of my favorites from childhood is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.  However, I am particularly drawn to mysteries and biographies.
• Dream vacation spot:  the Swiss Alps
• Favorite memory from freshman year:  Just hanging out in the dorm with my friends…
• Favorite dessert:  chocolate ice cream
• Favorite spot on campus:  Merion Green
• BMC club/activity I’d like to join: any a cappella group (but, first, I’d have to be able to sing, which I can’t!)
• Tip for freshman year:  Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Who’s Whoooo at Bryn Mawr – Profile of Stephanie Nixon (Pensby Center)
Stephanie Nixon serves as Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity, Social Justice & Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator for the College.  She works in the Pensby Center, which is home to diversity and inclusion programs, leadership programs, and international services and advising.  This summer, she will be facilitating Tri-College Identity, Equity and Social Justice Institute (Tri-Co), a pre-Customs academic and leadership program focusing on identity, power, and social justice. If you’re not participating in Tri-Co, you will get a chance to meet Stephanie during Customs Week, when she will present sessions on the topics of diversity and consent and sexual assault on college campuses. These sessions include the Customs diversity conversations, the presentation on Title IX, the “Speak About It” group discussions, and more sessions during the first-year Wellness program. Stephanie is an incredibly dynamic and engaging presenter and her energy is contagious as is her passion for Bryn Mawr and social justice.

• What I do: I work with diversity and social justice initiatives on campus like the Diversity Council, Diversity Leadership Group, supporting the Alliance of Multicultural Organizations, advising the Community Diversity Assistants, and Spectra Gender and Sexuality Education, and Tri-Co and Dimensions of Diversity social justice retreats among other programs. I also serve as the coordinator of the College’s educational efforts around sexual harassment and sexual assault and support reporting and follow up processes related to our policies.
• Favorite book, song or movie: Favorite book is a tough one as I am an avid reader and bounce between non-fiction and fantasy and sci-fi. One of my favorites is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, although I must admit to having a lot of favorite books.
• Best things about Bryn Mawr: Self-governance and commitment to challenging Bryn Mawr to constantly evolve into a better version of itself.
• Best thing about Pensby: Pensby is a great place to explore new ideas and to complicate existing understandings of ourselves and our communities.
• Tip for the first year at BMC: Take a risk and try something new just for the fun of it!
• What I like about working with new students: I value the chance to learn from all students constantly, and I appreciate the new perspectives and questions the newest members of our community bring.
• Favorite thing about my job: I am so blessed and privileged to work in a role that aligns with my values and brings me learning and meaning each day.
• Favorite spot on campus: Almost anywhere outside on a warm and sunny day.
• In my free time, I enjoy: Spending time with my partner, my dog, my family, and squeezing in time for reading, watching soccer and knitting.
• If I were an animal, I’d be: My dog, Cleo. She has kind of a sweet life.
• My secret talent: Like all superheroes, I feel I must keep my powers and my alterego secret to protect those I love.
• Nickname: Snixon

On my summer to-do list: Reading in the sunshine, urban hikes and time with family (see above).

Who’s Whoooo at Bryn Mawr – Profile of Vanessa Christman, Assistant Dean and Director of Leadership and Community Development
This week you’ll get a chance to get to know a little more about Vanessa Christman of The Pensby Center.

What I do: I work to support individual growth and build community at Bryn Mawr. All of us at the Pensby Center are dedicated to making the College as inclusive a place as possible, while celebrating the diversity of our community. Much of my focus is on small cohorts of students, but I work with everyone from individuals to foundations.

My majors in college: Drama and French

Favorite song: I have a soft spot for Leo Brower’s “Afro-Cuban Lullaby,” Prokofiev’s “Overture on Hebrew Themes” and anything by Gershwin. But I also like new music, especially if you can dance to it!

Dream vacation spot: Morocco

Favorite memory from my first year at college: Being cast in a play, and becoming part of a close community within the college.

Favorite dessert: A bite of something someone else is having (Just ask my kids!)

Favorite spot on campus: The view of campus from the second floor of the Pensby Center

BMC club/activity I’d like to join: Rhythm and Motion or Pulso Latino

Favorite way to start the day: Walking with my husband and our dog in a nearby park (after coffee, of course!)

Tip for the first year at BMC: Look for activities and relationships that will support you, as well as for those that will stretch you.

ViAnna Bernard, Assistant Director of Residential Life

• What I do: I work closely with our Hall Advisors and our two Graduate Assistants to make the experience of living at Bryn Mawr as welcoming and engaging as possible! I am always here as a resource for students who have issues or questions arise relating to their room or roommates. I also oversee Project Dorm Room, which is a room design contest that takes place later in the fall semester.
• Favorite book or music: The Polar Express is my favorite story OF ALL TIME!  My favorite genre of music is country, but I will dance to ANYTHING and love just about all music.  I also have an unusual affinity for Meatloaf.
• Favorite Movies: Titanic, Dirty Dancing, Gone with the Wind, Forrest Gump, and Waitress. I generally enjoy any movie that makes me laugh or cry, but I also appreciate a good horror movie once in a while.
• Dream vacation spot: Somewhere with lots of snow and a crackling fire.
• Favorite dessert: Anything lemon!
• Favorite Quote: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'” -Eleanor Roosevelt
• Tip for the first year at BMC: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We all need a hand sometimes, and you are absolutely never alone. There are lots of people here that want to help you, so all you have to do is ask!
• What I like about working with new students: Their sheer excitement about Bryn Mawr!
• Favorite thing about my job: It allows for a lot of creativity, and we actually spend most of our time in the office laughing. I am surrounded by amazing people each day I come to work.
• In my free time, I enjoy: Hunting for bargains at flea markets, yard sales, and thrift stores, decorating, playing with my nieces, cooking up a storm, having coffee with my mom and dad, trying new restaurants with friends, and organizing anything that will sit still long enough.
• Little known fact about me: I grew up in a farm family in a very rural area of South Jersey, and I loved every minute of it. I guess that probably explains the affinity for country music…

Who’s Whoooo at Bryn Mawr – Profile of Mary Beth Horvath, Director of Student Activities & Orientation

• What I do: As the Director of Student Activities and Orientation I strive to create a vibrant student community on campus. I oversee the Activities Assistants who help me plan a variety of programs to help students develop healthy and meaningful relationships with others, learn about themselves, and develop leadership and life skills. Many of those activities also help students take a break from their studies when they need it. The Activities Assistants also help students learn about Philadelphia and all the great places you can explore and fun things you can do in the city. I work directly with a number of student led clubs and activities to help them plan engaging events for the campus community to enjoy. I’m the advisor to Traditions and work closely with the Traditions Mistresses to help create a sense of community on campus. I also oversee the Customs program, our new student orientation program, and work with the Customs committee and Customs People to help new students acclimate to the College. Find out more about the Customs program by visiting our website at brynmawr.edu/customs.
• My majors in college: Music and Environmental Studies at Dickinson College
• Favorite movie: Grease!
• Favorite dessert: Strawberry Shortcake
• Favorite spot on campus: Campus Center
• BMC club/activity I’d like to join: WHRC, Social Committee, Film Series… I was involved in clubs like these at my undergraduate institution.
• Tip for the first year at BMC: Be open to meeting new people, exploring new interests, learning about other cultures, getting involved, and ask for help if you need it! Everyone is here to help you succeed in whatever you choose to do. Also, explore Philadelphia! Philly is a city rich in culture, with world class museums and restaurants, theater, sporting events, and so much more.
• What I like about working with new students: Their excitement, enthusiasm, and ambition!
• Favorite thing about my job: Working with and getting to know students and planning events for the community.
• In my free time, I enjoy: Running, crochet, reading, trying new restaurants, watching TV, spending time with my husband Bryan and cats Max and Sam.
• My secret talent: I make awesome breads and jams and recently began making a variety of baked goods. I crochet stuffed animals; you can find some of my crocheted owls in various offices around campus.
• Nickname:  MB
• On my summer to-do list: Plan a great Customs experience for the Class of 2021!

Exploring New Subjects

Greetings, new Mawrtyrs! Some of you may be coming to college with your heart set on a certain field of study, but I am sure many of you recoil at the thought of declaring a major come sophomore year. I was in the former group, with sights of getting my Ph.D. in chemistry. But I took a chemistry course my first semester and it was enough to make me want to never step foot in Park Science again. So, to those of you who are as good as declared and those of you who cannot imagine pursuing something into grad school, I urge you to explore your uncharted territory. Bryn Mawr has countless newfangled classes, from “Lesbian Immortal” to a class on life on Mars. Do not set any academic limits for yourself, because you may never get the chance to take a class on homosexuality in literature or planetary exploration again. Even better, Bryn Mawr has this awesome thing called “shopping week” during which you can attend any class that sounds interesting to you during the first week of classes, and, after sitting in, choose whether or not it is for you. I urge everyone to not discriminate against any subject until you have explored it, because one class this semester may become your major next year. Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

–Jackie Spiering ’20

Choosing Classes

Welcome to Bryn Mawr Class of 2021! One thing you’re probably excited about is choosing courses because now, you finally get to have a say in what classes you want to take. This freedom is great, but it can definitely be stressful because there are so many choices. One way to pick, the most obvious, is pick something you like or that you’re interested in. By interested in, I mean something that you’re actually interested in, not something someone told you to do. If you don’t know what you’re interested in, that’s okay too! You shouldn’t be afraid to explore new things, even things you’ve never even heard of. Also, keep in mind the four Approaches to Inquiry that you have to fulfill, but don’t stress too much about it. After you choose your classes, you can still change them during the shopping period. There’s nothing to lose and everything is a learning experience! Good luck!

–Sandy Liang ’20