Weissman Center Gives New Award to Carrie Alme '01

Heading to medical school in the fall, Carrie Alme '01 doesn't anticipate the lively classroom discussions, the high-powered debate, or the intense exchanges she experienced in four years as a speaking mentor in the Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program (SAW) at the College's Weissman Center for Leadership (WCL). "It's a little tough to have scintillating discussions when the subjects are all dead," Alme jokes about her future classes, which probably will be at the University of Minnesota Medical School, although the Minneapolis native hasn't made a final choice yet.

Talk to the MHC professors who trained and collaborated with her on a wide range of speaking, arguing, and writing projects, however, and they're convinced Alme can be persuasive in any situation. "I first met Carrie two years ago ... [and] my conversation with her made a vivid impression. It was she, more than anything, who piqued my interest in Mount Holyoke's Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program. I am grateful to have had her vision and her guidance on which to rely," says Tamara L. Burk, director of the SAW Program.

From its inception Alme has been involved in the Weissman Center's initiatives. She was the first student selected to become a SAW mentor to improve students' overall communication skills. She organized the "Teach-Back” program that unites faculty and students to discuss classroom pedagogy. She served on the WCL student advisory board, which she chaired during her senior year.

As a result, Alme was selected as the first recipient of a new award for excellence established by the Weissman Center this year. The award, which carries a $250 prize, recognizes the contributions of a senior whose commitment to the ideals and goals of the Weissman Center are demonstrated through passionate and critical engagement in one or more of the WCL's programs, according to Karen Remmler, codirector of the Weissman Center.

"In her tireless engagement with and on behalf of the Weissman Center, Carrie's actions have both embodied and enhanced the WCL's mission to prepare women for lives as agents of change in their chosen professions and communities," says Eva Paus, former Weissman Center codirector, who introduced Alme to the WCL.

In many ways, Alme adopted as her own the Weissman Center's mission to promote societal change through personal and professional involvement. "The Weissman Center played such a central role in my experience at Mount Holyoke. It has helped me to be a more critical thinker, a better teacher, and a better leader," she says.

It also helped Alme attain other goals: she graduates with a double major in chemistry and economics, was an award-winning member of the MHC riding team, served as an emergency medical technician with the campus EMT squad, accomplished all her Weissman Center "firsts,” and now contemplates a fast-paced future as a doctor focusing on emergency medicine.

Alme says her work at the WCL has been rewarding in unexpected ways as well. She was chosen by Joseph Ellis, Ford Foundation Professor of History, as the speaking mentor for his history students. "Professor Ellis interviewed me and hired me on the spot,” says Alme. "He wanted an individual who had the confidence and initiative to get the job done. That was me. He was great about giving feedback and using me as a resource for ways to integrate speaking into his courses." Notes Ellis, "Carrie Alme quickly became not just a student mentor but a fellow teacher in all the courses in which we worked together."

And Alme had a front-row seat for the hoopla when Ellis won the Pulitzer Prize. "It was incredibly exciting. But I knew he would win. He's a very engaging communicator," Alme says. That's the kind of high praise that Alme must now get used to receiving. Says former SAW director and WCL codirector Lee Bowie, "Even as a first-year student, Carrie had a confident, take-charge, get-it-done attitude that set her apart. She truly embodies the ideals of the Weissman Center, with the aspiration to make a difference in the world. We will all be hearing from her in the future."