Alumnae Contacts

The Independent Study Network benefits from the insights and experiences of alumnae who have worked on Independent Studies or theses. The alumnae listed below are willing to hear from you and would be happy to correspond by email about independent study and thesis-related issues. Some of our enthusiastic alumnae mentors may have even completed projects similar to yours!

Alumna	MHC Major	Advisor
Anna Bennett '04 04apb@alumnae.mtholyoke.edu	History	Robert Schwartz
Awakening a Consciousness of Nature--Dorothy Wordsworth and the English Lake District
Danielle Connor ‘06 dcconnor@mtholyoke.edu	Special Major. Literature and Writing: The Environment	Lauret Savoy
Sustainable Community Development through Organic Agriculture
Puja Deverakonda ‘07 pdeverak@mtholyoke.edu	International Relations	Stephen Jones, Michael Klare
Central Asia Natural Gas and Russia as an Energy Superpower
Rebecca Fabian ‘07 20refabian@gmail.com	Anthropology, English	Debbora Battaglia
Teaching Others, Learning Ourselves:  Native American education and the formation of identity
Writing the Picture Book
Lily Jampol ‘06 mhc.isn@gmail.com	Politics, French	Joan Cocks, Penny Gill
Consuming the Good Life:  Freedom, Food, and Happiness in Contemporary America
Kara A. Johnson ‘07 johnson.karaarlene@gmail.com	Dance, English	Donald Weber
The Public Performance of Women in Henry James's 'The Bostonians'
Amanda Leinberger ‘07 asleinbe@gmail.com	History, Sociology	Eleanor Townsley
A Safe Place for Smart Women:  Public and Private Images of Mount Holyoke College during the 1940s
Courtney Long ‘07 cslong@MtHolyoke.edu, csl10@pitt.edu	Art History, Medieval Studies	Michael Davis
Mariology and Monumental Sculpture on the West Facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris
Audrey Markarian ‘07 aemarkar@mtholyoke.edu	Psychology, English	Karen Hollis
The effect of associative learning on antlion feeding and behavior
Sara Piontkowski ‘06 spiontko@mtholyoke.edu	Psychology, English	Becky Packard
Mentoring Initiation of Adolescents:  Examining the Role of Identity Style and Constructivist Epistemology
Simar Singh‘06 ssingh@MtHolyoke.edu	International Relations, Economics	Jon Western
NO END IN SIGHT:  Examining the continual recruitment and re-recruitment of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liena Strikis ‘06 lastriki@mtholyoke.edu	Psychology, Film Studies	Kathy Binder
The Effects of Orthography and Phonology on Vocabulary Acquisition
Taryn Tong ‘07 taryntong@gmail.com	Psychology, Complex Organizations	Francine Deutsch
Directors as Mentors:  The Role of Child Care Center Directors in Encouraging Preschool Teachers to Return to School

Comments from Alumnae about the value of their independent study experiences
Anna Bennett '04
"The opportunity to engage in independent work was the culmination of my Mount Holyoke education.  I built a foundation for my independent study my sophomore and junior years.  Each year I took speaking-intensive courses, and honed my research and writing skills in many of the history departments seminars.  Throughout this process, I discovered new and exciting interests that were always within me, but not yet found.  Once found, I wanted to learn more, and embarking upon an independent study allowed me to travel, study, and research a topic that wasn't offered in the classroom.  I engaged in meaningful and pertinent discussions with my advisor, wrote and read every day, created a paper deep in research and critique, and then presented my work to a committee.  The experience was hands down the most meaningful of my Mount Holyoke education."

Danielle O’Connor ‘06
“In my experience, the value of independent work is the ownership it fosters over the material.  It cultivated a sense of responsibility, empowered me to invest in my ideas, and forced me to step outside of my comfort zone.  It also helped me look at my education in a broader light and strive for over-arching themes to create connectedness among my various courses.  Today that practice helps me to make space for ideas and projects, even in an unstructured environment.”

Puja Deverakonda ’07
“Doing an independent study was an incredible experience.  My independent study topic led directly to my Fulbright research topic (Natural Gas and German Energy Security).  In addition, it helped refine my writing and research skills.”

Rebecca Fabian ‘07
“An independent study or thesis is a great way to test yourself and the knowledge you've gained over three years of college. The satisfaction you get from fulfilling your project goals is almost as great as walking across the stage at graduation. Almost.”

Kara A. Johnson ‘07
“I found the workshops incredibly engaging, encouraging, and insightful.  I was able to share my triumphs and frustrations with my Independent Study with a community sharing similar experiences.  I felt less disconnected with the world during this very intense, often solitary project.”

Courtney Long ‘07
“The ISN was very helpful. I appreciated the camaraderie that was established on the basis that each student present was working independently, but was not alone. I remember being at the first meeting and feeling completely blown away by the diversity of topics and the scope of intellectual exploration, a feeling that was greatly intensified after each presentation at the Senior Symposium. I thought that the professors who participated at the ISN meetings were very helpful and provided a comfortable environment for us to problem-solve and ask our uncertain questions. If I could do it all over again, I most certainly would! I loved working with my adviser and a select group of other professors. Their knowledge and guidance was a driving force behind the success of my research. I know that through their help my independent work has disciplined me to be a better scholar, and has allowed me to continue exploring the topics of my thesis at the graduate level. I think that the two most important things that a student who is interested in pursuing independent study should have is: determination and a good support system. The ISN was definitely a component of my support system, and a means for staying determined.”