Smith Alumnae Today

In this conversation with alums, President Sarah Willie-LeBreton shares insights on Smith and her vision for the future. The webinar, which was hosted for alums, was held on March 15, 2024. Learn more about the Smith College Network app. Download the app to stay connected to fellow alums and students and find volunteer opportunities! Watch Sarah Willie-LeBreton's inauguration here: Make a gift to the Smith Fund:

How do women navigate today’s workplace in a world where gender is still an issue, gray areas abound, blatant harassment exists, the glass ceiling has not been completely shattered and, to top it off, you are expected to maintain a healthy work/life balance? Those were the questions actor/writer/producer Jake Lipman ’00 sought to address with her new play Relentlessly Pleasant. “I wanted to create a play that looked at women in the workplace and saw some hope for our future,” she says. Relentlessly Pleasant, written and directed by Lipman, takes place on the hectic day before a new, all-female co-working space launches. The office experiences a series of unforeseen conflicts and calamities—everything from a #MeToo incident to various power dynamics among the staff.

Badriyyah Al-Sabah ’17 majored in psychology and religion at Smith College. While she was interested in going to graduate school and pursuing a career in Middle East relations, the Kuwaiti-born Al-Sabah was unsure about what her area of focus would be. So after graduation, she opted for an internship at U.N. Women in Cairo, Egypt. Find out why she thinks an internship was the right choice for her and what she plans to do next.

Sharon Vizcaino and Yvaine Liu, both class of 2017, started working at Goldman Sachs right after graduating from Smith last May. Though they both have the title of technology analyst, Sharon’s position is with the technology side of Goldman Sachs, while Yvaine focuses more on the financial side. They were recently on campus to talk to Smith students about research opportunities at Goldman Sachs. Here they give their best advice to future and current students about starting the career you want right after college.

Though most people would not know exactly what Heshani Wijemanne ’08 does by her title, her position carries with it a great deal of responsibility. She is the engrossing and enrolling clerk for the California State Senate and her work affects every citizen of that state.

Even though Alexandra Botti ’08 has always loved radio, she never dreamed she would have a career in the field. Find out what she does every day as a producer for the National Public Radio show "The Takeaway."

As social media increasingly becomes an integral part of most institutions’ communications/marketing plans, it can also be a great way into the field. One reason Meredith Duncan ’08 loves her position as social media manager for the Museum of the City of New York is that social media provides a platform for fun, creative ways to tell stories.

ArteSana is a nonprofit in Holyoke, Mass. that creates and sells rag-woven products, such as pillow covers and table runners. Katy Moonan ’12, founder and executive director, and Diana Rodriguez, assistant director, talk about the concept behind ArteSana and why it is unique.

Caitlyn Shea Butler ’04 is an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also a dedicated researcher and scholar specializing in biological wastewater treatment. She was among the first class of graduates from Smith’s Picker Engineering Program, the first engineering program at a women’s college. Here she talks about why she chose to pursue her engineering career via academia, her passion for teaching and research, and why she thinks Smith engineers are at an advantage in the workplace.