Torch - Spring 2016

Institute at Havergal

Supporting Student-Driven Ideas Melanie Belore

O ver the past decade, the Institute at Havergal has played a central role in bringing the school’s mission—“preparing young women to make a difference”—to life. Despite being a long-time fixture in the school, we often get asked what it is that we “do.” When your job is to connect students to the world and help foster other people’s great ideas, no two days look the same. We thought we would answer some of our frequently asked questions in order to help demystify the inner workings of this dynamic department.

programming that help foster this type of thinking are Students Act Now and the Global Experience Program (GEP). Q. What happens if the Institute says no to a student idea? A. With the Students Act Now program, our job is to say yes first and then ask questions to help students think more deeply and move their thoughts in unexpected directions. As a result, the final outcome may look different than the student’s original idea, but it will be different in a way that is both meaningful to her and impactful to the cause.

Q. Who is a part of the Institute team? A. There are three members of the Institute team: Melanie Belore (InterimManager of the Institute), Jennifer Russell (Institute Manager, Senior School) and Gordon Grisé (Institute Manager, Junior and Middle Schools). Q. What is your role? A. Our team works to support student- driven ideas and provides opportunities to learn about the world through interactions with different people, perspectives and partnerships. Our two streams of

The Institute team consists of (from left) Gordon Grisé, Melanie Belore and Jennifer Russell.

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