From Student Mentee to Alumni Mentor: Elana Ragan '19, MAT '20
Chatham’s Welcome Aboard Mentorship Program pairs Chatham alumni with undergraduate students starting their first year at Chatham. Over the course of the student’s first year, their Welcome Aboard mentor will provide support and guidance alongside professional insight and opportunities. Mentors and mentees are paired based on matching interests or similar fields of study and meet for monthly check-ins throughout the mentee’s first year. Recent alumna, Elana Ragan ‘19, MAT ‘20 participated in the Welcome Aboard program as a student and was paired with mentor, Sherry Shadrach ‘90. Now, Elana is paying it forward and working with a mentee of her own, a first year student named Anna Haag majoring in Creative Writing and Psychology. We caught up with Elana to learn more about her wide-ranging Welcome Aboard experience—
What inspired you to participate in Welcome Aboard when you were a Chatham student?
Elana Ragan: Neither of my parents went to college. I don't really consider myself a first-generation student because I have two older siblings who graduated college before I did, but they both went for engineering. Coming in as an English major, I was a little bit out of my depth. I was wondering, How do I navigate this? I knew from the start that I was going to do one of Chatham's IDP programs for my Master of Arts in Teaching. I had the end goal of wanting to be a teacher, but I had no real idea what that meant. [Welcome Aboard] sounded like a really awesome opportunity for me to connect with someone who could help me navigate that a bit more. I was also a commuter and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to make connections with other students who were interested in figuring out what they needed to do to get on the right track.
Can you tell me about your mentor Sherry and how her mentorship impacted you?
ER: At the time the program was just the first semester rather than a full year. Sherry has such a bubbly personality, and she was so warm and welcoming. The very first time we met, she brought me a bag of Chatham gear straight from the book store. I had no idea this was happening, I certainly did not ask her for anything. We met outside of Cafe Rachel and she was basically said, Hi, I'm Sherry I have this bag of stuff for you. You belong at Chatham now, and you deserve to have some stuff that makes you feel like a community member. It was really sweet and just completely unexpected. For me, the transition to college was really tough. Neither of my parents went to college so they didn't really understand what it meant to be part of a college community. To have someone surprise me and say, Here's all this college stuff because you belong here, felt really amazing. We ended up having a couple meetings throughout the semester. She told me a lot about her experience. She worked in education but on a different path than what I'm currently on. She gave me the first honest perspective about what it's like to be a teacher. I really appreciated that. That's something I really encourage my mentee to do now. When you have the opportunity to do an informational interview, ask all of the questions, the good, the bad, the ugly, because every job has that. You're never going to find a job that's purely awesome.
Is there any advice or guidance you received from Sherry that informed your career decisions?
ER: The way that she talked about her career was really inspiring. That's something I think a lot about with my students now—not all of the students in my classes are going to love English as a subject, but I have the ability to be energetic and motivating. That might not go all the way but it definitely helps to make people feel like, Okay, this is good. The way she talked about her career [made it sound as though] she wouldn't trade it for the world. That made me way more excited about my decision and way more confident that I was pursuing something that would feel rewarding for essentially the rest of my life.
Can you tell me a little bit about your current job and what led you there?
ER: I graduated in 2019 with a Bachelors of Arts in English, a minor in psychology and a certificate in women's leadership, and then I graduated again in 2020 with my Master of Arts in Teaching with a secondary English certification. Over the summer, I had a crazy COVID job search, and ended up in a long term substitute position at Upper St. Clair High School. I teach Honors English 10th grade and Academic English 10th grade. This year we are in a wacky hybrid—I have some students in the classroom and some students at home. I teach at the same time to both groups. It’s a very challenging first year of teaching— it’s a pandemic and an election year. I just tell myself, If I can make it through this year, I could probably make it through anything. I'm pretty pleased with where I've landed for my first year. Pittsburgh is a really competitive area for teaching. To land at least a full year position—it's definitely something I'm thankful for.
What inspired you to return as a welcome aboard mentor
ER: When I graduated in 2019, I felt this immediate sense of wanting to give back to my community. I really felt like Chatham became my home away from home. I was pretty invested in the community as a student—I was an RA, I was Editor-in-Chief of the Minor Bird, and I had done some work with the Alumni Association through the Minor Bird. Chatham definitely has a strong sense of community; I was thinking about how I could give back to that and this seemed like a really great way. I had such a positive Welcome Aboard experience, I was hoping that I could give that back to a student entering their first year of college during an absolute dumpster fire.
Can you talk a little bit about your mentee and the ways you've been mentoring them?
ER: [My mentee] is named Anna and they use they/them pronouns. They are fantastic. They are a psychology and creative writing double major. We have a monthly Zoom call to debrief. I can't imagine being a college student right now. I know I'm struggling as a teacher navigating this new environment. I immediately framed this relationship by saying, I'm here, not only to do professional things with you and to act as a mentor, but to be a line of support for you because things are too hard right now. A lot of our conversations center around things that we can do to help Anna de-stress and stay on top of work. I am not doing much hard work because Anna has been a rockstar. We have made arrangements for one professional experience. My next door neighbor went to Chatham for a Master of Counseling Psychology; she runs her own spa and has a private practice where she treats patients. This connects really well with Anna's interest in psychology. We set up an informational interview for the two of them. Next week we'll debrief on that experience. Anna is considering the IDP program and my neighbor Beth has some experience going through a graduate level program for psychology and so it's great, it just happened to fall in everyone's lap. My goal for the Spring term is to get Anna involved with my own students in a creative writing capacity and to give my students an opportunity to talk to someone who is currently in their first year of college. I'm feeling pretty good about where we are right now.
What are the qualities you find important in a mentorship relationship?
ER: I think one of the most important qualities is humanity. Anna and I are really close in age; Anna is 18 and I am 22. We have that sense of professionalism, but I tend to view it more as, I am someone that you can come to if you're having an issue. We all have needs, and that professional barrier can and should exist but it shouldn't override the stronger need to support someone and have the kindness and empathy to slow down and understand someone—what their interests are and what their anxieties are. You can have a very professional sort of relationship but without those other components, you're not going to reach a level of depth in your trust and understanding of each other.
Why would you recommend joining the Welcome Aboard Mentorship Program?
ER: I would 100% recommend the program. It's an opportunity to put yourself out there and to gain something that you may not find as easily without the program. There are plenty of opportunities to mingle and network throughout college but this one is really easy—someone is assigned to help guide you. You never know how much it might impact you and the wealth of information that you may receive from the person that you're matched with. It was invaluable to me and that's why my goal was to give back through participating. If I could offer just one glimmer of wisdom or guidance then that was rewarding to me.
January marks National Mentorship Month! Check out all of our mentorship month opportunities at the link. And if you’re interested in learning more about Welcome Aboard, click here.
