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HAVERGAL COLLEGE
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.
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
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.
Supporting Student-Driven Ideas
Melanie Belore
The Institute team consists of (from left) Gordon Grisé, Melanie Belore and Jennifer Russell.
Institute at Havergal