By Alison Berstein

Staff Writer

The Voice caught up with Sara Yow, class of 2015, to learn how Simmons helped shape her world.

Why did you choose Simmons?

I wanted to go to a women’s college, because I wanted to go to a college that had a real focus on educating and empowering women. I chose Simmons because I really appreciated Simmons’s focus on providing students with a Liberal Arts education, while still helping to prepare them for professional life after college.

I applied and got into other colleges and universities, but none of them had the energy that Simmons did.

What have you been up to post-graduation (jobs, volunteering, etc.) Do Simmons values reflect those activities?

After I graduated, I became a Journal Associate at Cell Press; Journal Associates work with editors, peer reviewers, and authors to move manuscripts towards publication. In September 2016, I became a Publication Associate and started working with authors on the production side of the process post-acceptance. It’s a really rewarding position, since I get to work on a variety of production and editorial projects and help each issue get in its final form for publication.

My experiences at Simmons help me at work every day, since Simmons helped shape me into the professional woman I am today.

What values does Simmons uphold?

I think that Simmons’s core value is giving students an academically rigorous education, while also preparing them for professional success.

What does Simmons mean to you? When someone mentions Simmons, what feelings, thoughts, or memories, come to mind?

I think of Simmons as an incubator; that’s what it was for me. Simmons is a place where I think that a lot of people really figure out what kind of person they are and what their goals are going to be in the next phase of their lives.

When I started college, I had a lot of dreams, but I wasn’t sure which ones I wanted to pursue or what road to take to get to them. I still have a lot of goals, but Simmons helped me narrow down what I wanted to do and gave me the confidence and tools to achieve them.

Is there a class that you particularly enjoyed?

I loved most of my classes! They all taught me something valuable and I have fond memories of my professors. I really enjoyed the European History classes that I took (since that was my focus). I loved my literature classes, since they taught me how to be so much more critical while reading. My creative writing classes were awesome since they improved my writing so much.

However, I would say that the class that was unexpectedly helpful was the Internship course I took spring semester of my junior year. This class was so valuable to me; it taught me how to build a resume, present my best self during job interviews, network, and present myself professionally.

I will confess that initially I thought that this class wouldn’t be very helpful; however, I’m grateful that I took it in retrospect, since it’s been so valuable to me since I graduated.