IC Selects Third Cohort of BOLD Scholars

By Casey Verderosa ’07, September 6, 2019

Scholarship program provides leadership opportunities for women.

Back row from left to right: Kemi Odumosu ’21, Gabriela Urbaez-Mendez ’21, Paula Rodriguez ’21 and Daniela Rivero ’21. Front row from left to right: Julia Klipp ’21, Chanelle Ferguson ’21, BOLD program director Samantha Bobbe, Carolina Jeronimo ’21, Lesley Rodriguez ’21 and Taury Phelps ’21.

(Photo by Ithaca College)

Ithaca College is proud to announce its third cohort of scholars selected to join the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network, a trailblazing program which affords college women leadership opportunities on campus and in communities. The incoming BOLD scholars are Chanelle Ferguson, Carolina Jeronimo, Julia Klipp, Oluwasekemi Odumosu, Taury Phelps, Daniela Rivero, Lesley Rodriguez, Paula Rodriguez and Gabriela Urbaez-Mendez. Vice President of Student Affairs and Campus Life Rosanna Ferro will become the new administrative lead, following the retirement of Nancy Pringle, executive vice president.

The scholars were selected out of 56 applicants as women who uphold the legacy of the late Cosmopolitan magazine editor Helen Gurley Brown, in whose honor the Pussycat Foundation exists. The Pussycat Foundation is the funder of the BOLD program. In the spirit of Brown’s legacy, candidates are chosen for their leadership abilities, critical thinking skills, passion for building community and ability to move difficult dialogues forward.

“This is a program that serves both our participating scholars and our IC community by building the capacity for and the expectation of innovative action rooted in social responsibility and collaborative process. I can’t wait to see what the nine women of this new cohort will contribute to our campus and to our world.”

President Shirley M. Collado

Each member of the new cohort is eligible to receive a scholarship of up to $27,500 per academic year as part of a $1.15 million grant IC received last year from the Pussycat Foundation.

“I am filled with such pride and excitement that the BOLD program at IC is entering its third year, and I am deeply grateful for the ongoing support of the Pussycat Foundation in creating a legacy of strong women student leaders at Ithaca College,” said President Shirley M. Collado. “This is a program that serves both our participating scholars and our IC community by building the capacity for and the expectation of innovative action rooted in social responsibility and collaborative process. I can’t wait to see what the nine women of this new cohort will contribute to our campus and to our world.”

Sociology major Lesley Rodriguez ’21 was walking to class when she got the call informing her that she was accepted into the program. “I literally started screaming in the middle of campus,” she said. “I don’t think BOLD will be easy; it’ll be very challenging, but I think I’m going to grow a lot.”

A program emphasizing impactful experiences

One of the requirements of the BOLD program is a transformation project whereby scholars collaborate to effect positive social change and foster inclusive environments. BOLD’s inaugural cohort at Ithaca College implemented “Engaging Mental Health in People of Color” (EMPOC) as its transformation project. EMPOC’s mission is to use dialogue to challenge mental health stigmas that affect students of color. Students on campus were so passionate about the project and its mission, that they have turned it into a student organization on campus.

IC’s second cohort of BOLD scholars has proposed a mentoring project with high school students at New Roots Charter School to prepare them for college. “Mentoring is something I’ve always been fascinated with,” said legal studies major Markiesha Morgan ’20, a member of IC’s second BOLD cohort. “It’s something I’ve done in Jamaica as well. My aim was to help my mentees get scholarships and walk them through the college application process.”

“I’m hoping I’ll be able to make close connections through the BOLD program with successful and inspiring people. I want to be involved in social justice. I want to have a voice and make an impact.”

Taury Phelps ’21

The third cohort will determine its transformation project this year, as well as take part in other components that make the BOLD program unique. BOLD offers scholars a structured curriculum and community building retreats while they are IC students. Scholars also have the opportunity to collaborate with other college women in the BOLD network, which extends across six institutions: Ithaca College, University of Connecticut, Colby-Sawyer College, College of Saint Rose, Middlebury College, and Rutgers University–Newark.

Each scholar is additionally eligible to apply for a Helen Gurley Brown BOLD Fellowship, which provides up to $40,000 after graduation for employment at a non-profit organization that embodies the values of the program. Scholars therefore have an increased chance of securing employment after college and are able to take jobs which match their ideals.

A growing and supportive network

The inaugural cohort is now beginning its fellowship period, with alumnae gaining employment across the country in a variety of workplaces, from a health organization in the San Francisco Bay Area to a nonprofit newspaper in Vermont.

As the initiative grows, IC’s BOLD program director Samantha Bobbe is excited about the possibilities for scholars in the network. “The largest impact of the program I’ve seen is the opportunity for women to lift other women up,” she said. “I’m excited to see how the alumnae network develops over time because many are interested in mentoring younger scholars.”

Culture and communication studies major Taury Phelps ’21 is thinking along the same lines. “I feel very strongly that mentorship is an undervalued aspect of a woman’s success,” she said. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to make close connections through the BOLD program with successful and inspiring people. I want to be involved in social justice. I want to have a voice and make an impact.”