Articles

Mónica Ballesteros Arias ’11, who hails from Mexico City, was tapped as one of the institute’s first student-scholars in 2010. serves as deputy chief of staff for David Kershenobich, Mexico’s secretary of health. Before taking the position, Mónica had focused her career on the study of economic inequality; she worked at both Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and the Economist Group in the U.S. A job offer arrived in 2024 from the Ministry of Health at a time when she felt U.S. political winds shifting. “I was living in DC and saw myself more as an immigrant—even as someone who is privileged, I felt that ‘otherness.’”

My class of 2006 graduated ambitious as all hell, ready to break glass ceilings and find happiness, purpose, and a paycheck. Immediately. But in the 20 years since, we’ve experienced life’s bruises—losses, layoffs, breakups, fertility struggles, and mental health challenges. Some of us are more tired than we were at Wellesley, some have careers that bring us more joy and fulfillment than we could have imagined, and others are struggling with one of the toughest job markets in decades. Many of us are rethinking what matters most to us. Rather than a traditional midlife crisis, some refer to it as a “midlife chrysalis.”

"Unchartered: How One Public High School Transformed First-Generation College Success" by Erika M. Kitzmiller ’00 is the culmination of an ambitious research-to-practice partnership that aimed to increase college persistence for students at an urban public high school, most of them first-generation students from low-income families.

Books and media by the Wellesley community

After 18 busy, muddy, noisy months of construction, Clapp Library reopened its doors in time for the first day of classes in September 2025. It was an exciting time for staff, who had been displaced to temporary offices and came back to new and improved spaces. It was perhaps even more exciting for students, who had been without the library for three semesters.

As Callie Kim ’18 moves among Fortune 500 boardrooms, diplomatic offices, and family offices, she’s often the youngest person in rooms where high-stakes decisions get made. The founder and CEO of consulting firm Waban Impact steps in as a part-time chief of staff for executives and senior leaders, managing the behind-the-scenes work that keeps big initiatives moving. She does it with a clear purpose: helping businesses treat environmental sustainability as a foundation, not as an afterthought.

When Lila McGill Fox ’85 learned that her husband had been unfaithful, she went to a clinic for testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI). Relieved when screens for syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV came back negative, she thought she could move on. But a routine Pap smear a year later revealed she had human papillomavirus (HPV), a common STI. Two months later, she was diagnosed with vulvar cancer. A cervical cancer diagnosis followed, and in 2023 she was diagnosed with anal cancer. Lila is still undergoing treatment. Now she is a crusader for vaccination.

Lauren Gedney ’21 landed their first job on Capitol Hill the fall after graduation. They found their place amid the 10,000 or more congressional staffers within the LGBT Congressional Staff Association. In February, they were elected to a one-year term as its president. “The CSA was one of the first places where I was able to make deep friendships in the workplace,” they say. As president, they hope to continue that legacy of inclusion and belonging

With federal money gone, Wellesley alums in public media discuss the industry’s past and how it’s charting a path forward.