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Spelman
Page 8
Networking In College:
How One v Sister Lifted Another
By Carrie Allison Givhan
Imagine this: immediately
following your college graduation you
head for New York to begin an
internship at an advertising agency.
Perhaps that is not too unusual to
imagine, so picture this: you are
working directly under the co-founder,
President and CEO of the company
which just so happens to be located in
the same building as Essence magazine.
Not only do you work closely
under "The Boss", but you also have
free room and board in her mid-
Manhattan apartment which gives you
the opportunity to observe exactly how
she balances her time between work,
meeting clients, her young daughter,
public speaking, volunteering, and
international travel (among other
things).
Your internship at the agency is
unique because it is part-time. (You
leave at 3 p.m. each day so that you
can care for your boss’ daughter.)
The extra time also allows you to
meet with very important and
influential people in the advertising
field.
Does the arrangement of this
internship seem like a dream that could
have only been answered by a fairy-
godmother?
Perhaps.
But for one 1990 Spelman
graduate, Lori Robinson, this became
a dream fulfilled because she fully
utilized her available resources while
attending Spelman in order to make
this opportunity into her reality.
Although Lori has been greatly
assisted by "The Boss", Kathryn D.
Leary, Lori must be commended for
the essential role that she played in
setting her career goals and working
toward achieving them.
What type of role was this?
Dean Tamara Nash Ammons
described it as a "classic example of
truly networking".
Dean Ammons further described
exactly how Lori put herself where she
is today.
Early in 1990, Lori was a second
semester senior working under Theressa
Stovall, director of Public Relations.
Through working in this office Lori
became acquainted with the names of
many prominent alumnae and
determined to meet with Kathryn Leary
- the president of Jamison & Leary
Advertising, Inc. and a member of
Spelman Corporate Women’s
Roundtable.
After finding out that Leary would
be in Atlanta that coming April for a
meeting of corporate women, Lori
wrote to her and sent her a resumd in
hopes that the two would be able to
meet.
Upon her arrival in Atlanta, Leary
followed up on Lori’s letter by meeting
with her. When Leary returned to
New York, Lori sent her follow-up
information.
Dean Ammons said that Lori’s
timing was perfect because Leary had
an opening for an intern and was also
in need of filling a live-in child care
position for her daughter. After Lori
graduated, she accepted the internship
which also included room and board.
The students of Spelman College
have been treated to some of Lori’s
work at Jamison & Leary Advertising,
Inc.
She helped in the creation of the
insert from Essence magazine’s article
that dealt with the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre. Free copies
of this article were sent to Spelman
students before Christmas vacation. In
working on this article, Lori met with
Maya Angelou who wrote the
introduction.
Dean Ammons, who sits on the
Round Table with Kathryn Leary, gave
the following advice: "You have to
learn early how to market yourself," by
"being assertive in a positive way,” and
by taking advantage of opportunities
that present themselves.
In our own hometowns, Dean
Ammons suggests that we become
acquainted with Spelman alumnae and
friends who are working in our
prospective fields by contacting a key
alumna in our respective cities.
While at Spelman we can contact
the Alumni Office and the Career
Planning and Placement Office and
attend forums that could provide us
with helpful information.
Also, we need to investigate and
pursue any possibilities that we come
across.
Spelman students from Atlanta,
Chicago, Washington D.C., and New
York are at a particular advantage
because the women of Spelman’s
Corporate Women’s Roundtable are
from these states.
We all wish Lori Robinson future
success and we are grateful to special
friends of Spelman College such as
Kathryn Leary who have helped to lift
our sisters as they climb.
Celebrate Our Queendom
Wildfire (1845-1890?)
Former Art Chairman
Retires and Leaves Legacy
By Keisha McClellan
With the resignation of Mrs.
Jenelsie Holloway, a former
chairperson and faculty member of the
art department and friend of Spelman,
the college community bids an
appreciative goodbye.
Mrs. Holloway received her B.A.
degree from Spelman College and more
advanced degrees from the Chicago Art
Institute. Having taught at Spelman
since 1952 and chaired the department
for over 20 years, Mrs. Holloway
leaves this campus to pursue her love
and joy of painting.
As an accomplished artist whose
credits include the portraits of Dr. and
Mrs. Donald M. Stewart in the Living
Learning Center I dorm lobby and the
portrait of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays for
Mays High School in the Atlanta area,
Mrs. Holloway’s expertise has been a
gift and a role model for the Spelman
community.
Fortunate to have had Mrs.
Holloway on the faculty for over 39
years, Spelman College now boasts the
presence of Ms. Chamelle Holloway,
Mrs. Jenelsie Holloway’s daughter and
a Spelman graduate herself, as a
member of the art department staff.
The retiree’s daughter has been
involved in exhibitions of her jewelry
and metal creations on a national level
including the medallion that Dr.
Johnnetta Cole wore to her
inauguration.
Although we will be reminded of
Mrs. Holloway’s contribution’s to the
art world through her daughter, her
works on campus, and her public and
private collections in the Atlanta area,
Lev Mills, chairman of the art
department, is convinced that Mrs.
Holloway’s, "close ties to Spelman will
bring her back" should we ever need
her experience and guidance.
Thank you for your time, sincerity
and dedication. Mrs. Holloway, we will
miss you.
By Kim Stinger
Edmonia Lewis, the daughter of a
Chippewa mother and an African
American father, was bom in Albany,
New York in 1845. She grew up in a
Native-American environment, and was
given the name "Wildfire" by her
parents. Her Chippewa upbringing had
a great impact on her. In an interview,
she reflected on her young years with
the tribe stating, "Until I was twelve
years old I led this wandering life-
fishing and swimming and making
moccasins."
Edmonia was accepted into Oberlin
College in 1859 and was eager to
attend classes. That fall, however, her
stay at the college would end in
disaster. In her final year she was
accused of poisoning two of her
classmates. After a lengthy trial in
which she was defended by the
prominent Africa-American attorney
Mercer Langston, Wildfire was
acquitted of the accused crimes.
After meeting and studying under a
local sculptor Edmund Brackett,
Edmonia began to receive recognition
as an artist. Her portrait bust of
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, leader of
the Black Civil War regiment
documented in the recent film "Glory",
received critical and popular praise.
She continued sculpting busts of
famous men such as Abraham Lincoln,
John Brown, and Henry Longfellow.
Her critically acclaimed statue of the
ancient African queen Cleopatra
entitled "The Death of Cleopatra"
weighed two tons and took four years
to complete. Shortly after "Death of
Cleopatra", Edmonia premiered her
most famous work, "Forever Free", a
piece showing a black man and woman
coming out of bondage as they remove
their shackles.
Edmonia’s later years are tainted
with mystery. The artist disappeared
from the public around 1885. She
allegedly lived for a short period in
Rome after which she returned to
America. She is believed to have died
in 1890. Her works live on in the art
world as a tribute to the spirit and
talent of "Wildfire".
Brave, diverse, creative, innovative,
strong, proud, feminine, and African,
this woman epitomizes the heroic
history of African-Americans.
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