Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2014

On May 6, 2014, the graduating Athena Scholars joined the Athena staff for dinner to celebrate completion of the program and their upcoming graduation.

During the dinner, scholars and Athena staff reminisced about their shared experiences, while also sharing after-graduation plans.  Each scholar was presented with a certificate and received an Athena pin that they wore on their graduation robes. The Class of 2014 officially graduated on May 21, 2014.

Athena Film Festival in L.A.

On Monday, June 16, the Athena Film Festival held a cocktail reception in Los Angeles, graciously hosted by Festival Co-Chairs and Barnard parents, Diane and Jon Levin. We were honored to have the President of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs present the 2014 Athena Award to Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures, who was unable to attend the Festival last February. Over 70 guests from the film industry attended.

On June 12, Kathryn Kolbert and Melissa Silverstein attended a special reception hosted by the Barnard Club of LA, in the home of Marcia Gordon ’77. The event was a great chance to meet Barnard Alumnae and introduce them to the Athena Film Festival. Special guest, filmmaker Marlene McCurtis presented her work-in-progress, Wednesdays in Mississippi, and took questions from the audience.

Click here to learn more about the Athena Film Festival.

New Athena Summer Fellows Program

This year we are happy to announce our partnership with the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, in launching our fourth summer fellowship program.  This internship opportunity enables Athena Scholars interested in the Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian region to learn from local women leaders in the private or public sectors.  Our first fellow in this program, Anastasia Rab ’15, is interning in Romania at the Aspen Institute Romania’s Global Women Leadership Initiative.

Our three other summer fellowship programs, the Williams Program for Women in Politics, the Non-Profit Leadership Fellowship, and the Athena Summer Fellowship program continue to attract many of the best Barnard students.  The Williams and Non-Profit programs are geared toward Athena Scholars, and the three participating students are interning at the Office of the Mayor (New York City), the National Organization of Women – New York City Chapter, and an outward bound type leadership program for under-served children.

The highly competitive Athena Summer Fellowship Program is open to the entire Barnard junior class.  Each year, ten students are selected from a diverse and competitive applicant pool, with their academic and professional interests reflecting the broad career opportunities offered in New York City. They enter in jobs across the city, meet regularly with Athena Director Kathryn Kolbert, and live together on campus.

Entrepreneurship Camps Begin in July

​Through partnerships with Barnard’s Pre-College Programs and the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, Athena is again offer two​ summer camps on entrepreneurship between July
​6​ and July 24 on Barnard’s campus. The Entrepreneurs-in-Training Program ​and the Girl Scout Leadership Institute (GSLI), will serve girls from across New York City and beyond.

This summer marks the second time both programs are offered. There are exciting additions to the curriculum. For example, women CEOs are serving as mentors for teams that are charged with creating a business venture.

The Athena Center will guide these talented high school girls through workshops ranging from Financial Fluency for Startups to Marketing. Along the way they will build their storytelling skills, interact with founders, and visit startups across New York City. At the conclusion of each program, participants will pitch their unique and creative business ideas to a group of top entrepreneurs and potential investors.​