March is International Women’s Month, so to celebrate, The Stute contacted several female faculty and staff members at Stevens and featured them below.
Sara Klein
Despite only being at Stevens a little over three years, Sara Klein is someone that many students recognize and know well. Whether meeting with club leaders, welcoming students at orientation, or bringing change such as more school spirit, Klein is a very involved member of campus. As the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, she is responsible for life outside of the classroom. Life outside the traditional classroom encompasses many parts of Stevens: Student Life, Residential Education, Residential and Dining Services, Career Center, Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Student Health Services, Disability Services, and Title IX/Community Standards.
Inspired by her freshman year RA, Klein also became an RA, where the Residence Life staff encouraged her to pursue a career in their field. Since the RA job didn’t feel like a “real job,” she decided to continue onto her planned path and briefly worked on Wall Street. Working on Wall Street, Klein realized where she belonged and returned to school to further her education.
Klein worked at New York University and then at Wagner College, where she was Dean of Campus Life, finally ending up at Stevens. When asked about what advice she would give to women starting their careers, Klein responded, “encourage newer professionals to expect to work extremely hard and to anticipate setbacks and disappointments — this is an expected part of any career.” Expanding on her advice, she commented on how young
Klein faced
As a lifelong fan of Barbra Streisand, Klein is inspired by “Don’t Rain
Beth McGrath
As the Vice President for Government and Community Relations/Chief of Staff, Beth McGrath holds a lot of responsibilities to say the least. She is responsible for advancing the interests of Stevens within Hoboken, the State of New Jersey, and the federal government, as well as the interactions with the local government. As Chief of Staff, she also manages the Office of the President and collaborates on presidential initiatives.
Using her writing talents, McGrath worked in advertising and public relations for consumer brands. McGrath has worked at Stevens for more than 30 years. She originally joined Stevens in 1987 as a publicist and, in a time before the Internet, she became the Director of Marketing and Communications.
After her time in the communications department, the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) became her new home. Leading the STEM education and research center, McGrath wrote a plethora of grant proposals, managed the funded projects, and rose to become the Executive Director. This promotion set her on a career path that allowed her to advocate for and generate support to engage students, particularly women and underrepresented minorities, to pursue STEM careers.
CIESE became one of the national leaders in working on requiring engineering in the K-12 curriculum. The work of CIESE was even recognized by President Obama in 2011. Today, McGrath uses her experience from the CIESE to do very similar work, just at a higher level.
While not facing any specific “obstacles” in her career, McGrath has had to manage multiple and sometimes competing demands; such demands arose when she had her triplets (two of whom currently attend Stevens) and her job and family responsibilities collided. “I got through those with a lot of caffeine,” she joked. She advises young professionals to work hard, have a plan, and to prepare to deviate from it for the right opportunity, and of course do your very best work every single day.
For Beth McGrath, Bruce Hornsby’s “The Long Race” is an oldie but a goodie that has empowered her through her life.
Jean Zu
The first link that comes up when googling Dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science (SES) Jean Zu includes a long and impressive list of contributions. 16 honors and awards, 6 honor societies, 51 grants, contracts and funds, 5 patents and innovations, 179 journal publications, 169 conference papers, and one book; these are some of the achievements of Zu since the start of her career in 1987.
Zu was inspired to make contributions and to make a difference, which led her to pursue a STEM career. She started as an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua University. She then worked in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at University of Toronto. Starting off as an assistant professor, Zu grew to become the chair of the department.
Zu’s research has focused on mechanical vibrations and dynamics, and mechatronics with applications including biomedical instrumentation and energy harvesting. She has developed several patents related to vibration energy harvesting devices and methods, as well as patents for hybrid mobile robots.
Only having been dean for almost two years, Zu has earned the love and respect of her students. Zu created a student advisory board for SES to be able to hear the concerns of the students and to receive student feedback. Students on the board have found that Dean Zu is always receptive to hearing student comments. “Tell her and she will get it done,” said one student when discussing something as simple as turning the heat on in McLean, something that usually appears to be a much harder feat. “[Jean Zu] really wants to make the engineering school one the students are proud of and proud to be in,” said another member.
In her short time as dean, Zu has cultivated new joint educational initiatives with Tsinghua University, maximized the resources for Schaefer School, encourage a culture of collaboration, and has released SES’s first strategic plan.
In her career, Zu has faced gender biases and unfair treatments. To fight this treatment she prioritized goals and stayed focused with persistence and patience, which is also how she dealt with the challenge of juggling her career and family. And that is the exact advise she gives to women starting their careers, “Pursue your career goals with persistence and perseverance regardless of possible gender biases and obstacles in the way.”
In her short time as dean, Zu has cultivated new joint educational initiatives with Tsinghua University, maximized the resources for the Schaefer School, encourage a culture of collaboration, and has released SES’s first strategic plan.
In her career, Zu has faced gender bias and unfair treatment. To fight this treatment, she prioritized goals and stayed focused with persistence and patience, which is also how she dealt with the challenge of juggling her career and family. And that is the exact advice she gives to women starting their careers: “Pursue your career goals with persistence and perseverance regardless of possible gender biases and obstacles in the way.”
Marybeth Murphy
As Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Marybeth Murphy oversees 140 full-time and part-time employees and 15 different student services offices, including Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Student Affairs, Residential Education and Residential Dining and Services, Health Services, and University Events, just to name a few. Murphy enjoys being involved in the lives of students from the time of their acceptance until graduation, and sometimes even past that.
Murphy grew up in a big family and was the first to graduate from college. Murphy paved her own path to college, having not received much guidance on which colleges to attend and how to pay for college. Determined to make the most of her college opportunity, an opportunity her parents didn’t have, she commuted from home and worked two jobs. “Hard work and a sense of humor made all the difference,” said Murphy. And to keep her going, she had “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy to make her smile, a song that resonates with her.
Murphy decided to pursue higher education after working as a work-study student in the Dean of Students Office while still an undergraduate student, and then later in the Office of the Vice President for Student Services as a graduate. Since she enjoyed her time in the Vice President’s office at Columbia University, more so than English Literature, Murphy switched tracks. Instead of pursuing her Ph.D., she became a full-time financial aid counselor at New York University (NYU). Over 20 years, she worked up the ladder at NYU all the way to Assistant Vice Provost. She then transitioned to Baruch College (CUNY) as the Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management, after which she became Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY). In this role, she oversaw 200 staff members in 12 departments. All of this led her to join Stevens in 2013.
Murphy understands the struggle of picking one career path, so she recommends trying as many internships and part times, to those just starting off. “Soak up whatever knowledge you can. Pay attention to how businesses operate. Be diligent, punctual, upbeat and willing to pitch in and be part of the team. Make a great impression,” she says.
Susan Rachouh
Five years ago, Susan Rachouh brought her international experiences to Stevens and opened the Office of International Programs, which she now manages. The office includes study abroad, international exchange, international partnerships, and coordinating campus-wide internationalization efforts, such as International Education Month.
As an undergraduate, Rachouh studied abroad in Paris, France and earned a Diplome Superiere de Francais des Affaires. This experience inspired her to pursue a career in international education. “I met people from all over the world in such a cosmopolitan city and I wanted to help students transform their lives by having similar experiences,” said Rachouh. She completed her BA in French at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. After undergrad, she pursued a masters in Intercultural Management at the School for International Training. Rachouh has worked in the international education her whole career; before Stevens she worked at LIU Global.
Eighteen months after joining Stevens, Rachouh and her sole grad student worked on improving the study abroad program. As study abroad interest increased, the program needed to be improved. Rachouh implemented the Study Abroad Portal. Before the portal, students had to do tedious paperwork to apply for study abroad programs. The portal allowed for an easier and a more user-friendly system. Now five years later, the study abroad program is busy with student interest.
Rachouh not only advises all study abroad students, but also works closely with sponsored international students such as a graduate cohort of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program. She is in charge of all international exchanges and partnerships.
Passion is one of the key things for Rachouh in any career. She advises that the career doesn’t matter, as long as the profession brings people passion. Yet, Rachouh’s passion has also brought her some obstacles. At some points in her career, it was hard to be taken seriously when she was passionate and positive, which some people interpret as not serious. “But I learned that people come around as they see your dedication and commitment to students and their transformation,” says Rachouh.
She is empowered by songs like “I Believe I Can Fly” by Yolanda Adams, a personal favorite.
Melissa Zarin
Dr. Melissa Zarin has always been interested in helping people since she was in high school. This has driven her to work in psychological counseling. Zarin joined as the Assistant Director for Counseling and Psychological Services in 201, after having worked as a staff psychologist for four years prior. She is not only the Assistant Director but also Coordinator for Prevention and Outreach.
Before her time at Stevens, Zarin had worked as a staff psychologist at Apostle House Shelter, provided therapy to adults and college-bound adolescents at Wolf Mehlman Psychological Associates, and provided individual therapy and court-ordered psychological evaluations for both adults and adolescents. She also worked at the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center and as an adjunct professor at Montclair State University and Union County College, where she taught classes on ethics, group counseling, and supervision.
“I’m a psychologist. It makes you want to help people,” said Zarin. Being a child of divorce inspired Zarin to help others going through different challenges in their lives. Being at Stevens and working with college students is something that Zarin is passionate about. Zarin started her training in college counseling and has now circled back to her roots.
Zarin has faced a struggle balancing her career and family. On the one hand, she wanted to have a successful career and on the other a family and be a good parent. Even now, she continues to work on overcoming these struggles by talking to other working mothers and hearing how they balance or even how they are also struggling. “I have extremely smart, honest women in my life who get wanting both so it helps to have that support,” said Zarin. Zarin is also inspired by Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”
Zarin recommends that young professionals leave room for flexibility in their career. “We sometimes get so focused on a certain path, but life can go in a different direction and it is good to be open to it,” she said.
Linda Vollkommer-Lynch
Linda Vollkommer-Lynch is the first tenured female faculty member and the first female athletics coach at Stevens. In 1974, she was appointed as the women’s fencing coach, working part time for the first two years. Not only was Vollkommer-Lynch the first female athletics coach, but fencing was also the first female sport at Stevens.
Vollkommer-Lynch always wanted to be a teacher. Before Stevens, she was a physical education teacher at North Bergen High School. Stevens allowed her to combine her love for teaching and sports, where she helped found women’s sports. She has been the Head Women’s Fencing Coach since the inception of the women’s fencing program. Working to get women’s sports started at Stevens was not as hard for Vollkommer-Lynch as in other colleges. She received a lot of support, and there weren’t as many obstacles for women as there had been before. Vollkommer-Lynch worked only with men, all of whom treated her with unbelievable respect, which not many women could say.
Over her 43-year career at Stevens, Vollkommer-Lynch has a 520-304 record from women’s fencing. Since the start of the program, Vollkommer-Lynch has improved the team every year. In 2016, Vollkommer-Lynch led the Ducks to their fourth EWFC Championship, earning back-to-back team titles. That season, all three weapons, foil, epee, and sabre, all won weapon titles. In 2017, her team won the Division III National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Team Championship for three straight seasons.
Vollkommer-Lynch saw success both in her fencing career and as a coach. During her fencing career, she won the 1983 New Jersey State Championship and reached the finals of the first-ever Garden State Games. She was also a participant in the National Sports Festival in 1981 and 1982 and competed at the US Women’s Fencing Olympic Trials in 1984. Vollkommer-Lynch was inducted into the Hudson County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 for her impressive coaching career. She clinched a share of the EWFC Coach of the Year award from 2000-04 and was named the NIWFA Coach of the Year honors in 1980-81 and 1993-94.
Outside of fencing, Vollkommer-Lynch is also the faculty advisor for the Stevens Dramatic Society, Archery Club, Off Center, and the Midnight Movie Movement. She has also been a faculty representative on the Board of Trustees, Faculty Marshall, and a member of many faculty committees. Vollkommer-Lynch is an active member of the theater community, having acted on the DeBaun stage herself.
“Defying Gravity” is a song that inspires her, which is fitting since she played Glinda the Good in The Wizard of Oz.
As far as words of advice, Vollkommer-Lynch says, “Reach higher than you think you can attain. Women today have no limits other than the ones you put on yourself.”
Lauren Samaha
Lauren Samaha is a full-time PR professional. She currently is an adjunct professor in the School of Business, where she teaches an undergraduate course in Integrated Marketing, but her full-time job is as Vice President at Ketchum. As Vice President, Samaha oversees some of Ketchum’s largest CPG clients. When she was in college, Samaha interned with a wedding planner and fell in love with all the different aspects that came with event planning. Even though she loved event planning, Samaha felt that she could do more to take the skills required for events and build them further. Receiving an internship at Harrison & Shriftman allowed Samaha to discover how she could build those skills. Harrison & Shriftman is a luxury boutique PR agency. During her internship with the agency, Samaha fell in love with communications and learned as much as she could. For her, it was the perfect combination of event support, writing, and adventure.
Ketchum was where Samaha’s career began and flourished, allowing her to climb the ladder to become Vice President. The company is one that allowed her to develop and grow, and it is a company that she sincerely loves working for. Samaha believes that finding a company that continues to invest in the development of their employees is important for when you are looking for a company to call home. Samaha also wants to remind those just starting their careers: “Remember that your career will be what you make of it. Dedication, work ethic and passion are things that can’t be taught, but are most admired when exemplified.”
Having a successful career has brought an obstacle of keeping balance between her work and life. It is an obstacle that many face, she noted. In today’s age, everyone is “always on.” This can cause confusion about what it means to be out of the office. Samaha has found that instead of thinking of life in the office and life outside of it as two separate entities, she now sees them as a unit. “Both are important to me, so there’s no reason I can’t blend the two.”
And for when the going gets tough, Samaha uses “Concrete Jungle” by Alicia Keys to empower herself. Since she always wanted to work in NYC, this song reminds her of where she is working and all that she has accomplished, especially after a tough week.
Linda Beninghove
Linda Beninghove is the Director of the Samuel C. Williams Library. As the Director, Beninghove works closely with students, faculty, staff, and Stevens leadership to ensure that the Stevens community has readily available access to research tools. These tools include but are not limited to journals, ebooks, research guides, technology resources, borrowing and lending services, and archives and special collections. Beninghove is working to improve the student and faculty experience.
Beninghove was inspired to help people, and she has always loved libraries. Her current work allows her to do both. “I enjoy working within the collaborative, vibrant academic environment,” she said.
Beninghove earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and later continued her studies to eventually receive a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Technology Leadership.
Beninghove worked at Rutgers University and at Newark Museum, after which she joined the Stevens community as a librarian. While Interim Library Director and a doctoral candidate, Beninghove found out that she was expecting her second child. All of these events piled on together, and Beninghove relied on the support and encouragement from her family, friends, and colleagues to keep her going. “The ability to focus and stay positive during a challenging time has helped me so much,” said Beninghove. Other than a focus and positivity, Beninghove also advises people to “go with the flow.” Beninghove’s grandmother always advised to “make friends with everyone,” and “go with the flow.” Beninghove interpreted this as keeping an open mind to approaching every new experience and interaction and approaching it with gratitude and using these opportunities to learn, improve, and grow.
As far as songs that help her feel inspired, Beninghove enjoys a song from the 1930s, “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Different renditions of this song have been done by performers. For Beninghove, it is just a positive song that inspires hope and optimism in the face of adversity.
Robin Whitney
Robin Whitney is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Arts and Letters. She teaches freshman experience courses and French in the foreign language program.
Before teaching at Stevens, in 1995, Whitney founded a marketing consultancy, Robin Whitney Ink. At the same time, she began teaching first-year writing at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and later began teaching marketing at Baruch College. She attended NYU’s Institute of French Studies, and afterwards worked in international tourism, and then doing marketing for the wine industry.
While working on her dissertation, Whitney learned that education is one of marketing’s essential functions. Being a part-time professor allowed Whitney to teach writing while working on composing advertising copy, radio ads, press releases, sales materials, and corporate histories. “Prospective clients were impressed that I was a professor of Writing, and students respected that I was a professional writer,” said Whitney.
Early on in her career, Whitney faced discrimination from multiple recruiters. They encouraged her to pursue her education through secretarial school and “become more employable.” Despite looking for a job longer than her male peers, she remained true to what she believed and became successful in business. Whitney’s attitude towards life is reflected in Thoreau’s advice from Walden: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined.”
Since becoming a full-time faculty member, Whitney’s business has become dormant. Yet, she still does occasional pro bono work for non-profit organizations.
Whitney is inspired by the song “Beautiful” by Carole King.
Kathryn Abel
Over the course of her career, Dr. Kate Abel, who is currently the Director of both the Industrial and Systems Engineering Program and the Undergraduate Engineering Management Program, has managed to rise to the top of her field in a number of ways. Starting at Stevens as an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering major, Abel has remained at Stevens since her undergraduate days, earning her both masters and Ph.D. Among her many accomplishments, Abel has served as the President of the Engineering Management Division of the American Society for Engineering Education and the President of Epsilon Mu Eta, the Engineering Management Honor Society. In addition, Abel recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASEE Engineering Management Division and was awarded a Fellow in ASEM.
Abel was inspired to become a professor after she “recognized that I truly enjoyed helping students achieve all they could. I still do all I can to help students be the most they can be.” Being a woman in a male-dominated field, Abel has faced a number of challenges, but she recommends, “Find those who recognize your knowledge and learn your strengths from them. Use that strength to empower you to share your knowledge with others.” Abel currently teaches a number of courses here at Stevens, ranging from Engineering Economics to Statistics for Engineering Management to Senior Design, and many more.
Speaking directly to women, Able believes that it is important for women to “speak up and let them know what you are thinking.” Speaking from a minority position, Abel reminds students to try to find their place: “You are just as smart as the men in the room.” Abel truly proves how smart she is through her many publications that have made their way into journals and conference proceedings throughout the world of higher education.
To remain inspired, Abel lives by the words from the song “Put One Foot in Front of the Other.” The song encourages people to get “up on your feet.” And if you “just keep ‘putting one foot in front of the other’ you can conquer anything!”
Susan Metz
Every opportunity presented to you, every position you take, every decision you make — everything, it seems — is a chance for you to grow, learn, and excel, a belief held deeply by Susan Metz.
Metz, a Stevens veteran, has been with Stevens since 1980 when she took on the position as the Director of the Office of Women’s Programs. Her role eventually evolved into her becoming Executive Director of the Lore-El Center. Now, after dedicating herself to improving representation of women and underrepresented groups at Stevens, she holds the title of Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of the President.
“I collaborate with academic and administrative leaders across the University to increase the diversity of outstanding students, faculty and staff and to ensure that the University environment is a place where all members of the community can succeed and thrive,” she wrote in a statement to The Stute.
Before coming to Stevens, Metz committed herself to empowering women. “I was a Founder and President of the national non-profit organization WEPAN, Women in Engineering Proactive Network,” she said. “The goal of WEPAN is to be a catalyst for change to enhance the success of women in the engineering professions.”
The list of Metz’s accolades — inspiring, long — demonstrates her devotion to empowering women. And yet with her accomplishments and work ethic, she continues to be challenged by obstacles.
Balancing career and family is her greatest obstacle, Metz said. “I made compromises that I knew I could live with, took long walks and cooked delicious meals with family and friends and worked very very hard.”
But instead of feeling cynical about these challenges, she finds ways to feel inspired and empowered.
“Songs make me dance,” she said. “Nature inspires me. Life stories and people’s experiences — good and bad— empower and motivate me, also keeps life in perspective.”
Her advice that she gives to young women starting their careers is simple yet powerful: “Every position you take and every situation you find yourself in is a learning opportunity — even if it is not obvious at the time. And, take time to develop your ‘people skills.’ Building relationships and improving communication skills will benefit you at every stage of your career.”
Mildred Colon
Found at the front desk of Howe as the Stevens Police Dispatcher, Mildred Colon helps to keep our campus a safe place for students. Before coming to Stevens, she worked at St. Francis Hospital until it closed down. Now, for the last 18 years, she has dedicated herself to Stevens.
Another obstacle she faced was when she found out that she was adopted, but a trip to Puerto Rico helped her overcome it. In addition, the song “Do You Believe in Love” by Cher inspires her to be the best person she can be.
Witnessing the achievements of Stevens students and enjoying the company of students are what motivate her to come to work each day.
“I get to meet new people all the time,” she said. “New faces are always beautiful. And old ones are, too. I love it when students come back and visit, especially with their families. I just love the students here.”
And when she’s not at Stevens, she’s doing what she loves most — enjoying life.
“I love to enjoy life, be with my grandkids, paint,” she said. “You know, just be happy. That’s what’s most important.”
She wanted to send a reminder to female students that they should “stay strong, even when everyone is against you.”
“If you think you’re good enough, you are,” she added. “You can be anything.”
Pearl Foster
Although her job title may be “cashier,” Pearl considers herself more of a mother to all of the students of Stevens. For the last 24 years, Pearl has greeted and swiped students into Pierce Dining Hall. Before Stevens, Pearl was busy taking care of her family. She is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. The thing that Pearl loves the most about working at Stevens is the students. Every day, Pearl talks with students of all background and lifestyles. She gives them advice, helps them out when they’re stressed, and makes sure that they never miss a meal. With this in mind, one of her biggest obstacles is when students graduate. However, graduated students stay in touch. They connect with her on Facebook, text her, and if they still live close to Hoboken, they even come over to her house for dinner. Pearl feels motivated to come to work every day because of all the love she feels between her and the students of Stevens. She wakes up eager to work every day because of the fun she knows she’ll have. “Who wouldn’t want to have a job like mine?” Pearl’s favorite song is “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi-B.
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