Inspiring Students, Inspiring Alumni

by Katie Dugan

In her senior year, Ashlee Lindsey ’18 was paired with alumna Mallory (Coulombe) Vincent ’15 through the Signature Leadership Program, a selective, holistic experiential leadership program dedicated to developing well-rounded, socially responsible student leaders. Cohorts of 25 undergraduate students are paired with SNHU alumni to mentor and guide them on a path to success with support, encouragement, and friendship.

A relationship such as this can give the student the inspiration they need to push through obstacles and reach their goals, and sometimes, it can motivate the mentor to do the same.

When the pair first met, Lindsey wanted a career in accounting, and as a staff accountant at Howe, Riley, & Howe in Bedford, NH, Vincent was the perfect match. From the beginning, Vincent knew it would be a great partnership.

Immediately, Vincent noticed similarities between herself and Lindsey. She said that they both are the “overachiever” and “go-getter” types, and were both heavily involved in campus organizations. “She made me realize why I was interested in accounting. She also was an involved student during her undergrad experience here, so we’d talk about those stresses and connect that way,” said Lindsey.

Lindsey soon realized she was interested in applying for graduate school, and despite Vincent having not gone through that experience at the time, she was able to help Lindsey through every step.

“We set structure for what I had to do. She assured me that I would graduate and that everything would be fine. And people would tell me that, but just to hear it from someone who is not here at SNHU anymore is nice. There was a lot I had to do, and just to know that it would be worth it and it would all pay off, was helpful,” said Lindsey.

One element that helped Lindsey determine her best qualities was taking the Clifton Strengthsfinder Assessment during her time at the Signature Leadership Program. The assessment generates your top 5 strengths — 34 in total — based off of 100 questions about personality. This is meant to help students recognize their best qualities and how to finesse them when applying for jobs, internships, and graduate programs.

Lindsey’s top five strengths were discipline, analytical, responsibility, achiever, and consistency. Being able to identify and use her strongest qualities to her advantage, she not only applied and got accepted into graduate school, she inspired Vincent to do the same. “This reminded me of my ambition to go to grad school but I was not sure what program I wanted to go for at first so I did not go straight into graduate school after completing my undergrad degree,” said Vincent. “I took the advice I gave to Ashlee and did some research on programs available online at SNHU and took a risk by calling to apply for my MBA. I was afraid to take the risk at first but I am happy I did. Ashlee inspired me by encouraging me as I encouraged her to succeed.”