South Dakota native Mariah Zell ’17 can thank her high school online gaming friends for helping her find Mitchell College, which she says was a good choice for her undergraduate education.

“In high school, I had a group of friends I played games with online and most were from the East Coast.  When it came time to look for a college, I thought ‘Why not try to go out there?’ I toured different schools and liked Mitchell the best – the location on the Thames River, the wonderful people, both students and faculty, who eventually helped me grow a lot as a person, and how welcoming and inclusive the school was.”

That sense of belonging ultimately helped Mariah, who was surprised by how homesick she felt, as she experienced a bit of culture shock as a new student.

“I did not expect to be so homesick, but I overcame it by getting involved in clubs and activities. I made a lot of good friends in the theater department and participated in two plays and the musical ‘Hair.’ I also was a resident assistant and worked as a student ambassador.”

In addition, studying criminal justice with a pre-law concentration, she participated in the Criminal Justice Club and also volunteered her time in the New London community and around Mitchell, including a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter and doing a campus cleanup.

Inspired to study criminal law by both her father, a South Dakota judge with whom, growing up, she often discussed certain aspects of his job and the legal system, and a mentor with a passion for the legal profession, Mariah pursued law school after leaving Mitchell. She recently graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is now studying for the bar exam.

At law school, drawing on course content from some of her Mitchell classes, such as elements of crime, branches of government and constitutional law topics, Mariah also performed 400 volunteer hours through clubs focused on mental health and well-being and law-oriented community service.

She currently works at Kowitz Law, a private law firm in Lindstrom, Minnesota, where she plans to continue working after taking the bar exam. She says she will draw on the Mitchell Abilities almost every day when practicing law.

“As an attorney, I must have strong critical and creative thinking, communication, analysis, and problem solving skills when approaching legal problems and dealing with clients, opposing counsel, and judicial officers. I will be relying on the diversity/global perspectives, ethics, and social interaction abilities when working with a diverse client base from a variety of different backgrounds. While I luckily do not need to be a technological genius to adequately perform my job, I still must be proficient enough to be able to access court records and file a variety of documents to the court online.”

As a law student, Mariah also worked for the City of Minneapolis City Attorney’s office.

“The big question is which side of the law I will ultimately work on. There are things I like and drawbacks to both criminal defense and prosecution. Right now I am enjoying my time on the defense side, but we’ll see where the future will lead me.”

When Priscilla Huyhua ‘20 thinks about Mitchell College, she recognizes all it has done for her future.

Since graduating with her bachelor’s degree in both early childhood studies and human development and family studies, Priscilla completed an intensive 11-month graduate program at the Neag School of Education at UConn. She earned her master’s degree in educational psychology and special education and recently accepted a position as a special education teacher at Stamford Public Schools.

“Ultimately, Mitchell gave me real-world experience, especially options to do internships throughout the community. Mitchell is great about that. And I used a lot of the knowledge gained through these opportunities in my online graduate classes at UConn.”

After taking a special education course offered at Mitchell, Priscilla knew she wanted to pursue it as a career.

“Once I graduated from Mitchell in December, I got a job as an intervention specialist at the Regional Multicultural Magnet School (RMMS) in New London, where I last interned.”

Priscilla worked at RMMS through the spring then began her graduate program in June 2020.

When she looks back on her years at Mitchell, Priscilla understands the role the faculty, staff, her coursework and internships all had in her accomplishments.

“Mitchell is a small community. The campus is very close, and it’s easy for you to have a voice there. I was very shy starting as a freshman coming from a big high school and grew so much during my years at college.”

She became a student ambassador, leading tours of the school.

“I really enjoyed my time speaking to potential students about what Mitchell had to offer but also stressing that, as a student, you have to know how to ask for help. People are willing to assist and guide you, but you have to be willing to put in the work as well.”

Priscilla, who has a learning disability, worked with the Bentsen Learning Center (BLC) throughout her time on campus to learn how to prioritize and structure her day.

“I struggled a lot with my writing. I have a lot to say, but putting it into writing was difficult. Increasing the hours that I worked with my BLC specialist helped me. Once I could get outside of my shell, I asked for more help and got it from my professors, which led to me graduating a semester early!”

At Mitchell Priscilla also played sports for the first time.

“I was new to sports but played soccer and lacrosse at Mitchell. I was grateful to be given the chance, and I felt important. Mitchell is like that. My grades in high school weren’t the best, but Mitchell gave me a chance, and I thrived.”

Waking up at 4am isn’t for everyone, but for junior Ahmani Browne, it’s one of the best parts of his day.

Ahmani, who studies marine biology at Mitchell, is taking part in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, a collaboration between Mystic Aquarium and the University of Connecticut (UConn) Avery Point, funded by the National Science Foundation.

From June to August, he is spending most of his days in the lab at UConn Avery Point doing research and experiments. He goes to Mystic Aquarium for professional development activities, seminars, job shadows and, at the end of his internship, his poster presentation on his research.

“My favorite part of my internship is having to wake up early in the morning at low tide to collect fucus (seaweed) and nucella (snails) to run our experiments. The experiment I am working on looks at the effects that green crabs, the predators, have on snails, the prey. We set up containers with some snails exposed to a crab and some not. I record data to see if the exposed snails are hiding or eating less.”

Ahmani works at least 40 hours per week at his internship, ensuring that the experiments run smoothly and data is collected and entered into digital files. Over the course of his internship, he has put many of the transferrable skills he has learned at Mitchell to work.

“I interact regularly with other lab members to communicate what work needs to be done and sometimes use critical thinking to fix an experiment if something goes wrong. I also had to sum up my experiment clearly and concisely for a post on the Mystic Aquarium Instagram page.”

Coming into the internship, Ahmani was unsure about the process of doing independent research.

“I haven’t done independent research before, so I wasn’t clear how I would tackle it. After working more and more each day on it, I have gotten the hang of it by asking the necessary questions to help with my progress.”

Through his internship, Ahmani has realized that he wants to continue on to graduate school after Mitchell to do more research and conduct his own experiments.

Hailing from the Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda, Ahmani considers Mitchell College a home away from home.

“Coming from a small island, I was drawn to Mitchell for its proximity to the beach and my interest in marine biology on the East Coast. With the small community and personal connections, the professors, staff and peers push you to be the best person you are and help with any challenges you face.”

When he isn’t busy thinking about marine biology, Ahmani also plays on the Mitchell men’s basketball team, an opportunity given by Mitchell to play at the collegiate level, and works in the library.

Jason Buehler ’19 describes his years at Mitchell College as “transformative” and “multidimensional,” a wellspring of inspiration for both his work as a teacher and for his life.

“Mitchell is a melting pot for endless possibility, courageous learners, and for individuals to become truly who they were meant to be. The ‘Mitchell Effect’ is real. When you step foot onto campus, you are instantly hooked.”

What hooked him?

The beachy campus and the small community were among many things, but the individualization for students who learn differently drew him the most.

“I am neurodiverse, and the feeling of coming to a campus that recognized this and had the resources to help me succeed was the biggest reason for me coming to Mitchell.”

Always intending to become a teacher, Jason discovered at Mitchell that he had a passion for working with students in the lower elementary grades, kindergarten through second grade. After graduating with a B.S. in early childhood education and human development and family studies, he put his skills to work, most recently as a kindergarten teacher in central Connecticut. 

He will begin a new position teaching first grade at The Gordon School in East Providence, Rhode Island, this fall and plans to pursue a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a focus on reading and language arts.

In his work in the classroom, Jason has found that he often draws on lessons learned from Dr. Nancy Parent’s Cross-Cultural Development course.

“She exposed us to different cultures in places I had never heard of, most of the time. I not only learned about cultural appropriations but expanded my mind to things I had never known before. I use this when working with students; learning to sit back and listen to kids tell me about things in their families that they do that may be singular within our classroom.”

He also uses the Mitchell Abilities every day, such as communication, critical thinking, technology, ethics, social interaction, and diversity and global perspectives.

“I work with a diverse group of individuals whose ideas, thoughts and perspectives globally are represented, heard and understood on a collegial and personal level. This happens with both the faculty and the students within our classrooms.”

Jason recognizes the value of mastering these transferrable skills.

“While a student at Mitchell, one does not realize the crucial impact these Abilities have. In class, I never thought these would come about in life so plainly, but they have. These are key components to living a successful and meaningful life.”