Beyond Water Street: Severn Alumni Network Mentorship

6/16/2023

Written by Carrie M. Grimes '91 for the Summer 2017 Mentors Issue of The Bridge (abridged version)

Each spring at Severn, the senior class dips a toe into the great, big classroom of life beyond the walls of Water Street and students work under the tutelage of a different cast of faculty. Severn’s Independent Senior Project (ISP) is a two-week, hands-on learning experience where senior students have the opportunity to engage in a trade, craft, industry, or art alongside a working professional. This year’s far-ranging ISP topics included finance, real estate, entrepreneurship, culinary arts, fashion and the environment. Some members of the Class of 2017 were fortunate to tap into a particularly helpful resource for mentorship this year: the Severn alumni network.

Partners in Entrepreneurship

Senior Duffy Burns knew he wanted to explore an ISP in entrepreneurship when he first began his search for a placement.

“I was interested in a business/entrepreneurship ISP because I like collaborating with others on a project with tangible results, like in a small business; I [wanted] a glimpse into what it would be like in an entrepreneurial setting. I hope[d] to learn more about how entrepreneurs begin their ideas and grow from small beginnings.”

Enter Claire Bowersox Vetter ’03. Claire and her husband Brian Vetter are members of the Annapolis family behind Tessemae’s Fresh Food Company, the homegrown salad dressing and condiment maker. Born of humble beginnings and a grandmother’s beloved recipe eight years ago, Tessemae’s exploded onto the condiment/salad dressing scene with its playful packaging and fun flavors. Despite the rigors of managing a business that is growing at warp speed (over 180% last quarter alone), the Tessemae’s team immediately welcomed what alumna mentor Bowersox Vetter described as “a very cool opportunity” to partner with a Severn student. Arriving on the scene of Tessemae’s headquarters, dubbed “The Tree Fort,” in an industrial block of Essex, Maryland, Duffy recalls being blown away by the unique and uplifting work environment where the “walls are just covered with bright colors, logos, quotes from customers…music is playing all the time and it’s basically like one big family.”

Each day of his ISP was an adventure, and with Claire’s support, Duffy had the opportunity to study and shadow team members from each part of the business, and to gain an understanding of “how a product goes from the concept to on the shelf.” This included:

exploring the manufacturing side
traveling to stores which sell the product
getting up to speed on marketing concept and strategy
learning to review purchase orders.

A highlight was a day spent shadowing Brian Vetter, company co-founder and husband of Claire. Duffy was inspired by Brian’s approach to life and career and took this lesson away from his ISP experience:

“I was encouraged to consider taking the ‘path of resistance’ in life. It’s human nature to choose the path of least resistance, but if you aren’t afraid to follow your own path — even though it may present challenges — you will find success and reach your goals.”

Trying It On For Size: Art Gallery Management and Curation

Senior Nina Page was laser focused on art gallery management and curation for her project. As fate would have it, alumna Ashley Templeton ’05, Director of Marketing and Sales at Guarisco Gallery in D.C., had recently been in touch with Alumni Relations to submit her own art and photography to Severn’s Alumni Art Show. When initially asked to mentor Nina, Ashley was enthusiastic about what such an opportunity could offer:

“Any interns we have get exposure to all ends of a commercial gallery. This includes sales, marketing, art handling, photography, collections management and curatorial.”

Although Guarisco traditionally hosts university students for internships, Ashley’s self-proclaimed “Severn love!” was an easy impetus to pursue special arrangements with gallery management to support a high school intern.

Guarisco, one of the largest 19th century galleries worldwide, has an extensive collection of high quality original 19th and early 20th century European and American paintings, watercolors, and sculpture. With two locations in Dupont Circle and Georgetown, the gallery has been in operation since 1980. During her ISP, Nina felt lucky to cover a range of areas relevant to art gallery management. “Updat[ing] artist biographies, record[ing] names and addresses of new clients, and assess[ing] the condition of paintings” are just a few examples of projects which Ashley facilitated for Nina. Serving as an alumna mentor to a current Severn student was a juggling act for Templeton, who is frequently called upon to travel on behalf of the gallery. An unexpected work trip during Nina’s first week was initially seen as a wrinkle in their plans, but consequently, Nina was left in the capable hands of Ashley’s colleagues Randall and Lucy, who generously walked Nina through the in-depth analysis of one of French pointillist painter Yvon Canu’s paintings.

Being involved in all aspects of gallery life is core to the mission of Guarisco’s operations. “Our gallery hosts interns all year round…so there’s always something fun to do,” Templeton remarked. As for Nina—does a career in art gallery curation beckon after 2 weeks immersed in the trade? She realized that she doesn’t love art enough to make a career out of it. “However, my ISP was a good experience and I'm glad I made such a realization sooner rather than later.”