Greetings from Meredith College!

Meredith College proudly welcomes international and multicultural women to our sisterhood. We celebrate all the diversity among us because we see strengths in that diversity. New perspectives. Challenges to old ways of thinking, acting, and being. Celebrations of what is strong and true and disciplined and powerful—and universal.

We know you may be a bit anxious about the college culture and “fit,” so we want you to know the ways we build our sisterhood and what it means for our students. First, we build our educational programming to highlight both in-class and out-of-class features that will engage you, challenge you, help you find your passions, encourage you to support each other, and play to your individual strengths. Because we focus on strengths from a multi-layered perspective, our work with strengths is unique to Meredith and our StrongPoints® program that is interwoven into all four years of the undergraduate experience. Through that program, free to all students, you will identify your top five strengths and learn how to put them to work in building and following through on an academic, experiential, financial, and career plan. Those plans will not only shape your time at Meredith but will also be a foundational mechanism for building a life of impact and distinction.

Second, Meredith provides multiple contexts for you to test and strengthen your talents. In settings as varied as classrooms, the residence halls, clubs/organizations/teams to which you belong, and study abroad, internships, and community service, you will find fresh perspectives on ways you excel and stand out—ways that you are unique and powerful.

Third, we promote your strengths through a network of supporters:  faculty in your early general education courses and, later, in your major(s), academic and nonacademic advisors and mentors throughout your time at Meredith, your classmates and residential neighbors, and administrators and alumnae who will eagerly cheer you on. In these roles, your supporters will help you identify ways you are using your strengths—or ways you could use them more fully—and give you the practice of using your strengths to address conflict, disappointment, and obstacles just as readily as using them to address opportunities, build sound relationships, and explore possibilities.

The culture of Meredith celebrates strengths in every way—even when you may not feel so strong yourself. That is the magic of the sisterhood, and the “secret ingredient” is the compassion and care we feel for our students. You will find multiple supports for those times you may be doubting yourself—from the peer mentors and staff in the Strengths Lab to our chaplain, counseling professionals, diversity advocates, career service providers, financial aid advisors, and more.

Meredith serves you as our priority, but just as special is what you do for us. Our faculty and staff here intentionally selected a women’s college—and Meredith in particular—for our careers because we want to contribute to and enjoy the role we can play in dynamically shaping women’s lives to better prepare them to grab the opportunities life offers. And when you are ready to leave Meredith, you will be ready for that life in ways you may not be able to even imagine right now.

You can do it. Here at Meredith College, we will help you see how.

Dr. Jo Allen, ‘80
President