The Muse, an online career resources site, named three of Wellesley College’s online courses among the "11 Top Liberal Arts College Classes That You Can Take for Free Online." Two of the courses, SOC102x: Global Inequality and SOC103x: Global Change, are now offered as "self-paced" classes (which means they can be started and completed at any time); the third course, Personal Finance, Part 1: Investing in Yourself, will be archived and made available again at a future date to be determined.
Tanekwah Hinds '15 took the personal finance course. "It is exciting to know that the influence of Wellesley College's liberal arts education reaches beyond its students, faculty, and alumnae," Hinds said. "I agree with The Muse writer Alyse Kalish that a liberal arts education made me 'a thinker, a communicator, a leader, and a woman of many interests and skills.' I am happy to share this experience with individuals from around the world."
As a political science major, Hinds said she found herself looking for ways to fit her narrative into the major as a black woman. "I took outside courses to complement the major in sociology and art history as well as study abroad experiences at the University of Cape Town and the University of the West Indies," she said. "As a graduating senior, I was trying to find a way to translate this passion for racial and gender politics into an actual job."
Hinds recently accepted a position with Fenway Health as the Women's Health Program Coordinator. Prior to that role she worked for one year in the Wellesley College Newhouse Center for the Humanities as a Research and Outreach Assistant.
"Both Wellesley College and The Muse have been influential in my career after graduation," said Hinds. "While working at the Wellesley College Newhouse Center, the site encouraged me to strengthen my skills through professional development activities, engaging in freelance work, presenting at a conference, creating my own website, and taking online courses."
Hinds said she has plans to take additional classes including an Applied Data Analysis course through Wellesley's Quantitative Analysis Institute. She said she hopes to use the skills gained through that course to better understand the effect of policy on marginalized communities in urban areas.