At Reunion 2026, the Alumnae/i Association Executive Board (AAEB) honored five alumnae/i for their career achievements and service to Simmons and the larger community. Here is a glimpse of these amazing alumnae/i and what Simmons means to them.

• Awards and Honors
• Community Engagement
• Giving

In addition to their full-time careers in the corporate world, Simmons School of Management graduates Kayla (Humel) Gates ’18 and Steph DeFina ’17 launched Ludlow Coffee Co., a coffee shop that offers community events, partnerships with other independent businesses, and fundraisers for local nonprofits.

• Careers and Internships
• Entrepreneurship

While at Simmons, Danielle Dempsey ’24MS began an international librarianship research project on libraries in Ireland. Dempsey shared with us the experience of visiting Ireland and speaking to locals about the area’s fraught history.

• Mentorship
• Research

Haley Dover ’22 shares how Simmons prepared her for her current work as a travel nurse.

• Athletics
• Careers and Internships
• Clinical Experience
• Transfer Student

Mik Hamilton '24MS ‘24MA is the archivist at Queer History Boston, a community archive dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the rich LGBTQ+ histories of Boston and New England. Hamilton shares how the dual degree in LIS: archives management and history at Simmons prepared them for a dream job just before graduation.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Josie Re ’26MS, a student in the Online Master of Behavior Analysis, shares what led her to the field, and her experience in an online classroom.

• Behavioral and Health Sciences
• Careers and Internships

Olivia Panagiotou ’23 shares how her siblings inspired her to study nursing at Simmons, and to explore career opportunities in intensive care nursing.

• Careers and Internships
• Clinical Experience

Simmons’ online degree completion program gave Rashida Alisha Hagakore ‘24 more than a degree in business — it transformed her career trajectory. Gaining confidence, leadership skills, and a new professional identity, she advanced into a supervisory role and now approaches her work with clarity, strategy, and purpose.

• Careers and Internships
• Leadership
• Mentorship
• Online Student

Jordyn Hagar '23PhD reflects on how the Social Work PhD helped her successfully develop and disseminate her mental health awareness training program, Stronger Together, which is now accessible online.

• Behavioral and Health Sciences
• Careers and Internships
• Online Student

Recent graduate Mishal Ali '26 reflects on how learning home-cooked Pakistani cuisine informed her studies in nutrition and dietetics at Simmons.

• Behavioral and Health Sciences
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Mentorship