Education and mentorship have played foundational roles in Viola Morse’s life and career trajectory. Her family moved to the U.S. when she was a child to rejoin family that had been disrupted due to World War II. Viola and her brother were raised by her mother who insisted that education was the most powerful tool that an individual could acquire. Viola kept this lesson with her as she pursued a career in healthcare administration and worked as the Marketing Operations Director at Boston’s largest HMO (Harvard Community Health Plan). She later transitioned to higher education and served as the Senior Director of Academic Affairs and Student Experience at Brandeis University’s International Business School for 11 years. Although Viola was always certain that she wanted to pursue careers in mission-driven, non-profit organizations, she lacked formal mentors earlier on in her career which made it more difficult to adjust, especially in highly male-dominated fields.

It wasn’t until the latter half of her career that Viola was able to find mentors to guide her. Viola gained valuable insights from her mentors; one of the greatest lessons that a mentor taught her was the value of asking questions and speaking up when you do not know something. She often tells her students “There is no such thing as a stupid question and that informing yourself is always a good thing.” Two other important pieces of advice that she often has for students is to “be open to all possibilities” and “always seek both official and unofficial mentors.” Viola believes that there is always something to be learned from any experience and that there isn’t one perfect definition of a mentor. Mentors come in different ages, gender, backgrounds; a good mentor is someone willing to give and willing to learn.

Viola has mentored low-income first-gen students both formally and informally for over 15 years. This is her first year coaching with FirstGen Ahead. Additionally, she is currently serving on the Leadership Council of Bottom Line after having served on its Board. Throughout her experience as a mentor and coach, Viola has not only appreciated the ability to support students and share advice based on her journey, but she also cherishes what she’s learned from her students. She finds that the beauty comes from the ability of both the coach and student to learn from each other.