Simmons Alumnae/i Referral Program For Graduate Students

We all have a relative, friend, acquaintance, or colleague who we know would benefit from a graduate degree at Simmons. We want to help make that a reality by offering a $500 referral scholarship* for any enrolling student who is nominated by a Simmons alum. Fill out the Simmons Alumnae/i Referral Form and if the person you nominated enrolls, they will receive the $500 Simmons Friend Scholarship.

  • Nominate a potential Simmons graduate student by filling out the form.
  • If the person you nominate enrolls**, they will receive a $500 award during their first term*** at Simmons.

Submit A Nominee


* The Simmons Friend Scholarship is currently available for the 2023-2024 academic year. Scholarships are subject to change and restrictions may apply. Students enrolled in partnership/employer programs are not eligible to receive the Simmons Friend Scholarship.

** Students may be nominated by multiple Simmons alums, but are limited to one $500 award. Simmons alums are not eligible to refer themselves.

*** The referral form must be completed prior to the incoming graduate student’s first term. The scholarship cannot be applied retroactively.

The front of the Main College Building

Simmons University

Upcoming Alumnae/i Events

Dr. Leigh Karen Ware & Supreme Hassan

Elevating Alumnae/i Social Work Voices

  • Mar 27, 2025
  • 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
  • Kotzen Conference Room (E-001/002)
The main college building as seen from the labryinth in the academic quad.

Simmons 125th Anniversary Regional Gathering in Pittsburgh

  • Apr 2, 2025
  • 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
  • Duquesne Club, 325 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
Reunion 2025 Postcard featuring various photos of alumni over the years

125th Anniversary Reunion

  • Jun 6, 2025 to Jun 8, 2025
  • All Day
  • Simmons University, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115

Alumnae/i features

Grant Pike ’18MSW ’24DSW. Photo credit: Megan Afon Walker

Integrating Forest Spirituality into a Social Work Mindset

Grant Pike ’18MSW ’24DSW shares how the vitality of nature can be combined with social work and social justice, with a positive impact on humans and the planet.


Esta Soler '68, '06HD, photograph by Dean J. Biriny.

An Advocate for Women and Children

Esta Soler ’68, ’06HD is the President of Futures Without Violence (FUTURES). Based in San Francisco, Boston, and Washington D.C., this nonprofit organization aims to prevent violence against women and families.


An illustration of Gregory Maguire holding a quill pen with images from Wicked in the background

Gregory Maguire ’78MA Defying Gravity

Gregory Maguire '78MA, best-selling author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, reflects on his time as one of the first graduates of the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program at Simmons, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.


Dr. Dorothy (Boulding) Ferebee, Class of 1920, receives the first Alumnae/i Lifetime Achievement Award in 1959, photograph courtesy of Simmons University Archives.

Harbinger of Health, Racial, and Gender Equity

An early proponent of reproductive rights and a courageous advocate of racial, socioeconomic, and gender equity decades before the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, Dr. Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee, Class of 1920, was a visionary leader ahead of her time.


Rayna Hill '22MA/MPP, photograph by Kelly Davidson

Lived Experience: An Engine of Advocacy

A motivated advocate for social justice, Rayna Hill ’22MA/MPP is creating an equitable future for LGBTQ+ youth in the state of Massachusetts.


Barbara Margolis

Realizing Reparative Justice

In honor of the University’s 125th anniversary, we examine Barbara (Schneider) Margolis ’51 and her resolute commitment to rehabilitating incarcerated individuals. Barbara Margolis ’51, who majored in retail management (then retailing) at Simmons, became one of the nation’s most beloved prisoners’ rights advocates. Margolis developed rehabilitation and career-transition programs for male inmates at Rikers Island, the world’s largest penal complex (situated within the Bronx and accessible via a girder bridge in Queens).


The four Samuels siblings

The Samuels Family: A Simmons School of Nursing Tradition

Siblings Nathan Samuels ’05MSN 11DNP; Ashley Samuels Shields ’10; Eryn Samuels Yong ’12; and Brittany Samuels Czerw ’14 all studied nursing at Simmons University. We caught up with them about how this trend began, how they support each other in their careers, and what they most value about their nursing careers.


A graphic illustration of people volunteering and helping others

Advocating for Others

Anne Villano ’22MSW says her decision to enroll in Simmons’ School of Social Work was influenced by two key factors that also shaped volunteer service she engaged in while earning her degree – and her path since graduating: life experience and an affinity for advocacy.