Fowler Scholars Program Mentor Spotlight: Mary Curran

Within the Fowler Scholars Program, each student is paired with a professional mentor. Fowler Scholar Gaby Mabey’s mentor, Mary Curran, is an SDSU alumna as well as an extremely successful and accomplished business woman with experience in the banking industry and now sits on three separate boards including the Campanile Foundation Board. 

Gaby is a Junior at SDSU majoring in Marketing (IMC). She has been with the Fowler Scholars since 2020 and has been aided with the help of Mary Curran as her mentor. She is extremely grateful for Mary’s mentorship and describes her as “being the most impactful person in the Fowler Scholars Program.” Mary has provided Gaby with multiple networking opportunities and acted as not only a mentor, but as a friend too.

Q: Describe a little bit about yourself and your experience with SDSU?

I came to SDSU from Albuquerque, New Mexico where I grew up, armed with a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Colorado. My goal was to get my MBA and have a career in business. My time as a student here was really life changing. I gained not only knowledge, but confidence and some great mentors (Joe Belch and later, Ron Fowler).

I am a FS donor and have been a mentor to Gaby Mabey, now a Junior in FCB and a FS, for the past three years. Gaby is a hard-working student who now juggles two jobs in addition to a full classroom schedule and is the mom of two cats as well! She is excited to learn and fun to be around. She just gets things handled! I have also worked since I was 14 so I love that she is so industrious. I have also really enjoyed meeting and getting to know some of the other FS. What a talented group! The Program Director, Mark Lindner, is a longtime friend of mine and it’s also great to see what he has done with the program over the past year.

When the idea was first outlined to me at the inception of the program by former Dean Nail, I loved the comprehensive four year nature of the program, providing students with both professional and academic mentors, opportunities to travel and learn, and the support and focus on students growing as strong ethical leaders. 

Q: What have you learned from being a mentor and what advice would you give to anyone thinking about becoming a mentor?

I would encourage a regular schedule of meetings, both virtual and in person. Get to know your mentee well and introduce them to other people that might help them in their fields of interest. Encourage them to think about the bigger world and how they get their information about it and make sure that their sources are varied so they are exposed to different world views and can make up their own minds about what they think and feel. Enjoy your time together – it goes very fast!!!

Being a mentor is an opportunity to learn as well as listen and provide guidance. I have learned so much about what it is like to be a college student now, how learning is different, and it keeps me connected to the university in a completely different way. I have an opportunity to understand what students may be thinking and what is important to them. Introducing Gaby to a variety of people has been great for me – I learned more about those executives’ careers than I ever would have learned on my own even though I have known these individuals for some time! Watching Gaby grow as a person and become confident has been great.

Q: What are some of your hopes for the future of the Fowler Scholars Program? Is there anything you would like to see in the future of the program?

I would love to see the program be much larger which takes more funding. We cannot have too many ethical leaders in our world. I would love to see 50-100 students in the program. I also would like to see them have an international experience, it is a great way to expand their world view.

I love to be active, hiking, skiing, working out, brisk walking (especially on the beaches), and golf. I am a huge animal lover and am active with several animal welfare groups. I enjoy reading mysteries and crime thrillers, multiple newspapers, and news feeds. I also love to travel. This year so far, we are going to Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Puerto Rico, Jackson Hole, and Washington D.C. We just finished a ski trip to Steamboat Springs and will try to squeeze in one to Mammoth as well. It is nice that much of my work can be done virtually so it does not prevent me from exploring! 

I also value time spent hanging with my friends and my family and our amazing, endlessly entertaining dogs, Otis and Bowie.