Catchin' Up With a Cookie: Mary Ellen Dingley

Mary Ellen Dingley

2003 Young Scholar, 2008 College Scholar, 2014 Graduate Scholar, London School of Economics and Political Science

Mary Ellen is a nonprofit and international development communications professional with work experience across multiple issue areas. She is passionate about equipping people and organizations to communicate their message and solve social inequalities, using her training in communications, development management, and cultural anthropology. She is an experienced content producer and campaign strategist, producing films, written content, and other creative assets for diverse audiences, as well as coordinating outreach and programming to inform, educate, and build lasting partnerships.

What does being a Cooke Scholar mean to you?

Being a Scholar is like being the winner of some wild lottery. I was a Young Scholar so I was only about 13 and suddenly the world opened up for me! Here I was just trying to get through middle school and now these nice people wanted to send me to summer camp and buy me books?! Becoming a Scholar was magical for me, it really felt like I had stepped into a different reality, one where I could fly off to a summer camp in another country and get excited about going to college and dream much, much bigger.

I've now been a Scholar or Alum for 20 years. I can't imagine my life without being part of this community. To this day I still sometimes wonder "why me?" Being a Scholar means someone took a chance on me. Someone gave me the world, when I was just a little kid who desperately wanted to know what was out there. Being a Cooke Scholar also connected me with a cohort (Cohort 3!) of Young Scholars like myself, reminding me that I wasn't alone or the odd one out. That did wonders for my outlook on life as a teenager.

Tell us about a memorable moment in undergrad or graduate school.

A lot of my most memorable moments as a Cooke Scholar have to do with studying and traveling abroad, something I could not have afforded without the scholarship. As a College Scholar I was able to study abroad in Lima, Peru and we took trips up into the Andes mountains. I was astounded by the landscape, moved to tears. Going to Peru had been my dream since I was 10 years old and there I was!

I did my graduate degree in London, and I was amazed at all the history around me. You would walk by an office building and then a church from the 1100s! I remember feeling absurdly blessed one day in particular, when I sat in class in the heart of London, sipping on coffee and listening to my professor and thinking "how did I get so lucky, that right now it's my job to learn?"

I'll repeat myself again: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation gave me the world. In a very tangible way. I'll be forever grateful.

Mary Ellen’s undergraduate graduation in 2012 from George Washington University

What is ONE THING YOU DID TO HELP TRANSITION TO YOUR FIRST YEAR OUT OF COLLEGE?

That first year out of college can be so stressful! Right out of undergrad I spent the summer working the same internship as I did my final semester. It was helpful to have that stability, but it was unpaid (pay your interns!) so I was also juggling a part time job and applying to full time jobs all at the same time. I was so stressed. It helped me to realize that a lot of people were still figuring things out. And it helped to be honest with the people around me, instead of trying to make it seem like I had the picture perfect life.

What was the last book you read, movie/show you watched, or podcast you listened to that you really enjoyed and highly recommended?

I really loved The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. She's the author of one of my all time favorite books - Station Eleven - and The Glass Hotel is a sort of parallel novel. It was so cleverly written, though sad, and a delight throughout!

If you were to create your own cookie, what would it consist of and what name would you give it?

The snickerdoodle has already been created, so there is nothing left to invent! Is there a more perfect cookie, with a more perfect name, than the glorious snickerdoodle? I think not!