Thames at Mitchell 20th Anniversary Student Profile Series
In fall 2024 through Spring 2025, Thames was fortunate to have Leo Kaldor of East Greenwich, RI, as one of its students. We were lucky to have Leo, and according to his parents, Leo was lucky to have Thames.
Smart yet shy, Leo thrived in the Thames program before moving on to Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, to explore majors not offered at Mitchell College. In addition, Leo hopes to benefit from a program at Merrimack that supports neurodiverse students.
Leo’s college journey began with the Jump Start program in the summer of 2024. The program, offered at Mitchell College and primarily associated with Thames, helps high school students and graduates build college readiness, life skills, and confidence through supportive learning.
“Jump Start gave Leo a taste of what it would be like in the fall, so he wouldn’t panic,” said Leo’s mom, Lynne. He got to experience all of the environmental factors that can be assaulting – the cafeteria, classrooms, and dorm rooms.
Following Jump Start, Leo enrolled in Thames.
“Thames was such a supportive environment and such a great step,” Lynne said. “We couldn’t have envisioned a better place for Leo to go after high school.
“Thames provided us with the next step,” Lynne said. Leo needed opportunities and support to build confidence. As a Thames student, he lived on campus and learned how to use Uber to go out into the community to shop and go to the movies. For Leo, these were two huge steps toward independence from home.
Thames was an integral step in getting Leo to Merrimack. Because he started with a supportive residential transition program close to home, he developed the confidence to then go to another school farther away, where he is now a successful full-time college student.
For Leo, academics haven’t been a challenge. It’s always been about social and environmental components. Now he can take harder classes and meet other students because he knows how to live on a college campus.
During his first semester at Merrimack, Leo got comfortable with his new campus and environment. At the beginning of this year, he made a New Year’s resolution to connect with the Merrimack community.
Leo wouldn’t be where he is today without the support of Thames, Lynne said. “Merrimack wouldn’t have happened without Thames.”
Last semester at Merrimack, Leo was so confident that one weekend, he used Uber to go to Boston to see the movie Frankenstein.
2026 will be our 20th Anniversary for Thames at Mithell College. This series is intended to celebrate some of our students as we build toward our celebration in the Fall. For more information about the celebration, please reach out. samul_r@mitchell.edu
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