This year has brought many changes! To start the year off I was working as an IT Consultant in Denver. With this job mainly being work-from-home, I decided I needed to find something where I would get out of my house and interact with colleagues! This fall I made the switch, and am now working as the Financial System Coordinator for CU Boulder’s Continuing Education department. Since working in this position, I have learned a lot more about accounting than I ever thought I would. Though this is a much different career than I saw myself doing, I am very much enjoying it. I am so happy I made the switch! I currently go into the office two days a week and work from home the remaining days. This has brought much more cooperation to my role, and I have gotten to know my new colleagues well over the last several months. I also love being on a campus again! With my job switch, I decided to find an apartment closer to Boulder! I found a nice little apartment in Lafayette, Colorado, which is right between Boulder and Denver. My commute is arguably one of the most beautiful, with vast views of the mountains the entire drive into the office. Since most of my friends still live in Denver, I make my way into the city about once a week. My central location has been amazing, giving me a small-town feel with access to two amazing cities. I spend my free time hiking in the mountains and exploring small mountain towns! Though I always thought I was a beach person, I love all the mountains have to offer. In the summertime, I did a bunch of hikes up in Rocky Mountain National Park with my dog Archie, and now that it’s gotten colder I have been exploring small trails nearby. Thank you MVYouth!
Marissa D'Antonia - Boston College
After a year of transition after transition, I have finally begun to settle into post-grad life. During my last semester of college, I spent time taking classes to help in my career endeavors as well as classes that helped me expand my knowledge in other interest areas. The majority of my time outside of class was spent traveling for club ultimate frisbee, volunteering at an after-school program, and soaking in my last college memories with friends. Following graduation in May 2022, I decided to spend some time working on the Vineyard. After a couple months of saving up and spending time with family, I packed up my car and drove across the country to Denver, Colorado.
Since arriving in Denver, I have gotten settled in my new apartment, explored the incredible nature that Colorado has to offer, and have even gotten a puppy! Though I miss the natural beauty of Martha’s Vineyard, I am starting to feel at home here in Denver. This past August, I started working as an IT Audit Consultant at Protiviti. My new job has taught me so much more than I could have ever anticipated in only the first couple of months. I am building auditing skills, client management skills, as well as technical consulting skills. I mainly work from home but have gone into the office downtown a handful of times to meet with my team members.
With so many transitions happening in my life this past year, I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for MVYouth allowing me to be debt free. Navigating young adulthood is hard enough without having thousands of dollars in debt lurking overhead. Because of this scholarship, I am able to spend this time growing as both a professional and individual on my own terms. Thank you MVYouth!
Marissa D'Antonio - Boston College
This past semester at Boston College, I was lucky enough to have all in-person classes without masks. Though quite a radical shift from the previous school year, it allowed for a sense of normalcy that I had been yearning for since the beginning of the pandemic. With this, I was able to truly focus on my classes, extracurriculars, and campus life. Most of my course work this semester was focused on completing my majors of Finance and Management Information Systems. While most of my classes were purely academic, I was able to take my first true elective, Ceramics I. This class allowed me to continue building on the wheel throwing skills I had learned at MVRHS and provided me with a much-needed creative outlet for the rigorous semester. Aside from academics, I have continued to play ultimate frisbee and have taken on the role of booking all our scrimmages and tournaments. I have also continued to volunteer in Boston tutoring at the Allston Brighton Community Development Center. In addition to my regular four hours of service every week, I was appointed to the position of organizing the service placement logistics and coordinating volunteers. As my academic studies come to a close, I am happy to announce that I have accepted a job opportunity in Denver, CO following graduation. In the summer of 2022, I will begin working at Protiviti as a Technology Consultant in their Internal Audit and Financial Advisory department. Though at the beginning of college I thought I would never do tech, the Management Information Systems major sparked my passion for software, technology, and problem-solving. As I finish up my education at Boston College, I can truly understand what the gift from MVYouth has done for me. In five months, I will graduate debt-free, have a good job I am passionate about, and be free to explore all life has in store for me. Thank you!
Marissa D'Antonio - Boston College
This past semester was incredibly educational, difficult, and eye opening. I took a full course load, participated in clubs, and fell in love with weight lifting all during a global pandemic. This semester I took three business courses, an Italian course, and a course on Swift and iOS app development. This app development class was packed full of coding, interface design, and computer science principles, leading me to learn how to develop a full-stack app in one semester. Though this course was incredibly rigorous and challenging, it showed me that if I work hard at something and put the time in, I can learn anything. I plan on continuing to work on developing apps, and am thinking about seeking an internship in app development and design. As with everything else, none of my clubs were in person this semester. I am on the E-Board for Consultants for Social Impact, and was in charge of transitioning the club to be able to function remotely. We were incredibly successful in working with six non-profit organizations, doing consulting work, planning fundraising, and website development. This semester I continued my community service with 4Boston, tutoring for the Allston Brighton Community Development Center. Though this did not mean going into the city on the T like in semesters past, I was able to continue to watch my students learn and grow through an incredibly difficult time. I have known many of these kids for over two years now, but this semester we were all able to connect on a deeper level. Though online learning was tough for me, it was nothing compared to what low income students, with non-English speaking parents were going through. These kids truly taught me that you can achieve anything with resilience and a little bit of extra work. I plan to continue my work with them for the rest of my time at Boston College. Thank you so much MVYouth for having my back during this very difficult time. You have truly made it possible for me to continue my education through thick and thin.
Marissa D'Antonio - Boston College
This past semester at Boston College has been the best semester yet. Looking back, I spent the majority of my freshman year working on building a new community and getting used to the rigor of college academics. Now that I am settled, I have taken so many more opportunities and risks that I would have never imagined myself taking. At the end of last year, I decided I wanted to try new classes in a variety of disciplines. My sophomore year fall was nothing but. I took accounting, programming, economics, geology, and calculus. Though this was a very challenging schedule, I was able to experience school in a way that I had never done before. Through going out on this limb and trying different major classes, I found my love for computer science and programming. These disciplines had never even been on my radar. I have decided to pursue a double major in Information Systems and Finance based on my love for the intermingling of both concentrations. Though this fall was full of academic growth, I was truly able to find a home at BC this semester. This fall, I joined the women’s club ultimate frisbee team. Since sports were a large part of my life on the Vineyard, I felt as if I was missing a part of myself last year. Joining the team was the best decision I could have made. Though I love the game itself, the people I have met while playing with the team and at tournaments have been some of the most genuine and kind people. I have also continued to volunteer in the Boston community for four hours a week, and am still working to build the non-profit, Element Hope. I cannot wait to see what my next five semesters have to offer!
Marissa D'Antonio - Boston College
This past semester at Boston College has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined. I have learned so much from my professors and took several truly engaging classes. While I did take a business ethics class and a business statistics class, I also decided to take some courses to fulfill BC’s core requirements. I had never taken a philosophy or religion class in my life, but I thoroughly enjoyed my course that combined theology with philosophy. We learned about Plato, Aristotle, as well as several other philosophers that truly opened my mind to different ethical philosophies. While I am currently working towards a double major in Business Analytics and Finance, I have found that the core curriculum at BC is very engaging.
The highlight of this past semester has been joining a community service organization called 4Boston. Every Tuesday I take the T into the city to tutor students at the Allston-Brighton Community Development Center. We are committed to four hours of service a week as well as a one-hour group reflection. This has been a truly outstanding experience for me and has helped me better understand the greater Boston community. I have also joined a consulting club called CASE-Impact in which I am currently writing a business plan for a startup non-profit. We are working with the owners and a small group of donors to create a statement that captures their mission, as well as setting long-term goals for the non-profit. This has been a very beneficial experience that will help me as I work towards a career. With the help of MVYouth, I have made a new home here at Boston College. Thank you MVYouth.