My third semester at UMass has been demanding yet rewarding. This semester, I learned a lot academically and socially. So many moving parts in the college atmosphere are different from our small island community, which overwhelms and amazes me. This fall, I've already begun my plans to move into a house with my best friends for next year, which is exciting. I'm looking forward to gaining more independence. I took rigorous courses such as physics, chemistry, and statistics this fall semester. Balancing these classes has been tough, but they are the foundations for interesting higher-level classes, and these courses have taught me many necessary lab skills. I've also joined the Geo Science club this semester, which has connected me with intelligent and kind upperclassmen who have inspired me. Next semester, I'm taking another geology lab where we will learn hands-on about stream processes, mountain belts, geologic time scales, and more. I'm thrilled to further my geology knowledge and take classes next semester such as environmental economics, environmental career planning, "Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Global Change," and other courses. Next semester, I'm looking forward to joining lab research as well. Though I'm expanding my knowledge of the sciences, I will be joining "University Chorale," a mixed chorus ensemble next semester. I'm enthusiastic about getting back to singing, which helps clear my mind of any anxiety and stress. The Minnesinger group has had a lasting impact on my love for music. There is something magical about singing in a chorus. I've missed singing so much, and it will positively impact me mentally and academically. I've had a spectacular past fall but wouldn't be here without MVYouth. MVYouth inspires me to push myself to follow my passions and put my best foot forward. I'm so grateful to MVYouth for the opportunities they provide for me and my community.
Liam Weiland - Berklee College of Music
It’s hard to believe a full year has already passed since my last MVYouth update. I’m still working full time at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood as a General Assistant. As the past year has gone on I’ve been offered increasingly more opportunities to be an Assistant Engineer for sessions at the studio. I’ve now worked and become familiar with many prominent artists that I wouldn’t have believed I’d have the chance to work with this time last year. My experience and skill level as an engineer has increased exponentially. I could not be happier with my current position and day to day work life.
As an Assistant Engineer I am responsible for the technical set-up for any sessions I’m assigned to. I am in contact with the Recording Engineer prior to sessions, discussing with them their ideal set-up and any specific gear they are planning to use. I am setting up the room to the artist's liking and responsible for maintaining the overall workflow so the artist(s) and Recording Engineer can work as quickly and comfortably as they would like. The hours are intensive and unpredictable, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My ideal lifestyle is busy and unpredictable, and this job has played into that perfectly. I never know what challenges or successes each day will bring, which makes the job incredibly rewarding.
I could not be more grateful for the opportunity of a higher education that MVYouth awarded me, which has ultimately led me to my current job and lifestyle. I can’t imagine doing anything else. As this next year progresses, I hope to take on increasingly more sessions as an Assistant Engineer at the studio and begin to make the transition into working as a Recording Engineer there. I would not have been prepared for my current work if it were not for my education at Berklee.
Julia Gomes - New England Hair Academy
What a year!! Throughout this past summer and fall, I commuted to the Vineyard a few days a week and did hair at Panache Studio for Tracy Briggs, while simultaneously working at a salon on cape. MVYouth has been life changing in regards to my continued education, beyond my barbering license. This year alone, I attended a total of four workshops and classes, two of which that were taught by the Picassos of the industry: Linh Phan & Linson. I have soaked up so much knowledge and so many new & intricate techniques that have lead me to my current specialty, dimensional brunettes. This has completely elevated not only my clientele, but also my passion as I have found my niche in such an expansive industry. I’ve also been working hard to perfect my career skills and expand my business on social media platforms. Hopefully, I will take more classes this coming year to focus on the business aspect of the cosmetology field. This will help me to continue working towards my ultimate goal of owning a hair salon on the Island. Overall, I think that the last few months have really paved the way, professionally-speaking, for me. I’m excited to see what comes next and I'm eternally grateful for MVYouth’s continued support every step of the journey so far. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Paulo Pereira Filho - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
This past year has been eventful and incredibly busy since starting in the Securitized Products Group (SPG) at Morgan Stanley slightly over a year ago. As I have gotten more acclimated to my role, I have been able to take on more responsibility, lead, and sign off on a number of projects and deals rolling up to senior management within SPG and Morgan Stanley, more broadly. Outside of work, Morgan Stanley offers many programs for employees to volunteer and give back to surrounding communities and beyond. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to partake in a mentorship program where several colleagues and I volunteered as mentors to the students, many of whom come from minority backgrounds, at the Business of Sports School in midtown Manhattan. The mentorship program is structured as several sessions each semester, focusing on a core theme most relevant to the students. The past fall semester, we focused on helping the junior students with their college essays and applications. I am eager to continue volunteering as a mentor in the program when it kicks off again in the spring. Morgan Stanley also offers countless opportunities to donate to charities and support different causes, which has been an enlightening experience to learn more about and contribute to charities and causes other colleagues also care about. All in all, it has been a year filled with new experiences and tons of learning. I am grateful for every part of it and look forward to the development of my career as the years progress. None of this would have been possible without the help and support of MVYouth and its donors. Thank you again for everything you have done and continue to do for the community on MV!
Lee Faraca - Cal Poly
Wow, time flies. A statement I had heard many times that my younger self often dismissed. However, these past, post graduate years, have flown and every year seems to go by faster. I quite enjoy reading the Annual Report to see all the latest developments on the Island and what interesting stories and experiences my peers have to share. It’s a great indication of all the possibilities MVYouth has provided and the recipients have contrived. Thank you MVYouth!
I’ve been working at Lee + Ro, in Walnut Creek, California for the past two and a half years. I work as a consulting Project Engineer working with various Bay Area as well as LA County public agencies, municipalities, and Cities. My specialty is the treatment and transport of water and sewage, whether that be pumping water to a reservoir and treating it; or rehabilitating and upgrading wastewater treatment processes at a plant. I am slowly learning some instrumentation and controls engineering through a Project Manager, as well as some HVAC design.
Throughout the latter half of COVID I got really into cooking and backpacking. I live for the weekends and love to backpack. There are a couple trips planned for Joshua Tree and Desolation Wilderness this spring. My evenings usually consist of watching Masterchef Australia (or something similar) followed by a meek attempt at cooking gourmet food.
I am still involved in Engineers Without Borders – San Francisco Professional Chapter, especially with the Ethiopian Project team in Weledi. As the Tigray-Ethiopian conflict settles down, we’ll investigate our next project. During the past year we managed to finish post implementation monitoring and quality assurance and close out a latrine and handwashing project built in 2016. My guess is it will likely be a new clinic and some minor flooding mitigation.
Rose Engler - Brown University
Last year, I graduated from Brown with a BA in Public Health and founded a digital healthcare startup, COAD. I’m taking the year to pursue my venture before matriculating into Brown’s medical school this August. I plan to pursue a concentration in Medical Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, enabling me to earn my MD while launching COAD.
COAD utilizes behavioral decision science to fundamentally change the way patients remember to take their medicine. >151M Americans take medication, but 3/4 don’t take them as directed. Why? 69% simply forget. This forgetfulness costs patients their health, their loved ones their peace of mind, the US healthcare system $300B/year, and our communities over 125,000 lives/year. COAD is a behavior-based digital healthcare platform comprised of a revolutionary smart pillbox integrated with a user-friendly mobile app that work together to significantly boost medication adherence, empower caregiving, and improve health outcomes. We remind patients to take their medicine, notify their loved ones when they forget, and generate verifiable adherence reports to optimize and personalize patient care.
This spring, COAD won the Brown Venture Prize and utilized the capitol to drive product development throughout Brown’s summer accelerator. Today, our team is in the Master of Business Creation program through the University of Utah—a top 10 entrepreneurship program—which acts as a 9-month accelerator designed to launch, commercialize, and scale startups. Today, we are finishing product development, organizing a pilot through Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, and preparing to launch B2B through an Accountable Care Organization. We are raising a pre-seed round of $250K in part to fund small-batch manufacturing for our pilot with Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. I consider MVYouth part of my family and would love your support as we continue this adventure. Above all else, I sincerely thank you for your investment in my educational journey. It provided me with the education, resources, and freedom to follow my passions and develop COAD!
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!
Garrett Broadley - New England Institute of Technology
Hello, 2022 has been a very up and down roller coaster. The beginning of the year was as smooth and can be. I was working, having fun and doing things a 21 year old should be doing. I was doing things that were making me turn into a independent adult more and more. Until I had to move. The Island was sadly out of my budget. I simply could not afford to live there any more. I had to find something. With my girlfriend who is from Connecticut, we decided to move in together to have our own place and start becoming fully independent - “leaving the nest”, as some say. I still continue to use my education I got from NEIT while I work at another independent shop. The knowledge I got from Will Debettencourt shot me to the top at this new shop, although I have plenty to learn and still am learning every day. I am working six days a week, Monday through Saturday, mostly trying to build a solid foundation for my future. The Island will forever be my home. One day hopefully it becomes affordable for true Islanders like me so I can go back and make my kids the 9th generation of Islanders in my family. Thank you for all that you have done. None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for your support.
Sam Bresnick - Boston College
Upon graduating from Boston College this past May, I started working at Brown Brothers Harriman in Boston. In my role as a Client Account Manager, I service our clients (other banks and investment firms) by managing their respective funds. The funds that I work on are either private debt or private equity funds. My main tasks are to handle the accounting of the funds and to calculate monthly or quarterly NAV estimates for each fund. These tasks,among others, are all done with the end goal of generating and providing quarterly Financial Statements for each fund. Prior to this job I had a basic understanding of how PE funds operated. This job has provided me with an in depth look of how private equity and private debt funds operate. I have also gotten the opportunity to see the process of setting up funds and launching these funds. I found that this is the part of my job that I enjoy the most. Fund structure, the purpose behind that structure and the investment patterns of each fund are some aspects that I am excited to learn about as I continue to grow in this role. Currently my goal is to attend law school in the next two years with a focus on fund formation/fund set up. Thank you to MVYouth and the work you all do to support and provide opportunities for Island students to pursue their passions.
Chris Aring - Olin College
I have spent the last year living in California working remotely for Ginkgo Bioworks. I was promoted to Junior Systems Analyst, and began designing systems to help keep track of internal data within our biosecurity team. I have enjoyed my time at Ginkgo and will continue working for them while I begin my pre-med post-baccalaureate program at San Francisco State University. The program starts at the end of January and I will be done with the required coursework in 1-2 years. My next steps would be to take the MCAT and apply to medical school.
The work I do at Ginkgo is health related, but my focus has been on the more technical side of things. As I progress through the post-baccalaureate program I will have the opportunity to shadow physicians at Stanford University Medical Center and/or nearby hospitals. I may continue to work with Ginkgo part time to help fund my continuing education but would prefer to find payed opportunities in the medical field. I am fortunate to have gained many useful skills during my time at Olin College of Engineering that will help me tremendously in the medical field. I wanted to thank my community, friends, family, and the generosity of MVYouth for the continued support. I continue to use the knowledge I gained at college to push my life and career forward.
Emily Hewson - Bridgewater State University
his past fall semester I decided to change my major from music to psychology. Studying music as a major took the fun out of it for me. I have decided it is better to keep music as my minor to preserve my love for it. Switching my major to psychology will also help with furthering my career path to becoming a musical therapist. I started this semester with my first psychology class, cultural psychology. In this course, I learned what it means to understand the different cultures around the world and how to appreciate diverse ways of thinking. Expanding our views on cultural contexts other than our own is a great way to develop a better understanding of the world we all live in. I knew I was interested in psychology but this class confirmed just how interested I am in psychology. The only class I had outside of music and psychology was writing rhetorically. We discussed the difference between civil rights and human rights. We talked about the evolution of cultural norms along with what it means to create lasting change in society. Our discussions overlapped with the content we were studying in the cultural psychology class. This upcoming semester I have enrolled in more psychology classes to work towards getting enough credits for a BA in psychology. I have also made sure to sign up for music classes such as opera, chorale, and chambers. I’ve taken these classes before and have loved every practice and performance that went into studying musical performance. I would not be able to continue my college career without music. Although I am far along in my college education, I plan on taking intersession courses in the summer and winter. These asynchronous classes will help me graduate closer to my original goal. I am confident in my newfound passion for psychology and am excited to continue on this new path.
Nic Andre - College of Holy Cross
As I headed back to campus in August, I was presented with a range of emotions. While showing up to preseason was always exciting, this was my last one, thus an entirely novel experience. I was simultaneously buzzing to be back in the place I’ve called home for the past four years and slightly nervous as well. Ironically this was akin to how I felt showing up my freshman year in 2018. In reflecting on my time since then, I took stock of how grateful I am of my teammates, friends, coaches, professors, and most of all my family for getting me to where I am today. Therefore, I made the conscious effort to cherish every last moment of this wonderful journey throughout the semester, making sure to take it all in. It is these bittersweet moments that have really made life so special, and I can’t wait for countless more in whatever comes next.
However, as we all know the good times always fly by. In the blink of an eye, it was already December, and with the semester wrapped up, I was gifted the opportunity to travel. I spent the holidays in Germany, visiting family I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic, and then headed to Dubai, Singapore, and Thailand to visit friends. This journey afforded me the chance to take in new cultures, social structures and visit some of the most naturally beautiful landscapes the world has to offer. This was truly an experience I will never forget and am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to embark upon it. I cannot begin to thank MVYouth enough for its generosity and continued support. Without MVYouth, none of this would even be remotely possible and for that I am ever grateful.
Meghan Sonia - Anna Maria College
Over the past semester, I have been getting very excited about finishing my senior year and college career. I have just realized how fast time flies when you're having fun. Looking back on my four years, I have seen just how lucky I am to have spent my four years at such a fantastic school. I was so fortunate to be able to have followed my love for science into a degree in nursing while also being able to continue my passion for athletics and playing both field hockey and ice hockey.
This semester I had two amazingly educational classes. I took community health and family health where I learned to care for pediatric patients, pregnant women, and members of the community outside of the hospital setting. These classes helped me expand my knowledge and I have become more eager to pass my boards and get to apply this knowledge to the real world. My best experience this semester was my clinical rotation. My clinical rotation was at UMass Memorial Hospital. During this clinical experience, I shadowed a nurse and cared for patients. While working alongside these nurses, I got to take notes on how they helped their patients and began developing my clinical skills. This clinical helped me gain confidence in the clinical skills that I will be using within the next year. I will forever be thankful to MVYouth for giving me the opportunity to go to such an amazing school. The past four years have given me such great experiences, both in the classroom and out that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Emma Searle - Boston College
This fall has been my penultimate semester at Boston College. I look forward to graduating in the spring with a degree in Philosophy (Perspectives Concentration) and Communication. Having been led to BC’s Perspectives Program my freshman year through my core requirements, I’ve so enjoyed the pursuit of a Perspectives Concentration in Philosophy that has spanned almost four years now. Unique to BC, the Perspectives track is an interdisciplinary program of four year-long courses that are connected by foundational philosophical texts and principles. This semester I finished Perspectives III: Horizons of the New Social Sciences, which offers a philosophical frame to subtopics of sociology and economics, among others. In the spring I will wrap up Perspectives IV: New Scientific Visions, which focuses on the history and philosophy of the natural sciences. I spent this past summer in Boston as an intern at FGS Global (formerly Sard Verbinnen & Co.), a strategic communications firm. At FGS I was afforded the opportunity to witness a variety of communication-related situations unfold across a variety of different industries. Over the course of the summer I worked on both group and individual projects that were presented to the firm at the end of the program. I am so fortunate to take with me invaluable lessons from observing and working to support a host of professionals with a breadth of experience and expertise in the field of communications. This year I’ve also enjoyed continuing my involvement with the Undergraduate Government of Boston College and the Boston College Dance Ensemble, both of which have led to some of my most cherished memories at BC. As these four years come to an end all too soon, I am continuously reminded of my immeasurable gratitude for MVYouth and your indispensable support.
Jo Orr - Wagner College
This past fall I had the luck of going back to Wagner College after taking some personal time away from school. As a music studies major, I had the privilege of being in NYC as my peers and alumni friends started to audition and star in shows in the city and on campus. I got to see friends in shows on the Mainstage, Stage 1, and Gatehouse on campus, and shows and concerts in the city at 54 Below, Don’t Tell Mama, and off-Broadway. I auditioned and got a callback for the character Emma in “The Prom”, the Mainstage show for the spring semester. The audition experiences and professional connections I have gained at school are invaluable. Freshman year I was assistant director for Michele Pawk, a professor, director, and actor who is now off to play Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway for the next year.
I also juggled 8 classes, including music classes, choirs, psychology, and dance. While I liked the classes and the curriculum, what I really loved was hearing my professors, professional performers, tell us stories about shows they’ve been in and people they’ve met and danced with. There’s nothing better for the motivation of a dream than when you’re surrounded by people who’ve already done it. My private lessons continue to be my favorite class, as we continue to develop my instrument and transpose songs that are traditionally bound by the gender binary. To balance classes, performance opportunities, and rest, this year I prioritized my own mental health. After getting top surgery in the spring, I went into this semester still recovering, and I’m so happy now that I’m fully healed. I can focus on my classes and my goals for the future, and I’m so grateful to MVYouth for continuing to support me.
Louise McDonald - New York University
As my graduation date rapidly approaches, I am taking in all that college has to offer while preparing myself to enter the working world and post-graduate lifestyle. This summer, I was granted the opportunity to be the Institutional Relationship Summer Associate for Cohen & Steers. Through my internship, I developed strong client service and communication skills by preparing and attending external portfolio reviews with Cohen & Steers portfolio managers & clients. To help the Northeast Relationship Management team prepare for client & consultant meetings, I assisted with production, review, and delivery of client investment reports focusing on performance and attribution. While assigned tasks by my manager, I worked with a team of five interns to analyze COVID's impact on the firm's risk management, technology, and communication systems and presented our research to the firm's executive committee. By connecting with colleagues in different departments, I learned how to build, grow, and chase new clients, best navigate existing relationships, and listen to unexplored opportunities in the pipeline.
Through this experience, I gained great knowledge of financial markets and Cohen & Steers products when it came to fostering client relationships and finding opportunities to deepen the relationship in meaningful ways. I am happy to announce that after completing my internship, I received a full time offer to return to the firm as a Relationship Management Associate in their Relationship Management Department. This past semester at New York University was the best one yet! After completing my internship, this semester I was able to truly focus on my classes, extracurriculars, and campus life. As always, none of these experiences would be possible without the generosity and continued support of MVYouth. Thanks to MVYouth, I will graduate, work for a support firm in a role I am passionate about, and continue to build and explore all life has in store in the best city in the world. Thank you!
Andres Garcia - Cornell University
This past semester has been one of the most meaningful ones in my collegiate career. Earlier in the year, I joined Cornell’s Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing where I designed and built two prototypes that induce ultrasonic vibrations to the additive manufacturing process. I learned a lot about the engineering design process, from creating 3D models to actually manufacturing each prototype. This fall, I was finally able to begin testing my prototypes in order to characterize their effects. My research experience has shown me how much I like to design and build machines and how important it is to further my education. After speaking with my advisor, I decided to apply to graduate school at Cornell.
Halfway through the semester, I got accepted into Cornell’s Master of Engineering Program as an early admit. I will be studying aerospace engineering with a concentration in design. I begin my master’s classes this coming spring and will be graduating with my advanced degree in the fall of 2023. Around the same time, I was also accepted into the Cornell Engineering Leadership Program. This is a year-long program that focuses on developing professional leadership skills through a hands-on project, multiple retreats, and two classes where I can practice these skills. Both of these programs will help me with my aspirations to one day hold a high-level position at an innovative aerospace company. This semester I chose to focus primarily on my academics. I attended many different networking events to speak with professors and industry advisors about the benefits of graduate school. Although it has been a challenging semester, it has also been a very rewarding one. All of this has been possible because of the support that MVYouth has given me. I am beyond thankful for everything that you have done.
Sam Cranston - University of Vermont
Throughout my four years at UVM, I have never wavered in my decision to study biology and pursue a career dedicated to scientific inquiry. In the past year, my passion for science has deepened, my skills as a scientist have grown significantly and I have developed strong aspirations for the future.
In my senior year, I knew I wanted a challenge that would put my scientific skills to the test. This meant spearheading my own scientific study. When I began formulating ideas for a project in the Spring of 2021, I decided to return to the subject that had originally sparked my passion for science: tick borne disease. Similar to Martha’s Vineyard, Vermont’s deer tick populations have grown rapidly in recent years due to global warming. Equally concerning, deer ticks carry not only Lyme disease, but a host of other debilitating pathogens including Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis and Relapsing Fever. I have been studying the rates at which these pathogens are carried as coinfections, as well as how land use changes in the region are affecting the spread of tick borne disease. From my project proposal, I was selected as one of two recipients of the UVM Biology Department’s KAY Award for Summer Research to fully fund my study. I spent the summer collecting ticks at various sites throughout Vermont. In the fall, I spent countless hours in the lab testing these ticks for disease. I expect to submit the results of my study for review in a scientific journal prior to graduation.
Outside of the lab, I have remained a member of the UVM Club Baseball team. As a starting outfielder this year, I helped my team achieve a 17-0 record and win the New England Club Baseball championship. The past four years at UVM have been the experience of a lifetime. I have been committed to making the most out of having the privilege to attend college. None of this would have been possible without the support of MVYouth. I will always be thankful for your belief in me and I hope to someday give back to future students like myself.
JP Alves - University of San Diego
Without a doubt, this past fall semester has been the best few months of my life. Having decided to spend the first half of my senior year in Spain turned out to be a life changing experience I will cherish forever. Madrid exceeded any expectation that I could have placed on studying abroad, and I am certain it will not be my last time living there.
Studying international business took a whole new form once I was physically living abroad, absorbing the vibrant European culture. Living with an incredible family who took me in as their son only added immensely to my immersion into Spain. Along with my classes in Madrid, I was also fortunate enough to work as an intern for a Spanish investment company called The Venture City. I cannot thank them enough for all they have taught me, both about the work being done by the firm, but also relating to the customs and formalities of European business. Following my rigorous class and work schedule proved to be most rewarding when I could connect with my coworkers and professors in their own language.
As a DACA student, studying abroad is an extremely complex process. There are numerous risks involved when leaving the country with only the safety of a DACA travel document, which can end up being fallible. Assuming this uncertainty, I still considered myself lucky to be fulfilling one of my biggest dreams of going to Europe. Although it was unpredictable at times, I thankfully arrived safe and sound back home. I have nothing but gratitude for the MVYouth community who converted my dream into a reality. With the support of my family and from the MVYouth scholarship, I am now as confident as ever in a seamless transition into my future international business career.
Zephrine Thompson - George Washington University
The fall semester of my third year at The George Washington University passed in a heartbeat! This semester has been entirely offline, which returned a comforting sense of near-normalcy; aside from in-person classes, extracurricular clubs were able to offer their full range of events, and it felt like new opportunities to explore D.C. that had previously been closed (venues for food, music, art, and more!) appeared every day.
My course highlights for this semester were absolutely my Public Health and French courses. Public Health is fiercely interesting, and I’ll actually be declaring a Global Public Health concentration soon! I plan to minor in French, but Fall 2022’s “Writing Women” was my favorite of the courses so far. It focused on female French writers through the 19th and 20th centuries, including literature such as Colette’s La Vagabonde and Sand’s La Petite Fadette; our discussion focused strongly on the female experience and what it meant to be a female writer, which overall led to an incredibly thought-provoking semester!
Outside of classes, I continue to be a member of the Chi Omega sorority, and recently took two lovely new members as Little Sisters! I also went on fun trips with our outdoor activities club, and played the role of Sandrine in our student theatre company’s production of Almost, Maine. In September, I was trained as a server at a restaurant on campus. While occasionally challenging, it has been an exciting new experience, and ultimately provides a nice balance to my spare time. In addition to finding new friendships in the staff, I’ve had fascinating conversations with professionals of various fields (including a few diplomats) that end up at my tables!
I truly had the most wonderful semester yet, and for that (and so, so much more), I am unfathomably grateful to everyone involved with MVYouth: to the community that organizes it, to the donors who sustain it, and to Lindsey who tells us how proud she is in every email. I am so excited for next semester, and I am so grateful to you all for making it possible!!!