Alumni Diaries # 4: Gabbie Calice
Each semester at College for Social Innovation we receive the invaluable assistance of multiple Semester in the City program alumni who we call Ambassadors. In addition to their coursework these amazing individuals help us with recruitment efforts at their educational institutions, share their SITC experiences with classmates, and help us find the next generation of problem-solvers for future semesters.
This past semester we reached out to our ambassadors asking them to help share their Semester in the City stories; our following blog post was written by Gabbie Calice who was a part of our Fall 2020 Cohort and was a Student Fellow at Madison Park Development Corporation; check our her Semester in the City experience below!
I am so thankful to have found Semester in the City when I did! After transferring to UMass Amherst in my freshman year, the first thing on my agenda was making my four year plan. I planned it out perfectly to where I would have one semester in my undergraduate career to do absolutely anything. I knew that the opportunities in my senior year would be endless. As the years went on, I felt like I was so behind compared to my peers because I didn’t have any internship experience. After seeing a flyer in my email about SITC, I went to an information session on campus led by none other than Eric Schwarz, himself. I knew exactly what I would be doing in the fall semester of my senior year!
The SITC-based classes allowed me to work with almost every fellow in one way or another. Everyone had their unique internship locations and projects, but we had so much in common personally and professionally. We really became a family!
From the first day of launch week, the SITC directors and staff made me feel like I was their first priority. They really took the time to get to know me and where I wanted to go with this whole experience. Despite being a commuter student, I was able to make so many friends in the program. The SITC-based classes allowed me to work with almost every fellow in one way or another. Everyone had their unique internship locations and projects, but we had so much in common personally and professionally. We really became a family!
Working with Madison Park Development Corporation allowed me to apply what I learned from my Public Health courses at UMass and SITC-based classes to real world situations. I was able to use social media to bridge the gap between the needs of the community and the city of Boston. SITC gave me the perfect match because it blessed me with my mentor, Chavella from MPDC. Not only was I able to impact the residents of Roxbury, Chavella helped me develop my professional skills and supported me in continuing my education. I am forever grateful to Semester in the City for giving me the opportunity to make my mark in Boston and build a network of people who will continue to support me in the future!