A Decade of Light Honoree: Eliza Shaughnessy ‘21
From Fellow to Administrative Assistant at Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education, Eliza sparks change by increasing opportunities in the arts for young adults and adolescent students with disabilities.
Eliza is an alumni honoree at A Decade of Light, CFSI’s 10-year anniversary fundraiser on May 7, 2026. Support future student outcomes like Eliza’s with your gift.
Eliza Shaughnessy, a member of the Fall 2021 cohort, interned at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education (BIAAE), supporting opportunities in the arts for young adults and adolescents with disabilities. She worked on ongoing research and development in the Arts Education sector to advance the work of the institute. Her special project, known as the Nurturing Leaders Program (NLP), was the development of a career readiness program that gives young adult and adolescent students with disabilities a paid internship at the BIAAE. Eliza also participated in the Spring 2024 Ripples of Hope fellowship program. As a cohort, she traveled to South Africa, worked with a personal coach, attended workshops, and formed ongoing relationships.
Since CFSI, Eliza has graduated from UVM (Class of 2022) and was offered a position back at the BIAAE, returning to work for them part-time. Since then, she has moved into a more full-time role as an Administrative Assistant, overseeing social media content creation, assisting with developing blog and podcast transcripts, and continuing research among a variety of other administrative tasks. She also returned to her Nurturing Leaders Program at Berklee, and has helped grow enrollment and even became a mentor to the interns participating in the program as an On-Site Campus Supervisor.
Who is your guiding light?
“My sister, Greta. We are twins, and I am the older one (by 4 minutes). She has had her fair share of hardships over the last few years, but watching her push through and continue to grow gives me the courage to do the same.”