Graduation year: 2002
Majors/Minors: Government & International Relations majors, Gender Studies & Hesburgh Program in Public Service minors
Current occupation: Director of Community Based Services for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany, NY
Favorite Gender Studies class/professor/memory from your experience at Notre Dame: Women & Religion with Professor Heidi Ardizzone or my GS Practicum with Professor Mary Beckman.
Your experience with Gender Studies/gender issues at Notre Dame:
The Gender Studies courses at Notre Dame were a safe, academic space to explore relevant societal issues.
How your Gender Studies education has impacted your life:
The Gender Studies Program helped me to deepen my commitment to women’s issues. My practicum experience with the women at the YWCA Shelter was really informative in terms of how I continue to examine non-profit service delivery with a special concern for the most marginalized populations. After graduating I spent some time working with women’s groups in Latin America and eventually got my Masters in Gender & Cultural Studies of Latin America from the University of Chile. My thesis experience for that program really drew on some of the research techniques and styles I learned during my practicum experience at ND.Currently I am working with Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany and continue to serve low-income women and their needs.
Your hopes for the future of Gender Studies at Notre Dame:
My hope for the program would be that it would continue to grow and to focus on some more marginalized expressions of what it means to be a man or a woman (issues of sexual identity, third-world feminisms, etc.).