Noelia Figurero - Her family is from the Dominican. She is a track star who has set national records. She works with youth in poverty, many of whom are youths of color. She helps them develop excellence in body and intellect and helps inspire them with leadership and inspiration for social change. She graduated as a Spanish Major and a Women's and Gender Studies minor. Her goal in the future is to have her own non-profit to work on creating educational opportunities (some through social media) for girls and women around the world living in poverty who have no hope of education. Her immediate plans include applying for the graduate program in Community Engagement. Read her essay
Bella Lopez - Her family is from El Salvador. Bella will be a senior next year. She is majoring in International Business and Spanish with minors in social justice and Women’s and Gender Studies. She has volunteered in 2 of the poorest areas in MA with the Salvation Army in Leominster, and the Arlington school in Lawrence. Bella has presented poster sessions to students and faculty on issues like war and GMOs to increase awareness. Much of her work concerns making sure people have their basic needs taken care of. She is committed to preserving biodiversity. Her future plans include doing a social justice internship Argentina in the fall and participating in Social Justice and global human rights Issues in the country. Read her essay
Stephanie McNally - Her family is from New Hampshire. Stephanie graduated with a triple major in Social Justice (she is the first graduated of the new program), Sociology, and Spanish. She has a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. Her interest is in structural inequality and working to break down stereotypes that harm members of stigmatized groups. She interned with a community development organization dedicated to empowering Lawrence residents with a range of community development initiatives and activities such as affordable housing, foreclosure prevention, first time homebuyer education, family financial literacy, business and youth development. She is interested in and has done work around LGBTQ issues as well. Read her essay