Major: Communication Studies
Minor: Sustainability
Hometown: Hopkinton, RI
What makes the College of Arts and Sciences at URI unique?
The College of Arts and Sciences at URI is special to me because of the way all the professors I had really assisted, taught, and made me truly believe in my abilities, right from the start. With these key attributes I was continuously successful.
What accomplishments are you most proud of doing while at URI?
I would have to say that, without a doubt, my greatest accomplishment will be graduation in May. Back in the Fall of 2011 when I first started as a freshman at URI, I never thought that graduation would ever be as meaningful as it is for me today eight years later. I have always known the value of a good education and having a core group of friends to surround myself with positivity, but this was tested after almost losing my life after suffering a Brain Aneurysm/AVM in my dorm room on the very last day before winter break. From that day in December, I was in the hospital/rehab for five months without ever leaving. I had my skull opened five times, three brain surgeries, and had one major leg surgery that took a total of nine hours to complete. From my accident I had to relearn most basic things like: talk, read, and walk (which I am still in the process of learning) all over again. All while I was in the beginning stages of rehab, (though my speech was poor and my mobility? Forget it), I knew that in some way I would recover. So after three years of intense speech therapy from the speech therapy program at URI, I returned to campus, still as a freshman, the same Spring semester I was supposed to have graduated originally. But this time, I was only taking one course to see if I could manage. As I realized this was possible for me, I gradually increased the amount of courses I took (three courses maximum), and I never gave myself a break by taking Spring, Fall, Summer, and Winter session classes to get me back on track to graduate. (This was MY motivation by being able to graduate in the same decade I started college in!) This Spring 2019 semester, my very last semester at this university, I attempted and am thriving doing something that I never could have imagined every doing again… taking 18 credits (that is three more than I took before my accident in the Fall of 2011)!. So yes, graduation on May 19, 2019 will be my greatest accomplishment to date and I am proud of myself and ready!
Who or what influenced your time at URI the most?
Though many individuals I met throughout my time here at URI influenced my overall success as a student, there are two professors that were undoubtedly always there for me no matter what the question or issue: Professors Norbert and Joanne Mundorf [in the Department of Communication Studies]. I honestly owe my entire college career to them. They both did SO much for me, going above and beyond to help me achieve the 3.67 GPA that I have today. They assisted me in everything from keeping me on track to graduate to helping me find courses that I would be interested in to helping me find multiple internships along the way. If it had not been for them, I probably would still be in school for another 10 years… I thank them from the bottom of my heart.