Q. What makes the College of Arts and Sciences at URI unique?

A. The College of Arts and Sciences at URI is unique due to it being able to satisfy students’ interests through their broad options of programs. Even if you don’t know exactly what career path to go down, the College of Arts and Sciences enriches your imagination and provides you with something that you didn’t even know you were passionate about. 

What accomplishments and/or activities at URI are you most proud of now?

Overall, I’m most proud of myself for being a first generation (almost) college graduate. Coming from a large family, it was difficult to pave a new path for myself and actually stick with it. I’m also proud of myself for making the Dean’s List the past three semesters while balancing work and my personal life. 

What research projects, internships, experiential learning, and/or study abroad programs did you participate in at URI? How did they enhance your education? 

I’m currently interning at Community Care Alliance in Woonsocket, RI as a Safe Haven Community Outreach team member. This internship includes me supporting individuals and families of Woonsocket who are either experiencing economic insecurity, mental illness and addiction, and/or housing issues. My responsibilities of this internship include handing out “food bags” to those who are experiencing food insecurity, handing out Naloxone and providing an array of harm reduction services, including needle exchange, condoms and other safe-sex materials, and fentanyl test strips. I talk with these individuals of Woonsocket to offer support or simply just have a conversation with these folks. I also provide referrals to treatment, if and when people are interested in those services. Through this internship opportunity, I get to enhance my education by learning outside of the classroom walls and by communicating with individuals other than fellow URI colleagues. 

What do you value about your liberal arts education? 

I value how my liberal arts education has expanded my thinking and has allowed me to think outside of the box. Through my learning, I can question how society operates and even question those beliefs of others, and even my own. 

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact your senior year? 

Like many other students, my classes have all switched to virtual learning. My once imagined senior year that included interacting with my friends and professors on a more intimate level was suddenly changed to communicating with everyone through a computer screen. However, with the new challenge of adapting to Zoom meetings also came the highlight of our URI community uniting even more than before while trying to overcome a pandemic.