LARISSA DE OLIVEIRA UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS,AMHERST

Thelast twosemestersat UMasshavebeenamazing! Last semester I got toexperiencemy first springin Amherst whichwassuchagreat opportunity to exploretheareamore I enjoyedfindingquiteplaces outsidetostudy anddowork Movingout of my freshmandormwasbittersweet,it holdssomany memoriesof my first year hereandthestart of my collegejourney.Althoughleavingthat dormroom waskindof sad,I wasalsoexcitedtostart my second year and makeevenmorememories I wasalsohappy towrapupmy coursesandreturntoour island community Returninginthefall wasmuch different thanthepreviousyear.It felt great toknow where everythingisand tobearrivingtofamiliar faces. Thisfall semester hasbeenagreat start to my second year at UMass.Thissemester I focused onfinishing upacoupleof gened requirements,for exampleI took abiology coursetitled:EvolutionExplained whichwastaught by alively professor whorelated thematerial topopculturereferencesand madesure wewerealwaysengagedinclass.It wasadifferent approachtobiology thanI haveexperiencedinthe past,but I foundmyself graspingconceptsfaster than I thought I would For my fall semester I set agoal to challengemyself andI didjust that I enrolledina Linguisticscoursewhichisthefirst stepinobtaining acertificatetoteachEnglishtospeakersof other languages I amvery excitedto work towardsthis certificateandbeabletohaveafull circlemoment startingassomeonewhohad tobetaught English andnow hopefully becomingsomeonewhocanteach English.

Onceagain,I amvery grateful for MVYouth,and all thepeopleinvolvedinprovidingmewiththis amazingopportunity Thank youfor all thesupport!

Maria Clara Lacerda

Thispast semester hasbeenincredibly fulfilling. Whilethecoursesand workloadarevery rigorous,evenmorethanlast year,I am remindedeveryday that I madetheright decisiontoattendNortheasternUniversity I am ontrack tograduatewithacombinedmajor in Psychology andBusinessAdministration,witha MarketingAnalyticsconcentration Astime progressesI realizeevenmorestrongly how thesetwosubjectsgohandinhand Similar theoriesarebrought upinall of my classes,and I seetheassociationbetweenthetwoinmy day-to-day life Thissemester I havebeenmore involvedinthecommunity by joiningtheData ClubandNortheasternWomeninBusinessclub

My short timeintheDataClubhasalready strengthenedmy desireto pursueacareer in marketinganalytics,somethingI hopetobe workingwithvery soon I wasalsoabletogive back totheBostoncommunity through community serviceopportunitiesoffered throughKappaKappaGamma,thesorority I joinedinthefall of last year.

Thissemester I will finally beabletobenefit fromthereasonwhy I choseto attend Northeasterninthefirst place,whichistheir co-opprogram Thisprogramprovidesstudents withtheopportunitytowork for companies aroundtheglobewhilegainingexperiencein their fieldof choice.By theendof thissemester, I will haveajobset inplacefor next fall whereI will beabletoexploreand solidifyacareer inthe future I?mnot surewhat co-opI will get but I am super excitedfor theprocessto begin. The generosity MVYouthhasshownmeandmy fellow scholarshiprecipientscontinuestobea sourceof inspirationwhilepursuingthis amazingopportunity I amvery grateful for my journey sofar andI amvery excitedabout what istocome!