BY JEORGIA JAHUMPA
With graduation only one month away, some seniors said they are preparing for life after Stonehill by applying to graduate schools.
While some seniors will be starting internships or working full-time jobs, others said they will be continuing their educational journeys.
Senior Jessika Crockett-Murphy said she enrolled in Villanova University’s Graduate Resident Minister Program in Pennsylvania.
“I will live on campus serving undergraduate students while pursuing my master’s in ministry and theology with a pastoral counseling track,” Crockett-Murphy said.
Reflecting on her time at Stonehill, she said that it has been a whirlwind of an experience. She said she started her first year as an Atheist, but slowly started to develop her faith over time.
“After a little bit of soul searching, some stuff that went on in my life led me wanting to discover more,” Crockett-Murphy said, “I realized that my love of politics and student leadership was intertwined with possibilities in ministry.”
A few seniors said that they wanted to pursue more than their master’s degree. Senior Tiziana Hernandez said she is planning to pursue her Ph.D. in computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Hernandez said she decided to pursue her Ph.D. after leading a research project over the summer detecting misinformation on social media platforms.
“The project incorporated computer science concepts, like machine learning and data science, to figure out the spread of misinformation that stemmed from the pandemic and the 2020 election,” Hernandez said, “I am hoping to pursue something similar in graduate school, like social network analysis.”
She said that her mentors at Stonehill encouraged her to pursue computer science, especially her advisor, Professor Shai Simonson.
“He really made computer science an interest for me, and he encouraged me to participate in the research project,” Hernandez said.
She also said her time in the Stonehill chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) also played a role in her decision.
“Being able to create a community of computer science students is something that I enjoy,” said Hernandez, “The relationships that I can form at RPI is something that I am really looking forward to.
Hernandez said she encourages current students to enjoy their time as undergraduates while they can.
“If something seems scary, then take the jump because it will be worth it and you will grow from it,” said Hernandez.
Senior Kelly McCormick said she will be pursuing her master’s in speech-language pathology at Northeastern University. She said that applying to schools over winter break, and that has been stressful.
“But I am relieved to have made a decision, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to obtain my graduate degree at a competitive university and receive a comprehensive program of study that will prepare me for my future career as a speech-language pathologist,” McCormick said.
Looking back on her experiences, McCormick said Stonehill prepared her both in and out of the classroom.
“Being an Orientation Leader for the past three years has also allowed me to grow my leadership skills and confidence,” McCormick said, “I feel more equipped to enter the workforce and work effectively and collaboratively with my future colleagues and clients.”
To other students looking into graduate schools, she said students should pursue their passions and long-term goals and celebrate any setbacks and small accomplishments.
“Sometimes those can be the best lessons when we look back and realize that something wasn't meant to be, or something didn't work out as planned,” said McCormick, “Your career or life might take you on a different path that you didn't expect, and in the long run, it might be better than we expected.”
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