Name: Max Parish
Year: 2016
Major(s): Politics, Economics
Minor(s): Legal Studies, HSSP
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
Her Campus: What activities are you involved in on campus?
Max Parish: I help coordinate the Waltham Group’s Hunger & Homelessness (H&H) program, a service group that addresses homelessness and poverty in the Greater Boston Area. I also volunteer for the Office of Prevention Services by helping to facilitate bystander intervention trainings to organizations on campus. In my spare time, I like to serve as a member of the University’s Student Conduct Board & I work as an Upperclassman Buddy for the University’s Gateway Scholars Program.
HC: Of the activities that you’re involved in, what are you the most proud of?
MP: I am so proud of how my co-coordinators Rose Wallace, Lily Elderkin, Mira McMahon and myself have transformed H&H’s programming into more impactful experiences for volunteers, who now have the opportunity to learn and provide case management services every week to those who frequent the Community Day Center of Waltham, a shelter for those who experience poverty. This year we’ve also placed greater emphasis on educating students on campus about issues relating to poverty and homelessness with the hopes of motivating folks to take action and get more involved in addressing poverty in our community.
HC: What do you want to accomplish before you graduate from Brandeis?
MP: I want to help implement a plan to include bystander intervention trainings in the new-student orientation so that OLs and CAs can provide the intervention training to their grouplets and floors, respectively. I also want to ensure that all clubs that receive funding from the Student Union be required to receive bystander training before they are allocated their funds for the year, just as clubs are required to complete anti-hazing forms before the beginning of the semester.
HC: What are your plans after you graduate?
MP: It’s easy for someone to give Waltham a bad rap; sure, some parts of the city seem rather underdeveloped while other areas may not exactly make you feel warm and fuzzy when you walk around them at night. But it really is a great city. Among other features, Waltham offers spaces to run, hike & kayak, a weekly farmers market, easy access into Boston, and a wealth of ethnic diversity that provides so many opportunities to learn about different cultures that one simply can’t do in many other locations. In short, it’s enough to make me want to stay and give back to the city that raised me. That’s why I am considering running for City Council in Waltham in 2017, in addition to pursuing a program director position at a local shelter for those who experience homelessness here.
HC: Do you have any advice for incoming students?
MP: Volunteer with one of the Waltham Group’s 21 programs (or more!) The Waltham Group provides an outlet for folks to meet incredibly kind and like-minded people, learn about a number of problems that folks who live in the Greater Boston Area endure, and allows participants to draw a sense of purpose and connection with the community that isn’t easily attained through other activities. Through the Waltham Group I’ve made my best friends at Brandeis and the work that I do has put me in a great position to succeed in a professional setting upon my graduation. Definitely give it a shot and explore what opportunities there are to take advantage of on the organization’s website.
Quick Facts:
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite Food: The deep dish sundae from Pizzeria Uno
Guilty Pleasure: Eating the entire deep dish sundae from Pizzeria Uno by myself
Hidden Talent: I played starting point guard for my varsity team all 4 years through high school
Most embarrassing Moment to Date: My roommate from freshman year and I thought it would be a great idea to get matching mugshots taken for our Brandeis student ID pictures. I had no idea that photo would be the picture that professor’s would reference when taking attendance in class for the next 4 years. Whoops! This year a professor finally called me out on my mean mug and on the very first day of class she showed everyone in the room my student photo ID that she had had printed and enlarged just for that purpose. I am sure that everyone currently taking American Health Care Law & Policy thinks very highly of me.