Year: Junior (Class of 2016)
Hometown: Pelham, New York
Major: BA Sociology; Elementary Education Masters Program
Campus Involvement:
President of Relay For Life
RSA Merton Hall
VP of Student Events Team (SET)
Lily and the Sacred Heart Relay for Life Committee remembering those lost to cancer at a balloon vigil.
How do you balance all of your leadership roles and extracurricular activities on top of already having to complete all of your academic work?
I find that the best way for me to be able to participate in everything that I am involved in and still do well in school is organization. My organization is sometimes disgusting, but it keeps me sane! My files on my computer are separated by year, committee, subcommittee, and type of file. My hard copies are all in separate physical folders as well. Homework for every class is on a sticky note on my home screen of my computer so that I never forget about it! Also, my planner always has every appointment in it so that I’ll never miss a thing or overlap my scheduling. These organization tactics help me to stay on top of every assignment and task that I have and allows me to stay competent in everything that I do.
What is your favorite part about being a Pioneer?
How supportive and united everyone is. SHU really is a home away from home for me in that I always feel safe and know that there are people here who love me for so many different reasons. If I’m having a bad day or a good day my “family” here will always be there for me.
How did you become involved in Relay?
I got involved with Relay my sophomore year of high school. I signed up last minute, donated my own $100, and didn’t really know what it was. That night was a great experience. I knew that I Relayed for my mom’s best friend who had one foot in the grave when she was diagnosed with Leukemia, and then she had a truly miraculous recovery. My junior year of high school I became a team captain with my best friend at the time and my team of high school kids raised over $13,000 alone. The next year my friend and I were asked to be the chairs of the event in my town, just two kids! Then we passed it down when we graduated, and I applied to be a chair/president of Relay for Life at SHU and the rest is history in the making I guess!
How does someone become involved in Relay?
To become involved in Relay all you have to do is go to www.relayforlife.org/sacredheart and sign up!! Join a team or make your own and use all of the great tools to help you fundraise! Watch out for our emails about fundraisers and events around campus, too! If you want to help plan the event on the committee, then you can reach out to me or Olivia Traina. We also now have a Relay For Life email account, RelayForLife@sacredheart.edu, where people can reach us at for any questions!
What is your favorite part about being an RSA?
My favorite part about being an RSA is all of the teamwork and friendships that have come out of my experiences. I truly believe that I have made amazing, lifelong friendships with some of my fellow RSAs and I am so grateful for that. Some of these people I would have never met if not for us all being RSAs and some of them I’ve really needed at some point for one reason or another. Also, I have experienced some things that I don’t know if I would have ever experienced in my life if not for being an RSA. I have matured and grown so much over my time in Res Life. It’s funny, Hall Directors and residents alike will thank RSAs for the stuff that we do, but really I can’t thank all of them enough for giving me all of the experiences that I’ve had and for all of the lessons that they’ve taught me.
Lily and her fellow Merton Hall RSAs enjoying their snow day!
What are your plans after graduation?
My plans for after graduation are to become an elementary school teacher. Other than that, I’m pretty flexible. I know what I want in the big picture: to get married, have a family, be a stay at home mom if possible, and live in a quiet rural neighborhood someday. All of that will come in time, though. For now, I’m just focusing on going wherever life takes me as long as I’m happy. Striving for happiness is really my only set and solid plan for the future.