Q & A With Nuala

How did you get into service?

I have a brother who's developmentally disabled, and my mother is passionate about being an agent of social change. She was constantly my brother's advocate, even going to Albany to lobby for rights at a time when social service agencies were getting cut drastically.

That was my upbringing—we are all part of the same community and I learned to be a voice for those who were marginalized. So when I chose my undergraduate college, I based it on the importance of service and social justice inside the curriculum.

What does your job involve?

I'm establishing methods of assessing students' levels of engagement and the many pathways of engagement at Naz. I meet with students who want to do post-graduate service, like the Peace Corps, Rochester Youth Year, and AmeriCorps.

It's all part of a strategy to build on the College's nationally recognized commitment to community service and civic engagement. And for the students, these service opportunities lead to personal growth: they are working with their community to strengthen the local and global communities. They're building communication skills, cultural competencies, work experience, and their resumes.

How does the Center benefit students?

It's all part of a strategy to build on the College's nationally recognized commitment to community service and civic engagement. And for the students, these service opportunities lead to personal growth: they are working with their community to strengthen the local and global communities. They're building communication skills, cultural competencies, work experience, and their resumes.

What new initiative are you most excited about?

LifePrep@Naz. It will provide individuals with disabilities an opportunity to experience college. They'll attend a Nazareth class with a Nazareth mentor and meet for study time and their own LifePrep curriculum.

How did you end up on this career track? It's not like you were a child and thought, "I want to grow up to be a director of civic engagement."

I knew I wanted to do social justice work, and I thought I might go into poverty law. But in college I discovered that wasn't the career path for me. Instead, my experience got me thinking: college is such a transformational time in a young person's life. I really wanted to work in higher education and walk alongside students as they learned to use their voice and work for positive change in our communities.

After I got my degree, I did a year of volunteer work at West Women's and Children's Shelter in Portland. Then I had an amazing opportunity to work at my undergraduate institution and eventually became the director of community service and volunteerism at Stonehill College. I was so fortunate to be in a position where I could offer students opportunities to partner with the local and global communities through community service and service-learning experiences.

What drew you to Nazareth? Why is service so important here?

My mother is an alumnus, and I always saw it as an amazing institution. Nazareth has a history of academic excellence that incorporates experiential learning. It is important to me to be at a college where whether you're in education or nursing—the community is the co-educator, co-learner and co-generator of knowledge with our students.

When I saw the job description for the executive director of the Center for Civic Engagement, I was thrilled. This is what I wanted to do. The mission drew me—the center will integrate curricular and co-curricular civic engagement initiatives across the campus.

Any advice for students?

My inspiration comes from Gandhi: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."