Abby is excited to bring her dedication to political, social, and environmental activism into an academic setting through the Fellows Program. Her work as a campaign volunteer, poll worker, and canvasser for NJ’s vaccination effort draw on her passion for civic engagement and dialogue. She hopes to engage in meaningful discourse with other students in the program and contribute to the small, creative, spirited community of young people. Growing up in a small, centrist farm town in New Jersey, a traditionally blue state, she witnessed the difficulties of cultivating dialogue across political divides first-hand during the 2020 election, which inspires her to learn more about constructive discourse and strive toward a sense of unity despite political differences.
Abby sees clear connections between the SNF Paideia courses and programming and her academic and professional future in design and sustainability and she is thrilled to be part of the program.
“Design is based on the idea of creating a dialogue between the user and an object or their surroundings. Dialogue is also a crucial part of the design process itself, in which a problem must be identified and discussed with target populations. Good design can promote collective wellness, collaboration, identity, and civic responsibility.”