Among her roles are Assistant Community Director in the Residential Education and Housing Department and being on the leadership team of two different clubs – ROAR and Biohazard Ultimate Frisbee. She is also in the Principled Problem-Solving Scholars Program as well as Multicultural Leadership Scholars Program and attends clubs like PRIDE at Guilford, Guilford Student Body Association Meetings, and Campus Activity Board events.

Purposeful Path

The Manhattan native says she was drawn to psychology because the reasons why people work the way they do never ceases to intrigue her. She chose the Education minor because she foresees working with children either in the schooling system or social work.

Then there’s her second of three minors.

“While participating in my various scholarship programs, I have learned that my greatest strengths are related to relationship building, so I saw Community Studies as a way to learn more about the fundamentals of community building.”

She put her strengths and interests to practical use in the summer of 2022 working with Disc New York (DiscNY) as the Summer Youth Programs Administrator. DiscNY is a non-profit organization that works to promote physical wellness and community through Ultimate Frisbee around New York City.

Amid all these roles and responsibilities, Grace finds release in art.

“My minor in Visual Arts with a concentration in Ceramics is what keeps me going. I love creating functional art while working under one of the local legends, Charlie Tefft.”

Career Prep at Guilford

Right now, Grace is interested in pursuing a career related to social work or organizational psychology. Her well-rounded Guilford experience is preparing her well.  

“One of the reasons I chose Guilford was because of its promises to prepare students academically and mentally for everything post-undergrad,” she says. “Students are told that they will be prepared to foster close relationships with professors if they go to graduate schools and will have the necessary characteristics to succeed in future jobs.”

Grace is putting in the effort necessary to make this a reality for herself.

She participated in the Principled Problem Solving program led by Mark Justad in 2021-2022, which explores critical thinking and group work to solve problems.

“One of the most helpful lessons was taking the QuestStrengths Quiz, which taught me about my most obvious strengths when it comes to group work,” Grace says. “My five most-prominent skills are in relationship building. Analyzing these results has helped me realize that I really enjoy interpersonal work, and I want to explore these kinds of professions.”

Grace is currently in the Multicultural Leadership Scholars Program where she is learning about and discussing current social problems in the United States.

“I have enjoyed having a space to get to know one another and having an open space to talk about things like race and experiences with prejudices,” she says.

As an assistant community director of Residential Education and Housing, Grace has worked with many different kinds of people and has had to push herself in ways she hasn’t in other aspects of her life.

“I am the primary contact for nine RAs and around 200 residents,” she explains. “This means that I constantly have to problem-solve and actively communicate. This is great practice for my life after undergrad because I want to work in a field that requires a lot of interpersonal communication.”

During her time at Guilford, Grace has been especially grateful for Rachel Riskind whom she says is an extraordinary advisor and professor.
“Rachel is someone I look up to a lot. Not only is she incredibly organized, but she is also passionate about what she does and it is very inspirational,” she says. “My advice to other students is to establish close relationships with your advisors early on. They are knowledgeable and such great resources, especially in times of need. If you're anything like me, you like to do excessive planning, and people like Rachel Riskind are integral in helping you do so.”