The Elaine E. Nord Internship Fund has been awarded to Jasmine Rivas Depaz, who graduated from UMass Amherst in May 2025 with a major in Communication and a minor in Business.
The Nord Scholarship supports students who use technology to produce media content. The funding is provided through the generosity of Elaine E. Nord, a UMass alumna, Class of ’81, who majored in Communication. The scholarship will support Rivas Depaz in her work at Pompositticut Farm Day Camp in Hudson, Massachusetts.
Rivas Depaz said being chosen for the scholarship “was very uplifting” for her and her family.
“As a first generation, Latina college student this scholarship was very significant for me.”
She said it was also important to her mother.
“She has worked so hard in life to do everything that she has done not only for me, but for my three older brothers,” Rivas Depaz said.
Like her mother, Rivas Depaz is also a hard worker.
At Pompositticut, Rivas Depaz’s typical day is fast paced and hands-on. She makes photographs, shoots videos and “captures moments” of the campers, as the children learn to ride horses, swim and make art.
“I have to keep the audience engaged and not overshadow one camper over another,” she said. “Every camper will get screen time for their parents.”
Using video and graphic editing applications, she posts on social media every day.
“What grabs me most about social media is the ability to inform and connect and at times even inspire a huge group of people in real time,” she said.
“It’s really just about connecting, inspiring people and making people feel uplifted.”
Besides Pompositticut, she also uses these skills as an intern for EmbodyMind Wellness, a yoga and Pilates studio in Easthampton, Massachusetts and Cape Cod’r, a craft cocktail company.
On the UMass campus, she served as a Peer Advisor for the Communication Department.
“Jasmine brought so much enthusiasm, so many ideas and was always willing to help out,” said Marianne Neal-Joyce, Director of Undergraduate Advising for the Department of Communication. “She also had a really mature outlook and was very responsible.”
In addition, she was a Peer Mentor for the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences RISE program, which supports underrepresented students in the college.
Rivas Depaz was active in several clubs on campus, including the Isenberg Women in Business Club, the UMass Fashion Organization and the Contagio Latino Club.
She took advantage of the variety of courses offered by the Department of Communication including film, politics, and gender studies.
“You can really do it all with communication and I appreciated that because I never felt too constricted,” she said.
Her courses in social media, digital marketing and public speaking “have been very helpful with the jobs I have now.”
In the future, Rivas Depaz hopes to get a full-time benefitted position in Boston.
She also has a dream to run her own business. As someone who has worked hard for others much of her life, she wants to be an empathetic boss.
“I would definitely make sure people felt comfortable and not overworked or anything and very valued,” she said.
As Rivas Depaz launches her post college life, she is grateful for the funding provided by the Nord scholarship.
“It helps a lot and makes me feel more stable,” she said.