Victoria Shepeluk graduated from UMass in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a specialization in the Study and Practice of Writing and a Bachelors of Arts in the individual concentration (BDIC): Policy and Social Equity. She currently works as a grant writer at Action for Boston Community Development. While at UMass Amherst, Victoria was a tutor at the campus Writing Center, a co-manager at Earth Foods Cafe, and an intern with Witness to Mass Incarceration. Her hobbies include painting, reading, and drawing.
You earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialization in writing and a bachelor’s in policy and social equity. What inspired you to choose that combination?
When I started at UMass, I was on the social and behavioral sciences exploratory track, but really, I had no idea what I wanted to do. English had always been my favorite subject in school, and so after resisting it for a while (I was afraid I’d never get a job as an English major, which seems silly now), I declared English as my primary major the second semester of my freshman year. I am someone who has a lot of varied interests, however, so I knew that I wanted to double major, but in what I still wasn’t sure.
Then, in February of 2020, I went on a cabin trip with the UMass Outing Club. While on a hike, I got to talking to a junior BDIC student. She told me all about her individual concentration and why she liked BDIC so much, and it really stuck with me. At the time, I was bouncing between Sociology, History, and Public Health as a second major, but none perfectly fit with what I wanted to study. It seemed like BDIC would solve that problem for me: I could design my own major with classes from each.
Then, the pandemic hit. We were sent home from school in March of my freshman year, and everything got put on hold. After finishing that semester, I decided that I wanted to take a semester off; I didn’t enjoy online class, and felt I wasn’t getting enough out of my education at that time.
I ended up doing something I never would have done otherwise—I went to Montana and worked at a hostel there for three months. It was a challenging, amazing, eye-opening experience, and a lot of my experiences there solidified for me that I wanted to create my own major in BDIC in order to pursue understanding our society and culture in a more deep and interdisciplinary way, as well as how I could help the wonderful, kind, diverse, and oftentimes disadvantaged people that I had met over the course of my travels.
Taking a semester off also allowed me to go abroad my last semester to Seville, Spain, which I am so lucky to have been able to do. English and writing were and always will be my main passion and focus, but I wanted to find a way to combine writing with this other passion of mine.
Is there a specific class, campus experience, or professor that stands out that helped you fulfill these interests?
At UMass, my two favorite English classes were African American Literature with Professor Worthy as well as a class in South African literature and politics with Professor Clingman. Both were incredible mentors and cared deeply about me and my classmates’ success, and were of course amazing professors that taught fascinating and challenging courses.
I also of course have to mention the wonderful Professor Davis in the Public Policy department. I was lucky enough to participate in her Equitable Transitions to Adulthood (ETA) lab during the Spring of 2023, and it was the perfect way to end my BDIC section of my academic career. Finally, my favorite class that I took in college has to be Police Power with Professor Brangan at Amherst College (highly recommend taking Five College courses!).
What was it like working as a tutor at the Writing Center here at UMass?
I loved my time at the Writing Center. It taught me so much about my own abilities and passions in regards to writing and has honestly prepared me most for the job I have now of all my academic experiences. I have always had a passion for writing, ever since I was a kid. As I grew older it morphed into a passion for how to write well and how to teach others to write well, in any genre, which the Writing Center helped me do. I learned that I love to help others in that way, and because of it I have kept a door open for pursuing teaching in the future.
How did you come to be a grant writer? What brought you to this specific type of writing?
After college, I thought non-profits might be a place to start, given my interests. Grant writing was a natural choice based on my writing experience and interests. Grant writing is an in-demand skill, and I was lucky enough to land at an organization that values teaching and cultivating growth.
You worked as a journalism intern for Witness to Mass Incarceration. What was that like?
Working at Witness to Mass Incarceration was a great experience. It was my first encounter with working for a non-profit, and it got me interested in continuing that type of work.
What does your day to day look like at Action for Boston Community Development?
A typical day for me is working both independently and with my team on the various grants I have assigned to me, usually 4 or 5 at a time. I also spend a lot of my day communicating with program staff to gather information about their program, as well as to develop outcome targets as per the specific grant requirements. I work on most of my projects independently, but sometimes we have a very large grant that requires collaboration with the rest of my team.
When you were applying to jobs how did you decide what to look for? What did your search process look like? Do you have any advice for recent or soon-to-be grads?
Unfortunately, when applying, I didn’t have a lot of luck cold applying on sites like Indeed. I was able to get connected to an HR representative at my organization through a friend of a friend who I noticed worked for my organization as I was doing research on LinkedIn. My advice is to grow your network, and don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone at all who might have advice or connection opportunities.
How has working with a team of people at the nonprofit organization benefited or challenged you?
I am lucky to work with a supportive team that values teaching and learning, so a lot of my learning happened (and of course is still happening!) on the job. I of course have learned a lot in my time so far in my role, and I am excited to continue learning. It has been really interesting learning what funders look for—grant writing is a writing style of its own, and it varies from foundations to government funding.
If someone is reading this interview and thinks they might be interested in grant writing or nonprofit work, what advice would you give?
The biggest thing I would say is to not be afraid of learning something on the job, because you’ll have to do a lot of that in any entry-level role out of college. Grant writing is an in-demand skill, and every nonprofit needs it—advertise your writing experience and doors will open. Finally, be passionate about the cause of your nonprofit, and it will shine through in your writing.
Looking back now, what advice would you give students still in coursework?
For students still in coursework, enjoy it! While my life isn’t as hectic as it was in school, I do miss English classes. Enjoy reading and learning, soak it in. Try not to stress too much about your job post-grad; you truly will be fine!
This interview has been edited for clarity and length and was conducted over email.
Written by Katy Schlaefer, Digital Communications Intern.