Jenny Mastrobattista, Class of 2022
Jenny (Ginevra) Mastrobattista graduated in 2022 with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Italian Studies. Throughout her undergraduate career at UMass, she always intended to work with social policy and welfare programs. As a complement to these future goals, she also chose Italian Studies because of her interest in the subject matter and the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum. Jenny explained that the courses she had taken on Italian culture, literature, and more, allowed her to explore different focus areas and equipped her for an international post-grad experience. After graduating from UMass, she went on to pursue her Master’s Degree in International Social and Public Policy at the London School of Economics. There, her courses focused on countries recovering from past and ongoing conflict. Today, Jenny aids refugees as they resettle in the United States at the International Institute of New England, working out of their Boston office.
When reflecting on how her experience at UMass prepared her for her post graduate endeavors, she shared that her coursework in Italian Studies taught her about the political and cultural structures of the Mediterranean as well as broadened her perspective on how difficult it is to learn a foreign language. This empathy and awareness for other cultures and experiences helps Jenny navigate her clients through the daunting resettlement process as they adjust to life in the US.