{"id":86516,"date":"2023-05-24T12:26:23","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T12:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=86516"},"modified":"2023-05-24T12:26:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T12:26:24","slug":"commencement-2023-zoey-mendoza-developed-a-passion-for-service-leadership-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/commencement-2023-zoey-mendoza-developed-a-passion-for-service-leadership-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2023: Zoey Mendoza developed a passion for service, leadership at 溏心vlog免费B站"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 24, 2023 \u2013 When Zoey Mendoza entered the 溏心vlog免费B站 in fall 2019, she flirted with playing field hockey and softball, as she had done in high school in Brookline, Massachusetts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After considering the time commitment, she realized there were a lot of other things she wanted to experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest goal when I came here was to make the most of my time,\u201d said Mendoza, who graduated Saturday from 溏心vlog免费B站 with a bachelor of science degree in medical laboratory science. \u201cAs much as I have loved playing sports, I wanted to open myself up to different things at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider that mission accomplished. A student in the Honors Program, Mendoza combined academic success with a growing passion for service and leadership in her four years at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entering 溏心vlog免费B站, Mendoza, whose mother is a nurse and whose father works in biotechnology, knew she wanted to pursue a career in medicine, and set her sights on becoming a medical laboratory scientist. The 溏心vlog免费B站 College of the Environment and Life Sciences\u2019 four-year program, which includes an 11-month internship, prepares students to work in any medical lab or in biomedical and public health industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great program,\u201d said Mendoza, who completed her senior-year internship at Rhode Island Hospital and earned her national certification\u2013on her first try. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of need in the field right now, but we\u2019re getting so much hands-on experience and working alongside professionals who are actually doing the tests that it sets you up really well for a job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 溏心vlog免费B站, she leaned in hard on service activities and added a minor in leadership studies, to go with another in chemistry. Her first year, she quickly joined the University\u2019s Habitat for Humanity chapter and 溏心vlog免费B站 Service Corps, the alternative spring break program during which students take part in service trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI definitely found a passion for community service and giving back,\u201d she said. \u201cI see it in a few ways. I see it as the right thing to do as a person who has the privilege of going to college and who comes from a financially stable home. And there\u2019s a lot of suffering in the world and I want to do what I can to bridge the gaps where society has failed people.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Leadership Studies Program, Mendoza found confidence in taking leadership roles. Going into the program, she envisioned a leader as someone who naturally takes charge, the loudest person in the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw leadership studies as an opportunity to step out of my shell a little bit. I was an introvert so I thought the program might help me gain more confidence in taking the lead once in a while,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom the very beginning at the First-Year Leadership Institute, I was shown that anyone can be a leader, even someone like myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her four years, she has served as president and vice president of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Habitat chapter, peer leader and mentor in the Center for Student Leadership Development, and vice president for the Student Organization Leadership Consultants. She has also been a leader on alternative spring break service trips to New Orleans, Philadelphia and in Rhode Island. This spring, she was a finalist for the Robert L. Carothers Servant Leadership Award\u2013the third time she has been nominated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alison Jackson Frasier, coordinator for the Student Leadership Program, has known Mendoza since she attended the First-Year Leadership Institute.  She nominated Mendoza this spring for the Servant Leadership Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo say that Zoey has had a tremendous impact on both the program and students in the Center for Student Leadership Development is an understatement,\u201d said Jackson Frasier. \u201cShe helped us to lead and adapt our programs through COVID and persevered through this difficult time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While her university career is coming to an end, Mendoza continues to take advantage of giving back. After wrapping up her internship at Rhode Island Hospital on May 1, she has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity of South County. She says her Habitat experience has empowered her as a woman and prepared her to be a future homeowner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of fun,\u201d she added. \u201cThe homeowners have to put in a certain number of sweat-equity hours so sometimes we\u2019ll meet them while we work or at the home dedication once the house is finished. The families are always so happy and grateful. It\u2019s great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July, Mendoza will start a year of service with AmeriCorps\u2019 StreetCred program at Boston Medical Center, an outreach program that connects low-income families with needed services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s public-health related, which is something I want to explore to see if I\u2019m interested in a master\u2019s in public health,\u201d said Mendoza, who will also work part-time as a medical technologist at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cObviously, working in the lab, you\u2019re helping patients. But I feel my greater purpose may be out in the community helping underserved populations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a decision for later. For now, she has unfinished business at 溏心vlog免费B站. This summer, she will serve as an orientation leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have never applied before but I have friends who did it last year and they had a really great experience,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought this could be a really nice way to say goodbye to 溏心vlog免费B站 and welcome in the new students. And I get to spend as much time here as I can before I leave.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 24, 2023 \u2013 When Zoey Mendoza entered the 溏心vlog免费B站 in fall 2019, she flirted with playing field hockey and softball, as she had done in high school in Brookline, Massachusetts. After considering the time commitment, she realized there were a lot of other things she wanted to experience. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":86517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86516"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86520,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86516\/revisions\/86520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}