GSM Student Profile: Olivia Minzola

Today we are going to be focusing on one of the amazing students in the GSM program! Olivia Minzola is an active student here at Bloomsburg University. She offers unique insight from within the GSM through her experiences and studies.

What are your preferred pronouns?
Truthfully, I have never specified what my pronouns are to anyone because I have never felt the need to. This is the first time I have ever been asked what my pronouns are. I am a woman and therefore ask to be called she/her.

Pictured: Olivia Minzola
Where are you from?
I am from Drums, Pennsylvania.

What is your major? Do you have any minors?
Before coming to college, I decided to major in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism. During the fall semester of my freshman year, I took a class called Feminist Reading of Culture with Dr. Christina Francis and this ultimately led me to declaring a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies.

Are you involved in any other clubs or organizations on campus?
I am involved in the student-run campus newspaper, The Voice. I hold the position of News Editor. I am very thankful for my position as News Editor because I have already learned so much this past year. I am also a member of Delta Phi Epsilon, an international sorority. In the spring of 2019, I was elected as the social media coordinator for my sorority as well.

How has being a student in the GSM program benefited your academic and social experiences on campus? Have these classes changed, shaped, or broadened your perspective?
Being a student in the Gender Studies Minor program has definitely benefited my academic career in many different ways, the biggest being that I have learned so much valuable information that I can carry with me throughout life once I graduate from college. The Gender Studies minor at Bloomsburg University has offered me an array of classes that have challenged my thoughts, my beliefs, and my tendency to sometimes hold back on sharing my views and opinions.

What has been your favorite class while being in the GSM program? Why?
Some classes that have left a lasting impression on me include Women in Sports with Dr. Kelly Dauber, Women in Horror with Professor Rebecca Willoughby, and Feminist Reading of Culture with Dr. Christina Francis. Women in Sports would probably rank as my favorite of the three, however, because, at the end of the semester, I left Dr. Dauber’s class feeling like I had gained knowledge that I could carry with me for years and years to come. For example, I was given the chance to watch a documentary in the class titled Let Them Wear Towels, a thought-provoking piece that delves into the struggles female sports journalists faced and continue to face in the world of sports and, more specifically, the men’s locker room. Since I am currently pursuing a career in the field of Journalism, I realized that there may be a day in the near future when I am working at a newspaper or magazine company and find myself discriminated against due to my gender. If that were to happen, I would try to emulate the actions of the women in Let Them Wear Towels who stood up against prejudice and refused to be, both figuratively and literally, shut out of their own profession.

Do you have a particular project GSM related that you're proud to have been apart of or work on?
I’m not sure if this counts as a project, but something that I have recently worked on for one of my Gender Studies classes – Women in Sports with Dr. Dauber – was a research paper based off of the documentary Let Them Wear Towels. I am very proud of this paper and all of the work I put into writing it. It is definitely something that I will carry with me and share with those who are willing to lend an ear.

What kind(s) of job(s) are you interested in after you graduate? How might your Gender Studies Minor help you in your future?
After I graduate from college, I would be interested in finding a job as a writer or editor for a magazine. I always thought it would be a wonderful experience to travel the country as a freelance writer as well. I believe that the Gender Studies Minor will help me in my future by teaching me how to better analyze gender inequalities and prejudice in the media that we consume and how to work with a wide variety of people.

Olivia is acquiring lifelong knowledge through our GSM. She is identifying how she can apply her learned skills through this program to her future career. Much like Olivia, many more of our students will be highlighted. As there is no Gender Studies department at Bloomsburg University, the BU Gender Studies Minor is using courses already established from departments across campus. Students may have taken courses that apply to the GSM without knowing.

I will always be vocal about informing others about the GSM here at Bloomsburg University. The worldly growth these courses offer is outstanding. I have taken quite a number. I hope you all take the time to consider taking some (and some more) as well.

Always and forever,
Jose Gamboa

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