你有个朋友:SMC的2024届毕业生代表， 阿曼达·霍夫曼 (右三)和几位最亲密的毕业生. 她说:“我在SMC结交的朋友非常宝贵。. 左起: 菲奥娜·马龙，24岁, Alyssa Gauna, 24岁, Fiona Lazzaretti， 阿曼达 霍夫曼, 克里斯汀·多尔蒂，24岁, Chloe Jarrin, 24岁 / Sofia Mastroianni ' 25拍摄
Introducing SMC’s 阿曼达·霍夫曼 '24, This Year’s Class Valedictorian
“It’s not about me; it’s about honoring our students and this amazing graduating class,” says one of the College’s top achievers about her upcoming 毕业典礼 speech. She’ll take that humble attitude into a post-graduation job she’s just accepted.
本科 students preparing to attend the May 25 毕业典礼 ceremony at Saint Mary’s Stadium will be showered with attention and glowing words of praise and encouragement if Valedictorian 阿曼达·霍夫曼，24岁 有什么关系吗.
“I truly want to honor everyone for the work it’s taken them to get here,霍夫曼说。, 以司法双学位毕业, 社区与领导/沟通. Made up largely of students who either had no high school graduation ceremony or a limited one, 因为当时疫情肆虐, the Class of 2024 has been somewhat shortchanged and deserves special acknowledgment, 她说.
“虽然我的高中办了一场毕业典礼, it was split up among smaller groups and missing the collective element of ‘we did this together’ that was important to all of us,她说。. “这群学生的生活经历是独一无二的, 他们应该因为持久的在线教学而得到认可, 即使他们错过了面对面的活动，也要坚持下去, 并表现出非凡的韧性.”
对社会正义的日益奉献
作为2020年的一年级学生, Hofmann started out believing she wanted to earn a degree in teaching, as she loves working with people and felt she could make a difference in the education field. 而是正义的入门课, 社区, 领导 made such an impact on her that she began to rethink her academic goals.
在那堂课上, 霍夫曼说,, 她第一次了解了旧金山湾区的社会正义历史, 关于划红线的问题已经损害了弱势群体, 以及系统性的种族主义和不平等问题. 她说 it was the first time she could engage in dialogue about social justice and hear from others about their experiences.
“Having a classroom space to learn about those things was something I didn’t have access to before coming to Saint Mary’s,她说。. 的经验, 尤其是它的学生主导, 为基础的方法, opened her eyes and persuaded her to look more closely at social justice as an academic pursuit. “I have a hard time just sitting in classes where there’s just a lecture,她说。 with a smile. “我希望能够谈论我们正在学习的东西, 进行对话, 甚至可以问一些问题.”
Hofmann’s interest in adding Communication to her double major also emerged while taking an introductory course. “我选这门课只是因为这是必修课, but it turned out that we explored all these topics that have always interested me, 比如媒体, 修辞, 文化是如何发展的, 以及相关话题,她说。. “对我来说，这是另一个‘啊哈’时刻.”
“I have a hard time just sitting in classes where there’s just a lecture,她说。 with a smile. “我希望能够谈论我们正在学习的东西, 进行对话, 甚至可以问一些问题.”
总是喜欢讲故事和小说, 霍夫曼说, additional classes in interpersonal communications helped cement her decision. 她说 Veronica赫夫纳, 传播系的教授, has been a positive influence whose teaching style she admires and appreciates. “Her classes helped teach me that working with people and communicating effectively are skills that are applicable no matter what field one goes into.”
担任领导职位有助于增强自信心
虽然在高中的时候有点安静, 霍夫曼说, her confidence grew during her time at Saint Mary’s and especially blossomed through her various leadership roles. That list is long and includes stints as an 取向 Leader (later promoted to Senior Student Coordinator) for the 新生及家庭计划部 (NSFP)，校友参与特别活动协调员 校友参与部的主席 盖尔军精神俱乐部 大二的时候. 她赞扬了诸如 Jen赫尔佐格 在学生生活和 菲利普·古德温 为校友提供辅导和指导, for trusting her decision-making and overall skills and abilities.
“Building up communities and bringing people together are two of my passions, the three years I spent working with NSFP was pivotal to my success as a student,霍夫曼说. 她说 her experience with NSFP and her work with 校友 Engagement were all about “making someone’s day better” and easing people into a scenario that might be unfamiliar to them.
Hofmann recently accepted a job offer from a hospitality group near her hometown of Livermore, a position in events and sales that she believes will align well with her career aspirations. “我喜欢创造让人们难忘的事件和时刻, 这个可以让我做到这一点,她说。.
As for the future, 霍夫曼说, she may one day choose to pursue a graduate degree. 然而, she again credits an SMC staff member for helping her to rethink the urgency of making that decision so soon.
“SMC的就业中心 has been a valuable resource for me, I had a talk with [Executive Director] 玛丽·贝思·施塔特 这让我开始思考，”她解释道. Hofmann said she’d originally planned to go straight into graduate school, 但施塔特尖锐地问她为什么觉得有必要这样做.
“I didn’t have a good answer and concluded that I wanted to first figure out what area of grad school I most want to pursue and that dabbling in some areas outside of school is the best option for me right now."对酒店业有兴趣, 体育管理, 甚至是高等教育, there are a variety of career paths that she may explore before returning to pursue an advanced degree.
圣玛丽学校的生活不全是工作，没有娱乐. 霍夫曼说她很喜欢参加校园活动, 参加校内体育赛事, 参观游泳池和娱乐中心, 和同学们在校园里散步. 她说:“我在SMC结交的朋友非常宝贵。. 她还, 在她的毕业典礼演讲中, 计划向许多教职员工致敬, 以及盖尔校友, 一路上谁帮助了她.
“学生生活的工作人员, 以及校园里的那些人, 真心希望你在圣玛丽的时光与众不同,霍夫曼说. “I wouldn’t be the same person without my SMC experience and wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
