College for Social Innovation

20 cohorts. 10 years. A Decade of Light. 💡

Meet Eliza Shaughnessy, an alumni honoree, at our 10-year celebration on May 7:

🏙️Semester in the City, Fall ‘21
🏫’21 Fellow
🎓 ‘22, BA in Psychological Science
💼Currently, based

Eliza started as a fellow at Berklee in 2021 and now works there full-time as an Administrative Assistant and On-Site Campus Supervisor. In her role, she oversees social media, develops blogs & podcast media and conducts research for programming support.

In Spring 2024, she was selected for the Fellowship and traveled to South Africa with 19 other fellows for workshops & career coaching. Her trip ended with a 10-day trip hopping across different cities. Outside of work, Eliza is currently working towards a certificate to become a Postpartum Doula.

Eliza sparks change from, “witnessing my friends and family succeed in their own lives and professions. It helps me strive to continue learning and do better for myself.”

Celebrate Eliza, and support other future student stories, at our Decade of Light Fundraiser on May 7. Alumni: DM us for a discounted ticket code. Read more about her story through the link in our bio. 🗞️

Big things happening in VT, NH & MA 🐄🍁

Close to their campuses, our fellows witnessed happy cows, made intros with professionals & cafe-hopped with new friends.

More to come!

“Even as interns, you’re closer to the work than most people in the room.

You often see where things aren’t working before leadership does.”

Kate MacDonald, a familiar face as our previous Senior Director of Enrollment, energized us with a masterclass in Empowered Marketing.

Regardless of your career, she noted the strength of 6 pivotal questions to consider when creating an impactful campaign or message:

📎Objective: what are we trying to achieve?

📎Target Audience: who are we talking to?

📎Insight: what’s going on in their head?

📎Key Message: what’s are we saying?

📎Reasons to believe: why should they believe us?

📎Call to action: what do we want them to do?

Through a workshop, students pondered how they could apply these to theoretical circumstances in their own internships.

Our Becoming a Problem Solver course features an array of masterclasses that touch on areas of skill-building, professionalism and innovation.

We’re grateful to Kate for her wisdom, insights and optimism. She now works as a Senior Integrated Marketing Manager @ Risepoint, continuing to lead the way in championing accessible education. 📚

And have you seen her black lab? We hope he comes next time… 🐶

Hot chocolate, anyone? ☕️⛄️

YES, CHEF! 🥘🧑🏽‍🍳

We’ve added some new cooks to the kitchen for our Wednesday night shifts, or Social Innovator’s Toolbox class, as we call it.

Introducing our co-instructors, Laura Moon & Linda Mindaye Kebede!

🍱Laura (slide 1) has over 25 years of experience working in experimental learning & driving social impact initiatives. She spent many years across the pond at Harvard Business School.

🍳And Linda (slide 2) is an alum from our first ever cohort of students for Semester in the City. She currently works at Boston University in Organizational Development & Learning. She’s done it all across curriculum development, teaching and instructional coaching (& former Dean of Students & Special Education Teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School).

This dynamic duo really knows how to get the energy up. Well-done 🥩

Yes, chef! 🥘🧑🏾‍🍳

We’ve added some new cooks to the kitchen for our Wednesday night shifts, or Social Innovator’s Toolbox class, as we call it.

Introducing our co-instructors, Laura Moon & Linda Mindaye Kebede!

🥕Laura (slide 1) has over 25 years of experience working in experimental learning & driving social impact initiatives. She spent many years across the pond .

🍓And Linda is an alum from our first ever cohort of students for Semester in the City. She currently works in Organizational Development & Learning. She’s done it all across curriculum development, teaching and instructional coaching (& former Dean ).

This dynamic duo really knows how to get the energy up. Well-done 🥩

This Valentine’s Day, we’re showing some extra love to the things that keep us going (literally).

Whether that’s your internship, apartment living, new friends or the beloved city wildlife - there’s something for everyone. ❤️

“Shovel someone out!” ❄️🚗

Our fellows just wrapped their final day of orientation (aka Launch Week).

As a final reflection for the day, we asked, “what’s one thing you can do this weekend to affect change in Boston?” Some answered:

🍎 “Shop locally”
🤗 “Compliment others”
💺 “Give up my seat on the train”

We’re all on our journeys as changemakers. Change starts with small, everyday actions that accumulate to make waves.

What’s one change you can make today?