Maria Graceffa - 2008 McMahon Award

Thomas E. McMahon Award

Dean McMahon will long be remembered as a warm and caring individual who was always ready to lend a helping hand or attentive ear to students and staff alike who sought out his counsel and support. Accordingly, the award which bears his name is presented annually to a senior in the human service professions who in the course of his/her Cooperative Education work has demonstrated exceptional integrity and character combined with a high degree of devotion and commitment to serving the needs of fellow human beings..

Maria graduated in May 2008 with a Human Services and Psychology Double Major from the College of Arts and Sciences. She completed three co-ops, her senior internship, and earned a Thomas E. McMahon Co-op Award for her devotion to serving the community. From the day she entered my door to talk about co-op, she was focused and enthusiastic about giving back to the community and learning about the counseling field.

She completed the following co-ops:

• Bay State Community Services: Granite House Milieu Staff Member
• CASCAP, Inc.: Green Street Program Interim Residential Counselor
• Bay State Community Services: Granite House Family Therapy Co-op
• McLean Hospital: ADATP Research Co-op (on mental illness)

  Maria devoted her co-ops, internships, and volunteering to serving others in the community, well and with integrity. She exhibited unusual resourcefulness and courage in her pursuit of co-op experiences to further her expertise in counseling, research, and direct care (human services). She made significant contributions to Granite House, CASCAP, Inc., and McLean Hospital in her tenure at these organizations.

  Her first co-op was a bit of a surprise. Being an overachiever, Maria was obtaining volunteer opportunities to coincide with her first co-op job (40 hours of work isn’t enough for her). Granite House asked her to intern there (for 10 hours a week) and liked her so much that they called me and asked if Maria could do this job as a paid co-op instead. (Granite House is a long-term residential treatment program which provides flexible, comprehensive residential, educational, and treatment programming for adolescents.)

  Later, when I visited Maria on-site, her supervisor had nothing but praise and congratulations for Maria and told me that we couldn’t “advertise” the position the next term because no one on staff realized that Maria was an undergraduate student. (they usually hire Masters degree students). Her supervisor had some wonderful feedback on Maria,

  “ Maria has a natural ability to see issues and problems. She is a deep thinker and helps everyone work through issues. She is extremely well liked by the staff here. She is respected for her clinical judgments and her level of maturity and common sense”. – Julie Howard

  When Maria was prepping for her second co-op, I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find one that would be challenging enough for her after Granite House (they let her do so much – at a Masters degree level). Luckily the CASCAP Green Street Program was perfect! In this position, Maria worked closely with 5 chronically mentally ill adults, most with some form of schizophrenia. She completed treatment plans with them, assisted them with activities of daily life and crisis intervention, and worked closely with their outside providers (psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, etc). Again, Maria’s employer had only praise,

  “Maria went above and beyond in this co-op, completing all basic job responsibilities but also taking on additional projects. Because she completed her work so efficiently, Maria took on the additional responsibility of facilitating community meetings at one site and a bi-monthly women’s group at another. Maria also worked as a liaison to the CASCAP Resident Activities Committee, working with the residents to attend outings in the community.” – Bevin Croft

  While Maria prepped for her third co-op she was also asked by the Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences to help him conduct research on experiential education and methods of reflection. She, and another student, created and conducted a survey to assist with this project.

  For Maria’s third co-op (Summer 2 and Fall 2007) she worked at two sites. She returned to Granite House to assist with family therapy and she conducted research with McLean Hospital on mental illness. These are two very challenging positions at which she excelled!

  Maria also contributed to the NU Human Services Program as well. She participated with the Human Services student organization, has presented in my co-op prep class and has spoken to incoming freshman at Orientations.

  Maria sought out (and successfully landed) especially challenging experiences for her co-ops and has received glowing reviews from her supervisors. Most impressively, she demonstrated great determination and a willingness to gain valuable experience, even if ideal opportunities are unpaid. Maria received amazing evaluations from her employers in co-op. Maria took full advantage of the co-op program for redirecting her education and for career exploration. She will be attending graduate School at Columbia in the fall of 09. Way to go Maria!

  View video from the award's banquet (Maria is about 1:20 minutes in).

  Page from the awards booklet - Maria

  Spotlight on Maria in the NU Voice