Currently, there are over 260 students pursuing Human Services majors and minors.
Co-op Experience
Current Students
Alumni
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2015
Christie Civetta, 2015. One Student’s experience…My experience so far at Northeastern University has been nothing short of amazing. It has provided me with countless opportunities to experience once in a lifetime internationally adventures. For example, I was able to work teaching English at Orphanage Outreach in the Dominican Republic through our Alternative Spring Break program in 2011. Additionally, in 2012, I spent my first co-op abroad in Africa working as a Co-Facilitator and Office Administrator for a family preservation organization by the name of Proud2b Me Foundation. Both of these experiences have not only been incredibly helpful in achieving a better sense of my academic direction, but have also provided me with a space to experience the world and grow as a person. My next plan is actually to Study Abroad in Beijing, China come this spring semester 2013. I would highly recommend embarking on one of Northeastern’s many international opportunities. 
Christie Civetta, 2015 and Sarah Croteau, 2015 write about their Alternative Spring Break in the Dominican RepublicRead more here.
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2014
Jennifer Gamez, Human Services major 2014, first became interested in public health when it was introduced to her in the Human Services Professions course. As a result she decided to pursue a pre-medicine track, in order to better bridge the gap between social factors and health care disparities. Jennifer is completing a co-op (Spring 2013) abroad in Faridabad, India; where she observes medical procedures at a charitable hospital located in an under resourced community. Jennifer also teaches the children within the community at the Morning Light School. Both these experiences have reinforced her desire to pursue her M.D. in a holistic manner, which incorporates socio-economic factors in order to better treat under served communities.
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2013
When Julie Greengard, 2013, found out she would be researching happiness on co-op with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Switzerland, she was overjoyed. Naturally. Read the full article here.
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My Shot With: Alan Khazei Posted September 6th, 2010 by mtvU
Frank Marino, 2013, a student at Northeastern University, with a strong passion for youth work, advocacy, and empowerment gets the opportunity to meet and interview CEO and Founder of Be The Change Inc, Alan Khazei. View his video interview here. Find out how you can be a Big Citizen and help change the world at Be the Change.
Frank was awarded the 2013 Compass Award, which recognizes nine outstanding seniors who, during their time on campus, have demonstrated a true commitment to a core set of values: leadership, volunteerism, academic integrity, and commitment to Northeastern
Katty Mojica-Martinez (2013) was born in Boston but was raised in Dominican Republic. She returned to the Boston area to attend Dorchester High School to pursue her education. She always dreamed she’d go to college. Northeastern University was always the school Katty noticed everyday on her commute to school and seeing all the events and happy faces on campus built a desire to attend Northeastern a university that was so close to home for her. Though coming from a low-income family, being homeless and working three jobs to maintain herself she thought it would never be possible. Yet thanks to the Torch Scholarship Program Katty was able to attend Northeastern University without the worry of financial circumstances.
Now as a full time student she is able to progress in her own career path as a Human Services Major with a Business Minor and she hopes to succeed and make the world a better place one person at a time. She always had a desire to work in the corporate world, more so for the security and economic stability, until she was enrolled in Human Services Professions course when she realized where her passion and future career laid. Helping others just as herself, keeps Katty motivated and determined to finish her chosen educational path.
While here at Northeastern Katty has completed about 600 hours of community service work. With various organizations such as Hyde Square Task Force, Boston Rescue Mission, Teen Empowerment, United South End Settlements, Sociedad Latina and much more. Katty also completed an international co-op with N.U.in Program in Greece; a study abroad program through NEU that takes incoming freshmen abroad during their first semester of university. Katty was able to lead them in this experience, facilitate and organize their community service experience with organizations in Greece, and teach a globalization course on poverty, cultural awareness and global issues.
For Katty’s Internship she hopes to intern at Boston Private Industry Council (Boston PIC), after which she will be returning to co-op where she will work for Vimenca, a sales and telecommunications corporation in the Dominican Republic, after which she will return for her final semester before graduation.
Alumni
To read more in depth about alumni and their experiences click here.
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2012
Molly Hagan, Human Services and International Affairs 2012, was the recipient of a Summer 2011 Provost Undergraduate Research award. Her proposal on “Microcredit in San Jose Villanueva: a case study of Mentores and its clients” was awarded funding.
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Some 150 sixth and seventh-graders packed a tiny classroom on the outskirts of Gulu, Uganda, a war-ravaged country whose children have remained at the center of conflict for more than two decades. Kids raised hands, drew pictures, voiced opinions, all of them eager to learn.
Northeastern sophomore Kijana Rose, 2012, who completed a co-op at two schools in the northern Ugandan town, couldn’t have been more inspired by her young students.
After returning to campus from her experiential learning opportunity in May, she expressed interest in a career as a teacher and a social worker in one of Africa’s international post-conflict zones. Read the full article here.
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Lauren Taylor, Human Services and International Affairs 2012, was the recipient of a Provost Undergraduate Research award 2010. Her proposal on “Efficiency of PEPFAR funding in South Africa” was selected to receive funding.
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Abby Wagner, Human Services and International Affairs 2012, was the recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Co-Op Education Award due to her amazing accomplishments during her Co-Op assignment. Every year shortly before commencement, Northeastern University recognizes the accomplishments of a number of its seniors who have had outstanding co-op experiences while at the University. See the excerpt from the Co-op Award Program here.
Abby has also been awarded a 2012 Compass Award. Each year, nine Compass Awards are presented to students who have demonstrated a commitment to the following set of core values: leadership skill, volunteerism, academic integrity, and commitment to Northeastern. See the excerpt from the Compass Award Program here.
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2011
Danielle “Nellie” Moore, 2011, an International Affairs and Human Services major, is working for the Harpswell Foundation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as a Leadership Resident. There she will be living with university women, teaching English and assisting with the programming of the dormitories. Nellie has received a Presidential Global Scholars Award from Northeastern to support this project. Read more from the NU Voice Article. Currently she is on a Princeton in Asia fellowship in Ho Chi Minh City, improving road safety one helmet at a time with the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation. More information about Princeton in Asia can be found here.
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Helen Schroeder, 2011, an Art and Human Services major, found the perfect co-op at the Pine Street Inn: Working with artists who taught classes for the residents of New England’s largest homeless shelter. The Boston Foundation supported Schroeder’s co-op position, as well as the Pine Street Inn’s art program. Helen won the 2012 Boston Association for the Education of Young Children (BAEYC) award in the category of “Physical Environment” at the 11th annual Early Educators Awards Gala. Read more about her work here.
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Tamara Yaqub, Human Services and International Affairs major 2011, is currently the NPO Support Center Coordinator at King Khalid Foundation in Saudi Arabia. She is responsible for organizing workshops that aim to build the capacity of employees working in the non-profit sector in Saudi Arabia. In addition, Tamara acts as the Events & Operations Leader at RIYADH+acumen, a self-organized, volunteer-led group that seeks to inspire and empower like-minded individuals in Riyadh who are passionate about supporting Acumen Fund’s mission to create a world beyond poverty
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Excerpt from Heather’s Co-op Faculty nomination by Nancy Tavares
Heather Porriello, 2011, is the embodiment of all attributes imperative to do this kind of work; i.e., selflessness, commitment, compassion, and a desire to help make a difference for those who are at risk and less fortunate than most. She works tirelessly to contribute to our society and is dedicated to service. When she spoke about her experiences at the Italian Home, the class was amazed at the amount of work and responsibility she took on. While working at her co-op positions, Heather volunteered at the Elizabeth Stone House (a women’s shelter), the Department of Children and Families as a case reviewer for children in the foster care system and as a tutor for the after school program LEARN, located within the Lenox housing development. She also participated in an alternate Spring Break in 2009 in Jamaica and in the Dialogues of Civilization in Northern Ireland, again working with children from various backgrounds. Additionally, she has been a Corps member for Jumpstart, teaching inner city children and has recently applied for the AmeriCorps NCCC program.
Through the Institute for International Education, Krupa Asher, 2011, will be traveling to Bandung, Indonesia where she will be interning with a non-profit in economic development while taking language and culture classes at the local university.
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Chelsea Stine, Human Services/International Affairs major 2011, in the Fall of 2011 Chelsea will begin her 2 year commitment to Teach for America as a Corps Member and special education teacher, in New York, New York. Watch Chelsea talk about her experience and her passion for AmericaCorp and Teach for America here.
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Student Turns Teacher Overseas by Jason Kornwitz
Working on co-op to teach poor teenage students in Bangalore, India, has inspired Krupa Asher, 2011, to explore nonprofit management and pursue a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship upon her graduation this spring.
“The experience helped me clear my mind a little bit about where I see myself in the future,” said Asher, who is pursuing a dual major in international affairs and human services. “I arrived at Northeastern undecided on what I wanted to study, but even after deciding on a major, I was still unsure of which direction I wanted to take it in. This co-op helped me figure that out.”
Read the full article here.
Krupa was also the recipient of a Summer, 2009 Provost Undergraduate Research award. Her project on “The effects of social change through Peace Games curriculum on the students in Bangalore” was selected to receive funding.
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Josh Marguiles, Human Services and Criminal Justice major 2011, continued to work with his last Co-op, Risk Solutions International, doing emergency and crisis management and was immediately given the huge responsibility of being a project leader for two major projects, with the Teachers College at Columbia University and Summit charter schools in Ohio. He is also currently enrolled in graduate school at Boston University Division of Medical Sciences for a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Emergency Management. Nothing prepared him for multitasking on large projects or with his graduate courses than the education he received from NU and the Human Services program. Between his passion for helping others and his need to be in a fast-paced, high stress environment, he can confidently say that Northeastern and the Human Services program were a perfect fit.
2010
Lydia Vega, Human Services major 2010, was awarded the LSCC Civic Engagement award. In addition, Lydia received the Terry Mena award for promoting social justice and political awareness. Lydia was also granted the LaCLA certificate of completion in recognition of her commitment to academic excellence and community service. Lastly, she was given a certificate of award for successfully completing the Latino/a, Latin American and Caribbean Studies minor.
NEU Admissions Spotlight Lydia in the Spotlight
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Ryan McCarthy, International Affairs/ Human Services major 2010, currently works for Northeastern University as the Program Coordinator for the Youth Development Initiative Project (YDIP). YDIP’s mission is to design and implement educational programming for families residing in housing developments in close proximity to NU’s Boston campus. He is working toward a master’s degree in school counseling from NEU’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences. He is interested in pursuing a career as a guidance counselor, and one day hopes to become a high school principal.
While at Northeastern, Ryan two co-ops, both of which were tremendously beneficial to his education and career. For his first co-op he worked as a teacher’s assistant at the Patrick Lyndon Charter School in West Roxbury, where he learned the challenges associated with the public school system. His second co-op was with his current employer, YDIP, which was not only a challenging but rewarding experience as well. Ryan believes that the hard work put into his co-ops and human services coursework contribute to where he is today.
Read more about what YDIP does here.
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Making a Book that Heals
At a foster home in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, where children were placed to recover from abuse or simply to gain some stability in their troubled lives, Anna Linck, 2010, a Northeastern student on co-op, infused hope and self-esteem.
Read the full article from the News @ Northeastern here.
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The daughter of immigrants, Human Services student Scarlett Trillia, 2010, was thrilled to combine her academic interest in worker cooperatives with a co-op in her father’s homeland, Argentina.
Read the full article NU Voice 10.02.09 ”Co-op Experience in Argentina” here.
2009
Kate (Anna) Janisch, Human Services major 2009, completed her Masters in Public Health from Northeastern University and is currently working toward becoming a registered dietician (RD). She works in the food services department at Brookline Public Schools as the acting their administrative assistant. She is also a research assistant at Northeastern for the Public and Population Health studies and is interning with the nutrition office at Community Servings in Jamaica Plains.
Julie Miller, Human Services major 2009, took full advantage of her undergraduate career were she was a Service-Learning Teaching Assistant, a Tour Guide with the Admissions Center, a Residential Assistant, co-lead several service and social justice-oriented student organizations, and worked as a fitness instructor within Campus Recreation. Julie was named one of “100 Most Influential Seniors” in 2009 and was honored by the NU’s Spiritual Life as a recipient of the Wendy Breen Kline Award. The year following graduation she worked with Lori in facilitating multiple Dialogues of Civilizations. Julie is a recent graduate of The University of California, Berkeley, where she pursued a Masters in Social Work were she received the “Big Ideas Berkeley” Award and The Rose Kleiner Award in Gerontology. Julie is the director and producer of “Vibrant Aging: The Original Film” and “Vibrant Aging: Despite Everything,” both nationally-screened films spurring a new conversation about aging in America. Currently, Julie is a Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab and an Adjunct Instructor within the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies.
Jennifer Ryan, Human Services major 2009, first became involved in non-profit development and fundraising during her senior year at Northeastern, through an internship at Rosie’s Place, a Boston sanctuary for poor and homeless women. Currently, Jenn is a Development Coordinator in the Massachusetts General Hospital Development Office, working closely with the Mass General Cancer Center’s volunteer boards and councils, as well as the Cancer Center’s annual fundraiser, the one hundred.
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Tanya Simon, Criminal Justice/Human Services Double Major 2009, began work as a Congregate Shelter Case Manager & Housing Advocate with Middlesex Human Service Agency, Inc. in a program dedicated to servicing homeless families in and around Boston, and in 2010 became the Programs Director of the Boston based Scattered Site Shelter, Short-Term Subsidy & Temporary Accommodations Programs for MHSA, Inc. In January 2012, Tanya returned to school to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work at the NYU Silver School of Social Work in Manhattan. Tanya is currently a Clinical Intern at the Safe Horizon Brooklyn Community Program, providing Crisis Intervention and Supportive Counseling to individual victims of violence.
2008
Barbara Civill, Human Services and International Affairs major 2008, is the Hyde Square Task Force as the Manager of School-based and Cultural Programs. In this role she oversees all of Hyde Squares school partnerships, their Music Program, and their After School Program.
2007
Megan Krell, Human Services and Psychology Dual major 2007, completed her MA and PhD at University of Connecticut and is now an Assistant Professor in human services and counseling at Fitchburg State University.
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Jessica Thompson, Human Services specializing in ABA 2007, works at The New England Center for Children previously in Abu Dhabi and now in Southboro, MA working with children with various degrees of autism. She is in a classroom with a number of children who have never been in a school setting doing needs assessment and one-on-one instruction.
2006
Kristin (Moul) Driscoll, Human Services and International Affairs double major 2006, is the Health Engagement Coordinator at the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (formerly Health Careers Academy). Kennedy Academy is a Horace Mann Charter Public School that was formed in partnership between the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and NU. Kristin works with high school students on the school’s community service program, career exploration activities, and manages the partnerships for the school. Kristin worked for three years at the Boston Private Industry Council with BPS graduates pursuing healthcare careers through postsecondary education and with high school students helping them develop job readiness skills and obtain internships. She holds a Master of Education in Policy, Planning, and Administration from Boston University.
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Kate Marple, Human Services and History 2006, is the Manager for Marketing and Communications at the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at The George Washington University. She previously worked as a Communications Officer at the MA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She holds an MSc in Nationalism Studies from the University of Edinburgh.
2005
Mistie (Conner) Parsons, Human Services major with a Spanish minor 2006, works for Phoenix Charter Academy as Program Manager for the Phoenix Urban Fellows Program (an AmeriCorps program). She graduated in 2009 with her Masters in Arts in Education/Teaching. Prior to working for PCA, Mistie worked at Polk State College in Educational Talent Search (a TRIO program). While at NU, she took advantage of the possibilities and worked as a Service-Learning Coordinator and Peer Tutor. She served as an Americorps member for 2 years, through which she worked with Stand Up for Kids and Room to Grow.
2004
Tracy Walters, Human Services 2004, has completed her MSW at Boston College and is now working as a Youth Counselor for the Town of Westwood. Tracy’s primary responsibilities are: child/adolescent counseling, leading social skills groups for kids (k-5) and single parent support groups, overseeing high school Mentor program.