Student Snapshot: Izzy Ferrazza '24

Izzy Ferrazza

"People on this campus are not afraid to just be themselves," says Izzy Ferrazza ’24, a student tutor and writing associate who plans to study abroad in England. "Undergrad is the time and place for you to find out who you are and who you want to be." So it's not surprising that she is making the most of her time as an undergrad. A scholarship recipient who works as a tutor and a writing assistant and plans a health-care career, Izzy recently returned to the U.S. after traveling to Holland to study Dutch views and practices regarding death and end-of-life care.

Hometown:

Georgetown, Massachusetts.

Majors:

Anthropology with a health-studies certificate.

Clubs/organizations:

Pre-Health Society, NSLS, Alpha Lambda Delta and Delta Nu.

Change A Life, Change the WorldHonors/awards:

Dean's List, American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Analytical Chemistry and 1783 Scholarship.

Favorite book:

The Angels and Demons series by Dan Brown.

Favorite movie:

I am a huge Marvel fan.

Best thing about my Dickinson experience so far:

The academics have truly been the best thing about my Dickinson experience so far. All of my professors are extremely passionate and dedicated to our education. I am so grateful for all of them every day!

Best thing about my majors:

Boy, where do I start? The best thing about my major is its interdisciplinary nature. Anthropology is the study of humans, which, as we all know, are extremely complicated beings with rich histories and diverse backgrounds. The flow of the major allows for a student to study a little bit of everything, especially during the 100-level courses, Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology and Biological Anthropology. All the professors are experts in their fields and have so much knowledge to share with students, including really cool research opportunities. You can also do so many things post-graduate with an anthropology degree!

I am looking to go into medicine, specifically, an M.D./master of public health program, and anthropology will be a huge help for my studies in this area. The options are endless, and I encourage everyone to take an anthropology course at Dickinson during their four years here.

Favorite spot on campus:

The library, specifically the Multilingual Writing Center.

Favorite Dining Hall food:

Chicken fingers and French fries from the Caf.

Favorite professor so far:

There are simply just too many to pick one: Amy McKiernan (Practical Ethics), assistant professor of philosophy and director of the ethics program; Noreen Lape (FYS Speaking Truth to Power/Working with Writers), associate provost of academic affairs and director of the writing program; and Amalia Pesantes Villa (Medical Anthropology), assistant professor of anthropology.        

On studying abroad:

I have not studied abroad yet, other than participating in a Dutch Mosaic during the spring of 2022. For this Mosaic, my class (a group of about 11 students) went to the Netherlands to do a cross-cultural comparative analysis of the study of death and dying and palliative/hospice care. I will be going abroad for a full semester in fall 2022, studying at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.         

Post-Dickinson plans:

I am probably going to take at least one gap year to do get some lab experience, and then I am planning on going on to an M.D./master of public health program.

Most important thing I’ve learned so far:

The most important thing I have learned so far is to just be yourself; be genuinely you. I have found some of the most important people in my life on campus, and I really think it is because the people on this campus are not afraid to just be themselves, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Advice for younger students:

I cannot stress this enough: Cultivate your own ideal undergraduate experiences. It doesn't matter if you want to go into medicine or law, major in a social science or the humanities—take that cool dance class, even if you are terrible at dancing. Undergrad is the time and place for you to find out who you are and who you want to be, so please do what you want and what makes you happy.

About my work on campus:

I work at the Multilingual Writing Center and the Quantitative Reasoning Center as a tutor, and this semester, I am also a writing associate for a First-Year Seminar, Climate Denialism, and a quantitative-reasoning associate for ANTH 242: Research Methods in Global Health and for the writing-tutor training course, Working with Writers. Please come visit us at these centers. We love to help our peers and get to know everyone!

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Published April 22, 2022