Student Snapshot: Marina Stylianou ’24
As a summer intern with Slow Food USA, Marina Stylianou ’24 (sociology) helped advance biodiversity, Indigenous foodways and diversified diets. Below, Stylianou discusses that internship, working with the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and more.
Hometown:
Lakewood, Colorado.
Major:
Sociology, with a minor in Italian & Italian studies.
Clubs and organizations:
Anwar Belly Dance Troupe, Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues (student project manager) and Center for Spirituality & Social Justice (Pagan-curious Group, Asking Big Questions).
Honors/scholarships/awards:
Presidential Scholarship and Dean’s List.
Favorite book:
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
Favorite place on campus:
Denny Hall, especially room 317.
Best thing about my Dickinson experience so far:
Working for the Clarke Forum. As a student project manager, I get to study and write about the topic of a presentation, develop my public-speaking skills and make meaningful connections with various experts and professionals who come speak at our school. It allows me to grow as a writer and a scholar, and I get to learn about topics outside of my major.
Best thing about my major:
The supportive community formed by both students and faculty; everyone is interested in your research and academic pursuits and will help you develop your ideas. It’s a close-knit group of like-minded and passionate individuals.
Favorite class/learning experience:
Victorian Sexualities with Assistant Professor of English Sarah Kersh. This English and women’s, gender & sexuality studies class used Victorian literature as a lens to analyze the construction of and social perspectives on gender and sexuality in the Victorian period in Britain. It was a small, discussion-based class. We had really amazing conversations that linked the subject of the class to the ways that media still represents social norms of gender and sexuality.
On studying abroad
I'm studying in Bologna this year, and I’m very excited.
As I kid, I wanted to be …
… an author.
About my internship:
I interned at Slow Food USA during summer 2022, working to update their Ark of Taste database of endangered food products.
Slow Food is an international nonprofit, originating in Italy, that centers food as an area for social justice. Slow Food USA follows the motto “Good, clean and fair food for all,” centering biodiversity, Indigenous foodways and diversified diets in its activism. The Ark of Taste catalogues endangered food products to preserve biodiversity and traditional food practices and encourages traditional-practice revitalization. With the prevalence of food deserts, diminishing cultural diversity and systemic eradication of Indigenous food and cultural practices, the work of Slow Food intersects with my personal interests in social justice and equity.
Most important thing I’ve learned so far:
It’s important to find your community and true friends, and to be kind and supportive both within that community and outside of it. It’s impossible to go through life alone, so don’t leave yourself or anyone else stranded.
Read more Student Snapshots.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published December 20, 2022