By Julia Hess '15
During her four years at Siena, Anna Youngmann ’15 has formed her passion for international humanitarian work into career path. In May, she will be one of the first students to graduate from Siena’s new Student Designed Interdisciplinary Major program. As a pioneer for the major, Anna will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in global gender studies.
Youngmann made the most of Siena’s liberal arts education by experimenting with many courses of study, including psychology, social work and religious studies. With a specific career path in mind, Youngmann spent the early stages of her Siena career trying to decide which major would lead her to her ultimate goal of working with an anti-human trafficking organization.
“I’ve always known that my plan was to do after-care for victims of human trafficking. I knew what I wanted to do, so I took social work classes on relationship violence, religious studies courses about Islam, among others, where I was able to talk about women’s issues. Lots of different majors had elements of what I was looking for, but nothing was exactly it,” Youngmann said.
Then she learned that Siena was developing the Student Designed Interdisciplinary Major and realized that it might be just what she had been looking for. Led by program director and professor of religious studies Lois Daly, Ph.D. SDIM allows students with career goals outside of Siena’s traditional majors to determine their own courses of study. Students approved for the SDIM program work closely with faculty advisor to select coursework and design their majors around focused interests.
“The program is going to be a really awesome draw for students who see Siena as having a lot of what they want, but not having everything they’re looking for academically,” Youngmann said.
She has also followed her passion for humanitarian work outside of the classroom through her involvement with the Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women. Youngmann heads the group’s Women’s Peace and Advocacy committee. She organizes events such as the annual Anti-Human Trafficking Week to educate the community on the harsh realities of human trafficking.
As she nears graduation and reflects back on her time in college, Youngmann realizes that she has transformed into a community leader and educational pioneer who owes it all to her choice to come at Siena.
“The beauty of Siena is that it’s small enough that if you want to make a difference you can,” Youngmann said. “It is what you make of it.” With Youngmann blazing the trail, that includes designing a major that fits a student’s interests and career goals.
