Starting in September, Shuri Hatake will attend graduate school at University College London (UCL) in England, where she will pursue a master’s degree in educational psychology.

Before that, she will return to her home country of Japan to work at a daycare center supporting children with developmental disabilities. She’s also taking psychology courses through the University of Pennsylvania.

“After I graduate from UCL, I plan on securing a Ph.D. in educational psychology, possibly in the U.K. or the U.S.,” Hatake said. “Eventually, I intend to work as a learning support assistant, teaching assistant or assistant educational psychologist to gain hands-on experience and to get to know the field at large.”

Ever the explorer, Hatake has dreams of working in Denmark for a period of her career, as Danish children are considered some of the happiest in the world and she wants to understand why so that she can promote happiness worldwide.

“While working with the children, I would like to incorporate some of the knowledge I gain from my positive psychology course in making children’s school life experiences better,” she said.

As an international student, there were both adventures and challenges to the university experience. However, Hatake found that Salve Regina offered a supportive environment for international students.

“All the faculty members greatly helped me in some way or another,” she said. “Since English is my second language, I had many questions about lectures, assignments and exams. Every faculty member in the psychology department has been extremely caring, supportive, enthusiastic and always tries to help me.”

During her time at Salve Regina, Hatake learned important lessons like perseverance, how to manage time and discipline. “Since I’ve already formed my strong work ethic, I can power through any obstacles in the future,” she said.

Because Hatake has traveled so much already in her life – even studying abroad in Scotland – she has seen a variety of educational settings. To her, the experience at Salve Regina will always stand out.

“Salve Regina values individuality yet feels as though there’s a whole community that has your back,” she said. “Salve is a community where I truly feel like it’s a second home. It is a one-of-a-kind place where you can grow and mature so that you can find yourself.”

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Editor’s Note: SALVEtoday is celebrating the Class of 2021’s Senior Week with specially curated content Monday, May 3 through Friday, May 7. Senior Week will be devoted to sharing special Senior Success stories and other content relevant to the Class of 2021. Check back each day to read stories about Salve Regina’s incredible seniors. For more Class of 2021 stories, go here. 

Stephen Natola ’21, a biology major with a chemistry minor, is excited to begin Boston University’s doctor of physical therapy program on June 1. He’ll be living in Boston, Massachusetts, for at least the first year of his program, and he’s looking forward to experiencing such an iconic city and all it has to offer. After that, he may relocate based on his clinical placements. 

“During this program, I’ll also be working for a … faculty member as a graduate-level researcher,” said Natola. “Some of my current research interests include concussion rehabilitation and biomechanics, as they relate to my injury history from basketball. I look forward to being part of a research team and contributing to a project that may ultimately help improve the lives of others.”

Natola’s ultimate goal is to become a licensed physical therapist. He’s not quite sure about the setting where he’d like to work in, but he does love working with children, so pediatrics might be where he ends up. 

“Regardless of setting, my goal is to be the best physical therapist that I can be and to help the most people that I can,” he said. “In the past, physical therapists helped me recover from injuries and developed connections that empowered me to regain my self-confidence, strength and mobility. I aspire to provide that same level of professional care, support and hope for my future patients.”

As to his time at Salve Regina, Natola said that the one-on-one discussions he had with his professors are the highlight of his time here. “Those conversations have been special, and I’m not convinced that those scenarios happen at larger colleges and universities,” he said. “Being able to go to my teachers with questions and for advice has been incredibly valuable. These interactions helped me grow as a student and enabled me to form a closer bond with my professors.”

The opportunity to participate in faculty-led research was also a highlight of Natola’s education at Salve Regina, and he believes the experiences will undoubtedly benefit him during his graduate studies at Boston University.

“Choosing to get involved in faculty-led research was one of my best decisions at Salve Regina,” he said. “I never envisioned myself researching preconception PFOS exposures and working with fruit flies. However, this research ultimately became the basis of my senior thesis, and I learned valuable skills that I will carry with me into graduate school. Choosing to take chances, and to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, can be incredibly rewarding.”

Dr. Belinda Barbagallo, assistant professor of biology and biomedical sciences, was a supportive mentor to Natola, and he sees how his experiences in the lab have helped him develop stronger analytical, writing and presentation skills.

“The experience of conducting scientific research and presenting the results to an audience of faculty and peers was both challenging and rewarding,” he said. “Presenting at the RI Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Conference, at SRYou Student Exposition Day, and presenting my senior thesis has helped make me a stronger and more confident communicator and public speaker. ”

Overall, Natola has been extremely grateful for his time at Salve Regina, and his involvement at the University has been very rewarding. Along with his extensive research opportunities, he was part of the men’s basketball team, and he also worked as a subject tutor, a writing consultant and a peer academic coach for fellow students at the Academic Center for Excellence.

“I feel prepared to pursue my career goals and life dreams,” he said. “Personally, I can say that I’m proud to have gone to Salve Regina, and I’m proud of what I have accomplished here. That would not have been possible without the amazing people in this community and the opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have.”

Salve Spotlights is a series of people-centered stories periodically featured on SALVEtoday. Check out the tag Salve Spotlights for more stories.

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Editor’s Note: SALVEtoday is celebrating the Class of 2021’s Senior Week with specially curated content Monday, May 3 through Friday, May 7. Senior Week will be devoted to sharing special Senior Success stories and other content relevant to the Class of 2021. Check back each day to read stories about Salve Regina’s incredible seniors. For more Class of 2021 stories, go here. 

Upon graduation, Michelle Ostolaza ’21, who is getting her degree in administration of justice (ADJ), will be attending the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston for her master’s degree in marketing. During her time at the University of Houston, she will be the graduate assistant for marketing and communications for the Department of Campus Recreation.  

“I hope to find a career within the sports marketing field, more specifically in professional sports,” she said about her future dreams.

As to being in the ADJ program here at Salve Regina, Ostolaza found the courses to be extremely helpful for her — even as she plans to head into a marketing career in the future.

“The law exists everywhere; it’s everywhere you look and in everything that you do,” she said. “You can take an ADJ degree and use that to pursue a plethora of different career paths. Don’t think that just because you get an ADJ degree you must be a police officer or lawyer. You can use this knowledge and take it as far as you desire.”

Along with her ADJ program, Ostolaza feels that the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention helped shape her into the person that she is today. She attributes much of her success to Dr. Sami Nassim and Rose Albert, director and assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention.

“Sami Nassim and Rose Albert have made an impact on my life that I will forever be grateful for,” she said. “They saw potential in me when I couldn’t, they pushed me when I thought I couldn’t go any further, they cared when I didn’t. I have no idea where I would be without them.”

In fact, Ostolaza believes it was her experiences within the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention that helped prepare her for the world ahead.

“My experiences with interacting with students from different backgrounds and working closely with the multicultural office taught me more than I could possibly imagine about tolerance, acceptance and educating myself and others,” she said. “These skills are extremely important to have, especially as someone who is going into the competitive workforce that exists today.”

Salve Spotlights is a series of people-centered stories periodically featured on SALVEtoday. Check out the tag Salve Spotlights for more stories.

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As soon as Kristen Medlicott ’21 has passed her nursing exams, she’s planning to explore and serve across the world. First, she’ll visit to Grand Teton National Park for a 10-day backpacking trip. After that, she’ll head to Spain to participate in the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP), an educational outreach program for college and post-grad students from North America and Canada.

“Those accepted into the NALCAP will work with elementary and secondary schools as an English teaching assistant while also learning and adapting to the different cultures within Spain,” Medlicott said. “I am excited to find out where in Spain I will be placed and cannot wait to further develop my Spanish minor and language capabilities.”

Once Medlicott is home from working with the NALCAP, she plans on joining the Peace Corps. Her application is still under review, but she already has a preliminary placement in Guatemala in 2022 working with women and infants.

Her long-term goal is to become a pediatric oncology nurse for cancer patients. “My capstone took place in an outpatient oncology clinic, and one of my first hospital volunteer experiences before coming to Salve was also on an oncology unit,” Medlicott said. “To say I fell in love with the specialty is an understatement. I hope to work in New York City with this patient population and then see where that takes me.”

Medlicott was accepted to 10 undergraduate nursing programs throughout the country, but Salve Regina’s program stood out. She believes that the most important lessons she learned at the University were how to collaborate with others and be an empathetic individual who continues to fight to make the world more harmonious, just and merciful.

“With nursing, I will interact with many different individuals from many different life paths,” she said. “My ability to be involved in so many programs and organizations – such as First Year Transitions peer mentoring, Surf Club, the Female Empowerment Organization, Sigma Phi Sigma and Sigma Theta Tau – have helped me develop these values. I have met so many amazing individuals, all of whom are motivating and who encouraged me to be my best self. Thank you, Salve, for making every moment memorable and for making me a better person.”

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