)
Tara Ippolito '22
Sophomore Tara Ippolito '22 wants to make a difference in the world. Her passion for serving others helped lead her to Marywood as a nursing major.
Tara, who calls Staten Island (and now Marywood) home, said she was drawn to Marywood for the same reason so many are - the people and the campus.
“Even before starting here my freshman year, it felt like a home away from home. The environment is friendly and welcoming, and I loved everything about it; and that’s not even talking about how beautiful the campus is.”
Tara’s drive to help others, especially in the nursing field, stems from her own experiences. As a child, Tara was diagnosed with a form of skin lupus. This condition saw her constantly in and out of hospitals. The uncertainty of her condition left Tara feeling alone at times, but she says there were people who made an undesirable situation improve. Those people were nurses.
“The nurses were the people that were able to make my experience a little bit easier,” says Tara. “They knew how to talk to me using words I understood and helped me feel like I had someone I could always ask questions to.”
The empathy shown by these nurses left an indelible mark on Tara and helped her realize that she wanted to return that favor.
“I want to be that person for others. I will forever be thankful for the nurses in my lifetime, and I want to be able to help people in the way they helped me.”
Upon arriving at Marywood, Tara was certain of what she wanted to do academically and professionally, but she says that Marywood has helped her find herself.
“I truly learned to be myself and to stop worrying about what people might think. Coming to Marywood, I was nervous and I just wanted people to like me; but I discovered if you stay true to who you are, the right people will be drawn to you. Because I’ve been me, I’ve met some real forever friends at Marywood.”
Tara attributes her self-growth to her involvement on campus across several areas. She serves as the Campus Ministry Representative to the Student Government Association, President of Volunteers in Action, Vice President of Food Recovery Network, Vice President of External Affairs of the Student Alumni Association, a member of Zeta Phi Delta, and a Maxis-Gillet Service Scholar.
Despite all of these impressive accomplishments, Tara points to one moment that really allowed her to shine at Marywood. She had the opportunity to plan the “Senior Prom” for what is now Marywood Heights, a senior living community on campus. Tara and her fellow organizers decorated the hall, provided music, set up a photobooth, and even danced with the residents.
Tara points to this moment because of the service aspect she is so passionate about and the joy it brought the participants.
“It was awesome to see them smiling and having a great time.”
Tara is a Maxis-Gillet Service Scholar and says the scholarship enabled her to enjoy all of these life-changing experiences at Marywood.
“The Maxis-Gillet Service Scholarship basically was the deciding factor on if I was able to attend Marywood. Without that scholarship, it would have been a slightly harder decision, but thankfully I was able to commit to Marywood and I will forever be thankful for that.”
Tara realizes how impactful Marywood’s donors are to her success and the success of so many students.
“They’re the reason so many people are able to get the education they deserve. I think every single student is thankful for the donors whether they speak about it or not. I would thank the donors for being so generous and kind in giving to Marywood and helping students excel in more ways than one. We don’t just excel in our education, but we’re also growing within ourselves, within our friendships, and within everything else that we are a part of and none of that would be possible without the donors.”
As for her future, Tara still has two years left at Marywood during which she plans to continue her service and involvement. She says the generosity Marywood has shown her has inspired her to give and volunteer even after she graduates.
Her career goal is more of a life goal and one that many should strive for - to be THAT person for people. Tara hopes to show the same empathy, compassion, and dedication shown to her years ago by the nurses that helped her realize her passion and by the Marywood community that helped her find her purpose.
