A Passion for Public Service

At Suffolk, Maggie’s studies were a gateway to her public-facing career. She is a double Ram, with a BS in Government and an MA in the same field. With credits earned through the International Baccalaureate program in high school on Cape Cod, Maggie completed both her degrees in just four years.

The invitation to join CAS Honors boosted Maggie’s confidence. “In high school, I knew I was a good student, but I never considered myself a great student. Before I learned that I’d been accepted into the Honors program, I wondered if I could achieve at a high level. Early on at Suffolk, I realized that I had that capacity and it’s made a great difference to me.”

Maggie appreciated such Honors advantages as smaller classes and early course registration, as well as the dedicated staff. The program also led to an enduring friendship with her first-year roommate in the Honors Living Learning Community. Maggie showed her gratitude to the program by serving as an Honors Council student representative.

Beyond her fire crew adventure, Maggie’s extracurriculars at Suffolk ranged widely. During one spring break, she traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. On Saturday mornings during her freshman year, you could find Maggie working on a community farm in Roxbury, MA. She was also a columnist for the Suffolk Journal and registered new voters before the 2016 presidential election.

Maggie’s career track has focused intensively on the public sphere. For the last two-and-a-half years, she has worked for the Québec Government Office in Boston. Since the office’s business is largely conducted in French, Maggie needed to immerse herself in the language. The office is devoted to building strong commercial, political, and cultural ties between the province and the New England states—and this gives Maggie the chance to interact with policy experts from across the region. Among the perks of the job have been greeting Québec students in Boston and traveling to Montréal and Québec City.

Before the Québec job, Maggie worked for MassBio, a trade organization representing the life sciences industry in the state, where she worked on a range of issues impacting the sector, including transportation, housing, and education.

Previously, Maggie held various positions in the Massachusetts State Senate, culminating in her role as Chief of Staff for Senator Joe Boncore. Maggie found it “rewarding to help find solutions to our constituents’ problems.” It was particularly meaningful for her to support the East Boston neighborhood where she has lived for nearly ten years. Suffolk alumni have traditionally had a strong presence in the Massachusetts State House. From the time she began working as a senate page, Maggie’s supervisors mostly have been Suffolk alumni.

Maggie’s loyalty to Suffolk has extended well beyond graduation. She loves being a mentor for undergraduate students through the Ram Alumni Mentoring Program (RAMP) and connecting them with her professional network. As a member of the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Council, Maggie finds it “a good way to stay in touch with what’s happening in the university. It’s important for me that Suffolk continues to support students in the same way that I was supported.”