On Wednesday, April 11, Melissa Stevens (’07), who is the Social Media Strategist for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), juggled last-minute audio snags and social media posts—all while fielding production questions—in preparation for a Facebook Live video about student advocacy in the TV studio on Cabrini’s campus.
Stevens connected with Cabrini on the idea to do a Facebook Live with students after seeing the attention—and impact—of the Parkland, FL, youth rallying for gun control.
“We realized that we have our own network of passionate students who are learning how to advocate on behalf of others or on issues they believe in,” Stevens said. “Since the news cycle ties so closely to what trends on social media, we thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight the advocacy work students are doing.”
Because of Cabrini’s involvement with CRS, and Stevens’ connection to the University as an alumna, working with Cabrini students to demonstrate student advocacy was a “no brainer,” she said.
Award-winning journalist Megan Gilbert, a communications officer for CRS, interviewed students Molly Seaman (’18) and Katie Briante (’18) about immigration and climate control, for which the students have lobbied on Capitol Hill.
“They are topics that are often misrepresented in the media,” said Briante, a CRS ambassador at Cabrini. “A lot of people have the wrong idea about migration and climate change and how each affects us and I feel like it's so important to let people know what's really happening and to set the record straight.”
“I have not only spent a considerable amount of time learning about and studying these issues, but I have also seen them firsthand through various projects, internships, and travel,” Seaman said. “I think it's crucial to share this information because I firmly believe in treating others how you want to be treated and I know that if myself or my family were facing and experiencing these issues, I would hope that someone, somewhere would use their platform to educate and promote change.”
Seaman became a CRS ambassador during her first year at Cabrini and worked her way up to co-president of Cabrini’s chapter. She also interned at CRS, where she first met Stevens.
Megan Gilbert, Katie Briante ('18), Molly Seaman ('18), and Melissa Stevens ('07)
“Melissa is so great to work with and someone I really look up to,” Seaman said. “She is a model example of a Cabrini graduate ‘living with purpose’ and I hope that I will be able to follow in her footsteps in my future career.”
In Stevens’ role, she oversees all social media channels for CRS and runs its main accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. She creates content, such as short videos, gifs, and memes, and works with world-class photographers to share their photos of CRS’s programming. She also periodically travels to countries that CRS serves, such as Ghana, Kenya, and Nicaragua.
“Cabrini taught me to see social justice issues from different perspectives—not just my own,”
Stevens said. “It also instilled in me that my work should have dignity or serve a higher purpose. What I learned at Cabrini helped me develop a worldview.
“Cabrini helped shape my adult life. It provided me a career path (all the career prep we did at Cabrini really paid off) and gave me lifelong friends and mentors, like Jerry Zurek and Cathy Yungmann. So, staying involved as an alumna is important for me because I want to give back and show students the impact they can have after college.”
See the Facebook Live video with Molly Seaman (’18) and Katie Briante (’18).