‘We’re all in this together’
Shelby Miuzzo has found her perfect fit in the tightly woven community that supports student success
Few people who know Shelby Miuzzo will be surprised to learn that one of her first jobs was at a clothing store. Granite Edvance’s biggest fashion enthusiast didn’t develop her instincts for a killer outfit overnight. But that high school job at Charlotte Russe held more value than just the employee discount on trendy tops.
“I truly believe everyone should work some kind of customer service job in their life,” said Shelby, who serves as director of nonprofit and agency partnerships at Granite Edvance.
“I gained so much appreciation for how hard that work is, while building my people skills and understanding of workplace norms and expectations.”
Growing up in Sarasota, Fla., Shelby had the building blocks of a successful future: college-educated parents and grandparents, a natural drive to excel, and a good education at a public college-prep school.
“I was very lucky…The culture was not, if you’re going to college, but where,” she said.
Like many teenagers, however, Shelby worked for her spending money. Her part-time job and volunteer activities, coupled with what she was learning in school, opened her eyes to the inequalities around her and shaped her career plans. “I really wanted to make a difference in the world,” she said.
That sentiment drew her to Boston College, where commitment to service was woven into the school culture. “So many students are involved in volunteerism,” said Shelby, who also chose the school in part because her dad had roots in Newton, Mass., and she’d grown up visiting family in New England. “They’re all answering the question, ‘How are you going to use your immense privilege of this education to make the world a better place?’”
Shelby’s answer seemed simple. She’d known for years that she wanted to major in political science and work in government. “I was always one of those students that had it all planned out,” she said.
There was just one small problem. Shelby quickly discovered that she hated her political science classes. “They were very philosophical and esoteric and not about people,” she said. “So I went to my freshman advisor and said, ‘I just want to know how it all works. What can we do about all these inequalities in society?’ And she said, ‘that’s not political science. That’s sociology.’”
Shortly after, Shelby enrolled in her first sociology class. “And from day one, it was a perfect fit,” she said.
A perfect fit, like a perfect outfit, can give you confidence to step out of your comfort zone – which is what Shelby did. A Hispanic studies minor, she spent a semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain, where most people didn’t speak English. “It was really the first time that I experienced being the other,” she said. “I remember how uncomfortable that feeling was. It increased my empathy for people who feel that way every day.”
Next, Shelby moved to New York to pursue a master’s degree in social work at Fordham University. There, she had a field placement helping high school students plan for their futures, a position that laid the groundwork for her own future. She also met her future husband, Fredrick, and decided to stick around, landing a job at Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC.
In 2021, Shelby and Fredrick moved to the tiny town of Sutton, NH, to get a bit of space during the pandemic, and Shelby began working at Granite Edvance. Though the view out her window had changed, the core of her work was not as different as she’d suspected.
“Student needs are surprisingly similar from urban to rural,” she said. “In both settings, you have young people who face pressure to succeed, to support their families, whether working at the family bodega or the family farm. … In both settings, community and exposure to opportunity are so important.”
In her role here at Granite Edvance, Shelby helps nurture the communities that support students, creating and strengthening partnerships across different organizations. “The community feel is so strong here,” she said. “There’s this feeling that we’re all in this together that I think only comes from a small community and a small state.”
Shelby hopes that students of all ages who are trying to figure out their next steps will tap into that community support. “Just because you can do it alone doesn’t mean you have to or that you should,” she said. “People are more willing to help than you might think.”
This blog is part a series highlighting Granite Edvance team members’ college-and-career journeys. By sharing our own stories, we hope to help inform students about their options. Read more:
Sharing Our Pathways: Matt Wallace
Sharing Our Pathways: Merek Weisensee
Sharing Our Pathways: Chris Nadeau