As The Marist Poll prepares to send its graduating seniors off into the proverbial real world, we’ve asked those students to share some of their favorite MIPO memories with us. Here’s what some of them had to say in their words.
“I have been working at MIPO since spring semester my freshman year and was promoted to supervisor the summer into my junior year. Although I am not a political science major and know extremely little about politics in general, this experience has fulfilled my educational, social, and professional experience. Over the past four years, MIPO has given me the skills I need to succeed throughout my life. Being such a well-known and respected organization, MIPO has helped me attain a career as an auditor at Ernst & Young. Most importantly, the people I met at MIPO will stay with me throughout my life. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities MIPO has offered me, and I will sincerely miss everyone at MIPO.
– Caileen Collins
“My experience at MIPO has greatly had an impact on my time here at Marist. As an interviewer and a supervisor, I have been a part of MIPO for four years and during this time, I have learned a great deal about myself as well as others. MIPO has given me the opportunity to improve my people skills and the ability to handle difficult and challenging situations with ease. These qualities [which] I have been able to improve upon will help me tremendously in the field of education as I aspire to be an elementary school teacher when I graduate. In a classroom, the unexpected can, and most likely will happen. Being a part of MIPO, I have had quite a few difficult respondents on the phone that required me to think quickly and calmly. Having this type of patience is absolutely essential within a classroom setting and I am thankful to have had my experiences at MIPO aid in shaping who I have become.”
– Kimberly Rastelli
“My favorite MIPO memory is meeting some of my closest friends during my time at the Marist Poll. The atmosphere at MIPO has always been friendly and pleasant to work in, making the projects run smoother. I became a supervisor during my sophomore year and enjoyed interacting with the student interviewers and being able to advise them when it came to conducting the survey — like I had been taught in the past. Being a supervisor taught me many important lessons, such as leadership, patience, and responsibility. I will always look back at my time at MIPO as a pleasant and rewarding experience.”
– Courtney Savoia
“I started working at The Marist Poll my freshman year. After going through piles of papers and souvenirs from my 4 years at Marist, I came across a drawing. I clearly remember the night my housemate, Dawn, created this masterpiece in the Spring of freshman year. One of us had just gotten off the phone with a very nice caller from Washington. I have a loud and distinct “phone voice,” and Dawn drew a caricature of me complete with headset, smiling while I dialed. After saying Marist so many times in a row, I found I have an accent not reminiscent of where I come from. She included a speech bubble phonetically spelling out the way I read my introductions and, then, continued to point it out after every call. I’ve had jobs where I dreaded going to work, and I was nervous about managing classes, extracurricular [activities], and a job. However, I found the perfect job at MIPO, allowing me a flexible schedule and the opportunity to get to know some awesome people.”
– Julia Stamberger
“I have been working at the Marist Poll since my first semester of freshman year. Starting that year, I tried to attend as many Marist Poll events and lectures as I could. Despite not being a political science major, the speakers that Dr. Miringoff brought in for his classes were always really interesting to me and added another dimension to my work at the Marist Poll. At the end of my freshman year, I interviewed to become a supervisor, due to my envy of Margo Peters, David Hochman and the others who always looked like they were having so much fun.
I really enjoyed my time working as a supervisor and getting to know all of the older students at the Marist Poll. I became great friends with them and was really able to learn a lot from them, both about the Marist Poll, Marist College, and life in general. I am still in contact with many of these Marist Poll alumni today. As a supervisor, I was also able to get to know the up-and-coming Marist Poll students and work with them to improve their interviewing skills. It was so interesting to be able to watch them grow over the course of the semester.
At the end of my sophomore year, I was asked to become the Poll Assistant. And, I was extremely honored to be offered this position and was excited to increase my role at the Marist Poll. Through my work in the office and as Poll Assist during the polling nights, I have grown to love the Marist Poll even more. The nights I have spent in the phone room with Meghann Crawford, Stephanie Calvano, Meghan McKeever and Alicia Buhse are times I will never forget. All of the people at the Marist Poll have truly made my experience one to remember and allowed me to find a second home there. The Marist Poll is just one great example of the saying – “It’s not the work you do, but the people you do it with.”
– Amy Wheeler