Senior Sarah Read thrives as a peer leader, international learner, intern, volunteer, and more
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| Sheep! On a Naz study abroad experience in South Korea. |
Sarah Read almost didn't visit Nazareth University at all. She was set on another college for most of her junior year of high school — but decided to tour every school on her list before paying any application fees. While in the Rochester area, she figured, why not stop by Naz, too?
"I visited campus and I immediately felt at home," says Sarah, a visual communication design major from Lancaster, NY. Where other campuses were dominated by concrete, Naz had greenery, a fountain, and felt like a place she actually wanted to live. In fact, she liked everything she discovered about Naz.
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| Enjoying the South Asian Student Association’s Mock Wedding. |
As she goes into senior year, we asked Sarah what that decision turned into — including her four+ hands-on learning experiences so far.
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| Exploring Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on a Naz alternative break trip. |
What stands out to you now about your Naz education?
The community. “I can't think of a time or a department where I thought, I don't want to interact with these people."
Sarah has become part of multiple departments beyond her major and has always felt welcome. Along the way, she's picked up as much outside the classroom as in it: "I'm not just learning my technical skills, I'm learning how to be myself and be a person." She points to leadership, collaboration, organization, and — maybe most of all — initiative. She goes after opportunities, instead of waiting for something to land in her lap.
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| Performing with Dare2Dance student club at Naz. |
The average Naz student completes five experiential learning opportunities. Your list, going into senior year?
- Study abroad in South Korea, the summer after freshman year, funded by a Naz SPARK Grant, with 32 students from seven countries. "I feel like I could do most anything because I've flown across the world on my own and stayed there for a month, and I didn't know anyone."
- Peer leader in Academic and College Success classes that support new students’ transition to college — three different sections as a sophomore, another as a junior, and she'll do at least one more as a senior. That’s five weekly, semester-long experiences. “It's so rewarding to see my group come in on the first day and then throughout the semester see them grow.” Also, she says, "I’ve connected with so many people across campus. I'm still in touch with the majority of them."
- An alternative break experience in Colorado Springs, working with Inside Out Youth Services, an LGBTQIA2+ youth center. The trip continues to influence small daily choices, like adding her pronouns to her email signature at her internship, even though she hadn't seen anyone else there do so.
- An internship for credit at Merchants Insurance Group in Buffalo, which she found on LinkedIn after tracking about 36 openings in a spreadsheet. She rates the experience a 9 out of 10. "It opened up my mind to the different types of places graphic designers are needed,” beyond an advertising agency.
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| Posing with colleagues at my Merchants Insurance Group internship in Buffalo before our lunch with the CEO. |
In addition, Sarah says she has learned from:
- Naz in Action day, every year. As a new student, she wasn’t sure she wanted to do volunteer work in the community. But, “That ended up being my favorite day. I still love doing it as a peer leader.” She helped a school set up bulletin boards and tend its garden, organized family orders at Goodwill, and sorted school supplies for an Eastern Service Workers Association giveaway.
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| I’ve been a peer leader on multiple Naz in Action experiences in the community. |
- As a campus job, Sarah works at the Peckham Hall MSM Greenhouse, where she'll be a student manager this fall. During her time there, she has helped plan and run many events, including the yearly haunted house.
- Two campus clubs round out her time. A long-time gymnast, Sarah now choreographs and dances with Nazareth’s Dare2Dance club for fun. And she gets involved periodically with the South Asian Student Association.
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| With Naz students and advisors on the alternative break team in Colorado Springs, working with Inside Out Youth Services. |
How has all of it added up?
“Having all these experiences makes you a well-rounded person," Sarah says. "I have avoided pigeonholing myself into one thing. I have learned about myself and grown as a person. I say that I didn't really become me until after I came into college."
Back in high school, she never imagined she would lead an orientation class. And the furthest she'd traveled before college was Florida. But now she’s been to South Korea. "I kind of threw myself in the deep end with that one. But I grew in confidence so much. It made me feel like I'm able to try other things now."
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| Fun in glowing neon hanging seats at new-student orientation. |
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| Recognition at the 2025 student art show. |
What would you tell a prospective student?
"I think Naz kind of helped put the wind underneath my wings. I don't think I would have gone to South Korea, or worked with Inside Out, if not for Naz — and I wouldn't have found out I like working with people the way I do. Naz backed me up and gave me the support I needed to go forth and thrive."
Sarah Read '27, who graduated from Lancaster High School (NY), is a senior at Naz who’s interested in working adjacent to film and media — perhaps doing scenic design or making promotional materials for upcoming films.
