Gillian McCabe considered other colleges, but it was an overnight stay and a clambake at Geisel House that sealed the deal at Union.
Despite three family members coming to Union before her, “I had zero pressure to come to Union College,” she said. “But if I'd gone somewhere else, I'd know what I was missing. This feels like home.”
McCabe, a senior political science and Spanish major from Park Ridge, N.J., has herself made Union feel like home. As president of Student Forum and as a member of the Minerva Council, among many activities, she has been involved with nearly every facet of student life. On Saturday, she received the Frank Bailey Prize to the senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College.
Her interest in campus service began partly because her older brother, Andrew '03, was involved in student government, serving as the president of Student Forum during his senior year. Today, she looks back on student government as a good way to give students a say on issues. “The value of Forum is in giving the students a voice,” she said. “We can make changes if we speak as a body.”
She joined the House System Implementation Committee in her sophomore year and enjoyed working with faculty, administration and other students to create what would become the Minervas.
She says it has been rewarding to see the Minerva's take shape, starting with the “big picture” and then working on the details. “The Minervas are not the end of an equation,” she said, “but a way to improve life on campus.”
She said she is not surprised that students are not in the houses all the time, but adds, “We are creating something completely new, and it will take time to catch on.” Their success depends on campus culture and peer influence, and she sees promise in events like the packed houses for Beuth film nights, or their celebration of International Mustache Month, the brainchild of Jason Tucciarone '05.
She arrived as a first year student planning to major in anthropology. But it was International Politics with Prof. Byron Nichols that put her course for a double major in political science and Spanish. She wrote her thesis on “Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo: Changing the Face of Latin American Politics.” Her thesis, presented at the Steinmetz Symposium, received the Mildred Wilder Prize for the best scholarship on women in politics. The movement gave motherhood a political identity as they protested the kidnapping of dissidents during Argentina's “Dirty War” (1976-83). More recently, she said, the group has expanded to address human rights issues around the world and had a significant impact on political and social activism in Argentina.
A dean's list student who did a term in Seville, Spain, she has received a number of other distinctions: Sigma Delta Pi, the national collegiate Hispanic honor society; Junior Class Citizen of the Year; the Calvin G. Schmidt Prize to the junior who has contributed the most to the betterment of student life; and Delphic Honor Society for service to the College.
She is a member of the Presidential Search Committee. Previously, she served as vice president of the junior class, a member of the orientation committee and an orientation advisor. She has been a member of Gatekeepers, providing tours to prospective students; and a student ambassador, hosting prospectives for overnight visits. She is a member of the Student Alumni Association, and a participant of the Harvard National Model United Nations.
She worked this year as a senior admissions interviewer. She did summer internships with Clinique and Estée Lauder in New York City.
She is the latest, but not the last, in a long family line of Union students, preceded by a great, great grandfather; a grandfather; great uncle; parents (Karen and Tim '73); and brother, Andrew '03. This fall, sister Kara joins the Class of 2009.
“We've all done our own thing,” she says of her siblings. “We're not following anybody.” Andrew was a computer science major. Kara plans to pursue music.
As for her plans, she hopes to take a break this summer. Then she may pursue marketing or continue to study Spanish and teach abroad.