“We Are UC” highlights the people who thread the fabric of the Utica College community. These profiles are written from the perspective of the subjects themselves.

Whitney Morris, Online/Enterprise Reporter

My name is Gianna Boone and I am a junior from Brooklyn, New York. Coming to Utica college was a bit of a culture shock for me because I’ve never been to a school with people that didn’t look like me. But, I chose UC because, in addition to them giving me the best financial package, I liked the campus and I thought it was a small enough school for me.

Starting from my freshman year, I’ve remained pretty involved on campus. Currently, I am the president of the Black Student Union which is a minority organization on campus whose overall purpose is to preserve and spread knowledge about the black culture and create diversity all while creating a home away from home for its members.

My purpose as president is to promote diversity, continue bringing black people together and to maintain the platform that allows us to do great things together. The togetherness that exists in the organization isn’t usually seen in a lot of the neighborhoods that most of us come from, so it means a lot to have this family away from home.

I have been a member of Fuerza Latina, the vice president of Woman in a New Direction and I’ve held other positions within BSU. I was also the president of the school’s gospel choir my sophomore year, and I’ve been a part of each organization since my freshman year.

Time management has always been something I have struggled with. As far as this year, though, I’ve actually been scheduling myself, doing homework at work if it isn’t busy and setting more alarms and reminders to ensure that everything gets done. During my free time, I spend a lot of time watching Netflix and YouTube, and I also write poetry.

My favorite thing about UC is the organizations. I love seeing young people work hard on throwing events, seeing the success of the events and seeing people do what makes them happy. I feel most accomplished in life when I say I’m going to do something, follow through with it and I get good feedback about it, and these organizations provide the platform for me to do so.