Jessie Pinto, Immaculata Chapter Member, Class of 2028

My name is Jessica Pinto, and I am a Junior at Immaculata University. I am a part of the education department, and I really love to read. I am a softball coach, and I volunteer at a local preschool in my free time. I loved to be around my family and friends. I found CogWell through Dr. Melissa Rice, our chapter advisor and my freshman year seminar class professor. She invited me into the club, and I went once and have been going ever since. At my first meeting, I was so nervous, but everyone was truly so welcoming and made it feel like I had not missed a thing. I loved being a part of something that I felt like mattered. I knew that the club meant as much to the people at the meetings as it did to me. When I joined CogWell, I was looking for something to be passionate about and to make new friends. I think I found even more than I could ever imagined. I made friends, I found my sense of belonging, and I think I am going to be able to have an impact this year when I join the executive board. Being able to walk away from all my problems for an hour of the day and be there for my friends was so relieving for me. College can be overwhelming and sometimes lonely. I love being able to show up for people who might need someone. This year, I really hope that we can spread the word about CogWell and invite more people to our meetings. I think it would be really fun to collaborate with more clubs and just get CogWell more involved all around campus.