Student Spotlight – Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan
This month, the spotlight is on Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan. Tammy is a Ph.D. student with a major in Humanities & Culture and a concentration in the graduate certificate in Women’s & Gender Studies. Tammy is a poet and recently named Long Island Poet of the Year by the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. She earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for, “Let Me Tell You Something” in 2006. She was also the Suffolk County Poet Laureate from 2009-2011, the first female to hold that position.
Learn more about Tammy and why she chose Union in the Q&A below.
Q. What do you plan to do with your degree?
A. I would like to be a full-time professor, while seeking my CPT (Certified Poetry Therapist). I want to work with those that are in need of healing, and whom among us aren’t in need of healing?
Q. What led you to this program?
A. I started out thinking that this was the route to getting a full-time professorship, but while my journey proceeded I found I was more concerned with social issues.
Q. Why did you choose Union for your studies?
A. I had heard of Union from several other scholars, and checked out Union by searching reviews. I was searching for a positive experience, and not just an education. I wanted to belong to something that embodied my values concerning our input in the human experience. I wanted to be part of a movement, and I found all that at Union.
Q. If you could give a piece of advice to your 20 something, what would it be?
A. Don’t wait so long in taking the first step in your journey!
Q. Who has influenced you the most in your life, and how have they influenced you?
A. My foster mother, Adaline Maggio. She taught me love, loyalty, and compassion. Priscilla Ruffin, Executive Director of the East End Hospice, she allowed me to learn how to live after the death of my son. My husband and children, Joseph, Vinny & Eliza, they influence my day-to-day actions.