If you happen to attend history club on Tuesday evenings, after a possibly long session of a Student Association meeting, or walk through the Campus Center at 6:55 on a Saturday morning, it is impossible to avoid the welcoming face of Gabrielle Reimann.
Reimann is a junior at SUNY Oswego and is a dual major in history and political science. In her two and a half years here, Reimann has defined campus student involvement and charisma, for purposes benefiting both her own personal life and the college as a whole. Many people that know her know that she doesn’t sit still for very long. She is a member of the Political Science Club, a two-term president of the History Club, a recently inducted SA senator, a member of VEGA, the Junior-Senior Women’s Honor Society, and an employee of Campus Life, who works as a building manager in Campus Center. She does all of this while also finding a spot on the President’s List for her grades last semester.
“I had the privilege of having Gabrielle in my beginning poetry writing class,” English and creative writing professor Charles Itzen said. “She was an excellent writer and tremendous role model for the other students. Gabrielle has really taken advantage of the multitude of educational and professional opportunities at SUNY Oswego. She is everywhere. I used to joke with her that the college will probably have to close when she graduates. She certainly represents the best of SUNY Oswego.”
Reimann during her induction ceremony for VEGA, SUNY Oswego’s Junior-Senior Women’s Honor Society
When she is at her home in Somers, New York when school is not in session, Reimann works at a day camp, various retail stores, Subway, and is a certified EMT and volunteers for emergency services.
“Gabbi is one person I know who has been through a lot but still manages to do absolutely everything she can,” History Club vice president Jackie Giotta said. “She lets nothing stop her. She truly does not let one thing bring her down, and she rises high above all of that.”
Over this past winter break, Reimann interned at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and at age 19, was even offered a job by Al Jazeera, an Arab satellite television network.
“I want to be in a classroom teaching somewhere, probably in a school that’s not well off because in a country where so much is expected from us, so many kids don’t get the adequate education and attention they need. If I can change the academic success of one kid, that’s one future I can help,” Reimann said.
As if she doesn’t do a lot as it is, Reimann said that she would still like to find time in her schedule to pledge Alpha Phi Omega, national coeducational leadership service organization, and join SAVAC (Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corps.) Reimann will also be spending her spring break in Florence Alabama, volunteering for Habit for Humanity, an international organization that builds affordable houses for low income families.
“If you want to be successful and you want to be a well rounded individual, the person people look at and say, ‘hey, this person is in control of what she wants to do and she wants to make something of herself,’ you have to make sacrifices, which might be really time consuming, to develop your resume and learn things that you don’t know,” Reimann said. “Because every day’s a learning experience so the only way you’re going to learn to the extent that you want to is to go out and do stuff.”