Women's and Gender Studies Ambassadors | College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Women's and Gender Studies Ambassadors

Mars Smietana

Contact Mars at CLASSambassadors@unt.edu

Degree(s): B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in LGBTQ Studies (in progress)

Favorite Course(s): Intro to Women's & Gender Studies, Chaucer, and Inequality, Social Justice, & the City

Something I wish I knew as a Freshman: It's so important to establish good communication with your professors!! The better they know you, the better they can help you succeed in their class.

Why did you become an ambassador? I became an ambassador because my Intro to WGST course gave me a totally new perspective on the world and I think that more students should study WGST.

What is your favorite memory from your time at UNT? One of my favorite memories is when a professor who always graded my work harshly (but fairly) gave me a perfect score on my final project. I had grown so much in the two semesters I had this professor and really felt like I earned that score.

How do you plan to use your degree? I hope to go on to get a Master's in Divinity and work in LGBTQ affirming ministry.


Marija Ivanic

Contact Marija at CLASSambassadors@unt.edu

Degree(s): B.S in Psychology, Minor in WGST

Favorite Course(s): Psychophysiology, Women's Literature

Something I wish I knew as a Freshman: No one is judging you as hard as you are judging yourself, go easy on yourself. Also, there are cameras in most, if not all, elevators.

Why did you become an ambassador? I have been looking for a way for my voice to be heard, respected and sometimes even feared on campus. I also love gender studies, hate the binary. You can be whatever you want, regardless of the options society gives you.

What is your favorite memory from your time at UNT? Everybody loves to hate on dorm life and pretend it wasn't a good first venture into independence, and I don't get it. Some of my best memories take place in dorm rooms, where super wholesome, upstanding, and constitutional stuff went down.

How do you plan to use your degree? Honestly, I really want to be a mad psychologist and do crazy brain experiments, but unfortunately, I have morals and the ability to feel sympathy. So instead, I plan to be involved in research on consciousness altering substances and their usage in psychotherapy, and related fields.