Meet the PDOs

Jamie Luo was the PDO for the Writing Center at the Office of Academic Support. As a freshman at NYU, but native New Jerseyan, she is figuring out what she wanted to do in life, but leaned towards majoring in history and economics. She always loved to write in her free time and also wanted to work on publishing academic research in the future, so working at the Writing Center was a perfect match for her. She interviewed our writing consultants (check it out here!) so students could learn more about who they are.  As a PDO, she appreciated the opportunity to learn what an actual work environment is like, and also enjoyed collaborating with and meeting people from different backgrounds. 

Rory Fox was the PDO for the library in the Office of Academic Support. Originally from Boston, she always hoped to study Cinema Studies or English Education at  NYU Tisch. She has always been interested in working in education, so working at the library was a great space for her to be directly connected to it. At the library, she worked to grow the library’s outreach and connections so more students will utilize its resources. The last project she worked on was a curation of books by Italian authors of various genres paired with American titles we love! Her favorite part of working at the PDO was the opportunity to use her creativity with people and collaborating with fellow PDOs. 

Lyhn Estrada was the PDO for Social Media in the Office of Academic Support. She is originally from El Paso, Texas and is a sophomore at NYU, majoring in Psychology with a minor in ASL. As the social media PDO, she helped make content for the NYU Florence Instagram and assisted other PDOs in making promotional content as well. She is interested in making social media content herself, and saw this opportunity as a great way to fuel her creativity. Her favorite part of being a PDO was collaborating with different PDOs and making social media content. 

Blaise Feury was the Digital Studio PDO for both the Digital Studio and the Office of Academic Support. He is from Atlanta, Georgia and is a NYU junior majoring in Global Liberal Studies with a minor in Integrated Design Media. As a PDO, he was responsible for proposing a style guide signage around Villa Ulivi and also researches Artificial Intelligence in academia. He is interested in Artificial Intelligence and graphic design, and saw the PDO opportunity as a great opportunity to continue to develop his interests in both areas. His favorite part of working as a PDO was collaborating with the other PDO positions.

Bella Santangelo was one of the PDOs for the Digital Studio. She is originally from New York, and is a junior at NYU studying Global Liberal Studies. Through her PDO, she helped curate NYU Florence’s social media account by editing digital content and also worked with other PDOs to create social media posts. She is interested in creating online content and also potentially starting her own podcast, so she found that the Digital Studio helped her develop her digital skills, while also allowing her to get a behind-the-scenes look at content production. She also worked on expanding a radio project with NovaRadio. Her favorite part about her PDO position was collaborating with the professors she worked with as well as other PDO members. 

Sara Milanfar was one of the PDOs for the Digital Studio. Originally from California, she is a senior at NYU studying Psychology and Filmmaking. At the Digital Studio, she helped edit photos and videos for NYU Florence’s social media accounts. She loves filmmaking and editing and found that the Digital Studio was a great way to develop her interests. Her favorite part of working as a PDO was strengthening her Premiere Pro editing skills and also making connections with other PDO members. 

Alaina Moya was the PDO for Student Activities in the Office of Student Life. She is from New Jersey and was triple majoring in Medical Ethics, Social Epidemiology, and Communications as a Sophomore in Gallatin at NYU. As the liaison between OSL staff and students, she worked closely with student leaders in clubs to make sure that all club events went smoothly. Alaina is interested in interpersonal communication and data analytics, and found that her administrative position was a perfect intersection between her interests. She also worked to create a club database. Her favorite part of the PDO opportunity was the engagement between staff and students, and seeing how each role played a part in working towards a collective goal. 

Ava Morelli was the Digital Media PDO for the Office of Student life. Originally from Massachusetts, she is a NYU Junior majoring in Global Liberal Studies. As a Digital Media PDO, she helped advertise and create content about the different events and opportunities that happened on campus. For instance, one of her projects consisted of creating a video tutorial on how to sign up for events. She is interested in marketing and social media, so the PDO opportunity helped her to further develop her academic interests. Her favorite part of being a PDO was creating content showcasing the events at NYU Florence. 

Phoebe Price was one of the PDO’s for Villa La Pietra. She is a junior at Williams College as an Art History major. At the museum, she helped to give tours to visitors, assisted museum meetings and talks, and also worked on projects within the collection as well. She is interested in art research and was extremely excited to learn that NYU Florence had such a wonderful campus museum. At the museum, she assisted with the curation of an upcoming exhibition about the Acton children. As a PDO, she loved learning more about the history of the museum through various projects. 

Kayla Zur was one of the PDOs for Villa La Pietra. She is originally from New Jersey, and is a senior at NYU studying both Art History and Urban Design & Architecture. At Villa La Pietra, she helped to give tours of the museum and also worked with archiving some of the pieces. She has a specific interest in museum studies, and found that her PDO matched both her academic and personal passions. She was responsible for working on the exhibit, “Growing up at the Villa” which was on display starting November 21, 2023. Her favorite part of her PDO was organizing and archiving/digitizing the vast collection found in Villa La Pietra.

Insiya Motiwala was one of the PDOs for Villa La Pietra. She is originally from Georgia and Pakistan, and is an Art History major at NYU Abu Dhabi. At the Villa, she helped to give tours of the museum and the surrounding gardens. She helped to work on curation projects such as “Growing up Together” and “Garden Voices.” She hopes to work at a museum later in life and saw the PDO opportunity as a great way to experience how a museum operates. Her favorite part of her position was the “Garden Voices” project as it combined her interest in digital accessibility with the arts. 

Sophia Petrone was the PDO for Sustainability. Originally from New Jersey, she is a NYU Junior in Global Liberal Studies with a concentration in Sustainability, Health, and the Environment. She is interested in sustainability across all fields and felt that her experience in the PDO program helped her develop her senior thesis. As a PDO, she worked on improving existing sustainability initiatives and starting new ones on campus. One example was the Halloween event where students learned about the pollinators on campus. Her favorite part about working as a PDO was planning trips that revolve around sustainability, such as the trip to the sustainable leather workshop, and collaborating on projects with other PDOs.