Meet University of Iowa alumni Claire Mraz, 22, who studied Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. She graduated in 2014 and now works at the Young Women’s Resource Center (YRWC) in Des Moines, Iowa. During her time at Iowa, she was involved in the Feminist Union, which is a student organization on campus that discusses current events and ties them into the feminist issues.
How did the University of Iowa prepare you for your job in the “real world?”
Honestly, school is different from the working world. I don’t know if, aside from internships, there is a real way to prepare for the switch. But I know the social sciences sometimes get a hard time for being the “easy majors” as opposed to engineering, pre-med, etc, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Both of my departments kept me busy, challenged, and working hard. Time management, networking, finding your own communities of shared passions: those are all various ways my time at UI prepared me for post-graduate life.
Tell us about your position at the YWRC in Des Moines.
The Young Women’s Resource Center is a feminist non-profit agency in my hometown of Des Moines. As a Prevention Program Specialist, I facilitate after-school groups with 8th graders as well as smaller girls’ groups within the Des Moines Public Schools with girls in 5th through 8th grades. I prepare lessons and activities, engage the girls in meaningful discussion, and build relationships with the girls in my group to be a supportive adult for them.
How did you decide to major in GWSS?
I signed up for the lecture “Gender, Race, and Class in the US” the spring of my freshman year and haven’t stopped talking about it since. The class broke down and discussed all the complex systems of privilege and inequality in our society, ranging from sexism and patriarchy to the ways income, education, housing, and public school placement are all inter-connected. It sparked my passion for learning and talking about feminist issues, and I declared my major that semester.
What’s your favorite class you took for your major?
Writing About Girls, with Mary Ann Rasmussen was a great class. We read stories written by girls and women about their experiences with girlhood, poverty, abuse, privilege, and so on. It was full of great readings, films, conversations, and peers. I also loved the Senior Research Seminar, where all GWSS majors research and write a thesis on the topic of their choice. I chose to expand my project to 2 semesters and wrote about how the mainstream news media writes about first ladies in gendered and limiting ways. I know spending a whole semester writing a research paper may sound awful, but the final product is some of the work I’m most proud of, and you get to collaborate and critique with fellow majors who are brilliant, hilarious, supportive company.
What can students looking into a degree in GWSS expect from this major?
You can expect to meet all kinds of brilliant, unique, passionate people who love the same things you do. We spend time in the classroom talking about the latest blockbuster film, the lyrics of Lady Gaga songs, current news events and tragedies, moments in history, and just about anything else you can think of. You are able to learn about such a huge variety of things, all tailored to your interests, because the department helps you study and analyze them with an intersectional, feminist perspective. You can expect to laugh out loud in class, make awesome friends, and find faculty and professors who take a genuine interest in mentoring you.
What experiences did you take with you from your time at The University of Iowa?
I grew a lot as a person during my time at Iowa. I met a ton of people, discovered my passion, took on internships, learned about so many new and complex ideas, and fell in love with the campus and city.