My name is Nya Gavin. I was born on November, 24 in Baltimore, MD. When I was six, I moved to Boston, MA. After moving I attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mission Hill until sixth grade. This September I will be starting my sixth and final year at Boston Latin School.

Throughout my life I have discovered that I have two passions: cheerleading, and working with children. I have volunteered my time with Cradles to Crayons, Christmas in the City, and Sunset Point Camp. But two years ago I received the opportunity to do both the things I love by Junior Coaching a Pop Warner Cheerleading Squad. It was a humbling experience to give back to the community that had been there for me since I was seven. It was also amazing to watch my team work hard in order to be the first city team to make it to Nationals held in Disney World.

Public Service is something that I have always been interested in, but that experience helped verify that it would be best option for me but just in a larger scale. I know I want to go into law but I am unsure direction I want to go in since there are so many different options. Sometimes I think of pursuing juvenile and family law, but other times I go in the opposite direction with something such as white-collar crime. One dream that I do have is to be an FBI Agent. Before this summer I thought I was crazy to think I’d even have a chance of joining the FBI, but State Representative, Marty Walsh told us that it is okay to dream big.

This summer I am working at the University of Massachusetts Building Authority under Katherine Craven and Candace Hensley. I was a bit nervous to start my job after hearing that we had to read a report that was twelve volumes long. However, it has been extremely interesting to read about the Special Ward Commission and the history of University of Massachusetts Boston and the corruption that surrounded the building of this University, and other state and county buildings. The other fellows and I are also able to see the great work done by John William Ward during his lifetime and the legacy he left such as the creation of the Inspector General’s office.