Samantha DeGrasse ’03 began her college career at Manhattanville as a psychology major, but during her sophomore year, she decided to change her major to Sociology with a focus on social work. When she first graduated, she was unsure what to do with her degree; twenty years later she is happily utilizing her sociology degree in special education. Samantha gives special praise and mention to her guidance counselor, Uriel Reid, who offered her great support and encouragement throughout her four years here. Samantha still says after all these years, “I absolutely treasured him.” Samantha cherished her time at Manhattanville from the start. She loved the small class sizes, and the freshman summer programs which she took advantage of as a first-year student. She also mentions the great diversity of students at Manhattanville, that became true friends of hers while here. Samantha gives credit to this for preparing her for a real-world working environment. This was valuable to Samantha for the chance to communicate and work with people from other cultures and ethnicities. Samantha gives a lot of credit to Manhattanville saying that the school prepared her for the path she is on today.  

 In addition to Samantha’s professional career in special education, in 2018 she also founded a non-profit called Build Her A Bridge. Her non-profit helps young girls in and out of juvenile detention centers, providing life-skills classes and access to resources they wouldn’t otherwise have. Build Her A Bridge also focuses on improving teen girls' mental health by doing several things: assisting families by offsetting the cost of counseling; providing mentorship; and giving valuable resources for food, clothing, employment, housing, and education/ continuing education.  Samantha is a big believer in the benefits of counseling and therapy, including art therapy and music therapy. Samantha is proud of her work, truly giving back to the community in which she lives, works and plays in the Nashville area. It is her desire to continue to build on the foundation that she created.