November 24, 2025
Paige Dufur's path to MCLA, and now to graduate school, wasn't what she originally planned. After a brain surgery made welding school unsafe, the McCann Tech graduate took a chance on MCLA with a scholarship in hand. Four years, eight major changes, and countless leadership experiences later, she's heading to UMass Amherst to pursue a Master's in Public Policy, and she'll be the first in her family to earn a graduate degree.
"I looked into MCLA and decided it was where I was going to apply and it was the only school as well," Dufur says. She applied the summer before her senior year, just one day after applications opened. A few months later, she received her acceptance letter along with the Paul E. Tsongas scholarship covering full tuition and fees.
Since arriving at MCLA in fall 2022, Dufur has made the college her home, even as a commuter student for all four years. "MCLA has become my home away from home," she says. "I have had the opportunity to meet so many people, form numerous connections, and learn life lessons that will stay with me forever."
But finding her academic home took time. Dufur changed her major eight times during her college career, exploring different paths and possibilities before landing on a double major in sociology and political science. For a while, law school seemed like the answer. "I discovered I didn't want to be a lawyer," she explains. "One thing that I have known for certain this whole time is that I love helping people and I really dislike inequality."
She found guidance from several faculty members who helped her navigate her academic journey. "I have specifically received a lot of guidance from Dr. Kerri Nicoll, Dr. Dave Cupery, and Dr. Samantha Pettey," Dufur says. "They helped me by emailing with me back and forth numerous times, talking after class, and through advising meetings."
Throughout her time at MCLA, Dufur took on increasingly significant leadership roles.
She started as Political Science Club treasurer and SGA senator her freshman year, then served as student trustee for the Board of Trustees
and SGA her sophomore year. For her junior and senior years, she served as SGA president.
"My most meaningful position that I have worked in is being SGA president because
the executive board and I have made impactful changes to campus," she says.
She also worked in various campus positions each semester, including a summer as a rental assistant in the President's Office while simultaneously completing a three-credit internship with the AYJ Fund in North Adams. "I enjoyed working in the President's Office because it was a great environment and I was able to be part of some important meetings," she says. "I also made a lot of new connections."
During spring 2025, Dufur had a chance encounter that would set her on a new path. Tess, an admissions counselor from the UMass School of Public Policy, was tabling in the campus center. "I decided to go talk to her," Dufur says. "I learned about the 12-month Master's in Public Affairs, now the Master's in Public Policy program and I fell in love."
She researched careers in the field and found her perfect fit: policy analyst. "It's the perfect occupation for me because it involves working with law and helping people, without having to become a lawyer," she says.
Her leadership experience at MCLA helped her earn the Commonwealth Policy Fellowship at UMass, and she credits the college with preparing her well for graduate-level work through enhanced research, writing, and critical thinking skills.
As she prepares to begin her graduate program at UMass Amherst, Dufur is excited about reaching an important milestone. "I also look forward to being the first person in my family to hold a Master's degree."
After completing her master's degree, Dufur hopes to work as a policy analyst for a nonprofit, government agency, or university, positions where she can combine her passion for helping people with her commitment to addressing inequality.
