The Good Samaritan
Name: Mary Ann Massoglia
Title: Adjunct Instructor
Education: Bachelor’s from Walden University
Ph.D. from North Carolina Central University
Department: Psychology
Experience at Bennett: Four years
A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others is how many describe Dr. Mary Ann Massoglia. While on Bennett College’s campus you’ll mainly find her teaching courses in Pfeiffer Science Hall. Dr. Massoglia is known as the “Lady in Black” who is always helping others in the community who are less fortunate.
“I find the volunteer work I do incredibly satisfying for me,” says Massoglia.
Massoglia is a professor and has taught for 30 years, but one of her top priorities is apparent if you take her class. You’ll hear quite a bit about her daughter.
“My daughter and I travel, bowl, hike and play and I am basically a guide for her.”
She says she was led into the field of psychology, because while growing up her peers would always turn to her for advice. Massoglia says she traveled abroad as a child, and that’s when she discovered her love for people. She believes interacting with different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups is the best way to get to know all people.
“I think I do service work, so I can better understand people. [I want to understand] where they are and what they have to deal with on a day to day basis.”
Massoglia along with her students recently began helping the homeless every Sunday morning in Greensboro.
“I started to do that because it was a time that I could actively involve my students. This is my way of getting students to connect to their community and realizing that there are other groups beyond race.”
She says it’s important for her students to see who the less fortunate are and how they live.
“People think people who are homeless are out their pan handling and making $50,000, but a lot of the people we work with are parents and children, they’re just like you and me.”
Massoglia says it’s very satisfying to help someone reach their goals if they’ve been down on their luck.
“When you work with people in a volunteer situation you can slowly but gradually see the fruits of your labor. I’m doing tutoring with this one guy who is working on his GED and I get joy seeing how well he does passing his test.”
Dr. Massoglia is also very involved in her church. She teaches a group of high school students about social justice issues like: capital punishment, discrimination, and racism.
“I believe that this kind of work can help change social policy, we’ve got to do something about racism, sexism, and discrimination. If you guys don’t see what it is, social policy is never going to change.”
Students who would like to volunteer with Dr. Massoglia can contact her by email at mmassoglia@bennett.edu.
By: Zipporah Sanders
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