UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Maggie Day took full advantage of Penn State’s many resources to explore her interests and make her voice heard.
Day recently received bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and education and public policy with a minor in women’s studies, building an academic path that perfectly aligned with her passions and career goals. Day served as the education and public policy student marshal at the College of Education’s commencement ceremony this past May.
“I actually was a swim instructor, so I could always see myself teaching,” Day said. “I had been very interested in public policy and advocacy, so I was looking on the Undergraduate Bulletin one day and sort of stumbled upon the education and public policy major and it ended up being perfect.”
Day credits the faculty within the College of the Liberal Arts for encouraging her to pursue the Spanish major and allowing her to see the opportunities within the field.
“I had always loved the language, and I had taken Spanish classes all throughout high school,” Day said. “I wasn’t planning on majoring in it, but I had taken SPAN 100 with Susana García-Prudencio and she really encouraged me to explore adding it as a major. That summer, I went on a six-week study abroad program with her in Ronda, Spain, and a four-week study abroad program with her in Cádiz, Spain, and was able to get 16 credits toward my major.”
Day’s activities stretched well beyond the classroom. She served as a social media marketing intern for the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, helping to promote the department’s academic programs, events and education abroad opportunities to current and prospective students.
In her second year, Day took a history of reproductive justice course taught by Susanne M. Klausen, Brill Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and an expert on reproductive justice. After that, Day became passionate about the issue and decided to form an on-campus organization dedicated to it. For help, she consulted Klausen, who in 2022 established the Penn State Reproductive Justice Project to further research and teaching about reproductive justice.
Day founded a student organization called the Reproductive Justice Project at Penn State in fall of 2023. Serving as the organization’s executive director, she worked with her fellow members to advance reproductive justice efforts at Penn State, be it educating students about the four tenets of reproductive justice — the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, the right to raise children in safe and sustainable communities, and the right to bodily autonomy — or holding a Reproductive Advocacy Week in March alongside other campus student organizations. Klausen served as the group’s adviser. In May 2024, Day also participated in Klausen’s three-week faculty-led program studying reproductive justice in South Africa.
“When I was looking into starting our org, I wanted to make sure we weren’t overstepping other organizations doing similar work,” Day said. “I found that there’s really a need for this club but also space to collaborate with other orgs and support what they’re doing.”
The Reproductive Justice Project also collaborates with other women’s rights organizations by holding roundtable discussions to discuss shared goals and how they can best support each other in achieving their respective missions.