R-FH Grad Creates Major in College

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School graduate Gianna Maita has met what you may call a major challenge.

Shortly after she began attending classes at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Maita realized that a Justice and Peace major (JUPS) would be a worthwhile addition to her school's program.

Maita, a 2011 R-FH graduate, felt strongly that a JUPS major would be in keeping with the Jesuit tradition of "women and men for others," making it a major of prime interest and importance in today's world.

In addition, she said she believed that it would provide students with "a new way of looking at the world, which is something we need more and more each day." The Georgetown sophomore is now on a clear path to making her dream a reality, not only for herself but for her classmates and future students as well.

Maita worked with fellow students to conduct research and present evidence of the need for a JUPS major to the school's faculty. Once the faculty was "on board," the plan successfully gained budget approval from Chester Gillis, the Dean of the College.

With this hurdle cleared, Maita and her fellow students are now collaborating on the proposal for the major with with several faculty members including Andria Wisler, Director of the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown.

While she acknowledges that there are "still a few more hoops to jump through," Maita is confident that the new Justice and Peace Major could be officially declared as early as next year.

"It is wonderful to be able to help shape my undergraduate education in such a unique way, and to know that my efforts will affect the Georgetown students even after I graduate," Gianna said. "It would be great to see other R-FH graduates take the initiative to begin or expand a program like this at their own universities."

JUPS course offerings at Georgetown include Nonviolence Theory and Practice, Conflict Studies, Global Health Ethics, Theologies of Social Justice, Transitional Justice, Labor/Sexuality/Globalization, and Violence, Gender, and Human Rights.

Gianna Maita is the daughter of Maria and Salvatore Maita of Fair Haven.