Alessia Riccio

Alessia Riccio is a graduate in Public Relations from the College of Communication with a minor in Political Science. Through the NLC Menino Fellowship, Riccio spent the fall semester of 2016 under the mentorship of IOC Director and Political Science Professor Graham Wilson in an on-campus Directed Study program. She spent the 2017 spring semester in Boston University’s (BU) Washington, DC study abroad program, where she took classes and participate in a paid internship with the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families.

Through her Directed Study and her internship with the NLC, Riccio researched on the relationship between family economic success and early childhood education and literacy opportunities. Riccio investigated the policies and practices of five cities in the United States to inform what factors are the greatest influence on educational opportunity and success for families of varying economic means.

Riccio is an experienced advocate as the Southeast Regional Team Advocacy Chair for the America Cancer Society. In this role, Riccio worked as a mentor for schools around the country to educate students on advocacy and recruitment techniques for local chapters of the American Cancer Society: Cancer Action Network. In her Fall 2016 semester, Riccio has attended National Lobby Day in Washington, DC to spread awareness of the rising costs of healthcare.

On campus, Riccio was the Vice President of Operation for the Kappa Delta Sorority where she regularly organized chapter events, including campus workshops for Girl Scouts and Boston University women to assist in professional development and confidence building. Riccio has also served as the Communications and Development intern for Reach Out and Read, a Boston-based American non-profit organization that advocates for childhood literacy.

Learn more about the NLC Menino Fellowship.