{"id":49608,"date":"2025-11-26T19:42:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/?p=49608"},"modified":"2025-11-26T19:42:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:42:53","slug":"nicole-mattiacci-reaches-for-her-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knightcrier.org\/top-stories\/2025\/11\/26\/nicole-mattiacci-reaches-for-her-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Mattiacci reaches for her future"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many, doing as much as they possibly can in high school is all in the hopes of an easier transition into college. AP classes, honor roll, extracurriculars, and building portfolios\u2026 all while holding on to the hope that the hard work will one day pay off. North Penn High School alum Nicole Mattiacci claims that it does.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In February of the 2022-2023 school year, Knight Crier Staff Writer Yamuni Kaijumi wrote a profile article on a senior named Nicole Mattiacci. Kaijumi commented on Mattiacci\u2019s dreams of potentially <\/span>\u201chelp[ing] address and resolve environmental issues on a global scale,\u201d<\/span><\/a> and her great displays of leadership in her various activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years later, in 2025, as a junior at Mount Holyoke College, Mattiacci has made big leaps towards her goal of becoming involved in international environmental conversations and shares wisdom about her own experiences as a college student.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of what I\u2019m involved in right now in college in comparison to North Penn, I would say that a lot of what I\u2019m doing is really just an extension of what I did [back then],\u201d Mattiacci explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mattiacci is currently the director general of Mount Holyoke\u2019s Five College Model UN Conference, the committee chair in student government, an environmental policy research assistant, an admissions\u2019 ambassador, and works for the career development center. But during her years at North Penn, she was the president of Model UN, the president of the Democrats Club, and the vice president of ENACT.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI became interested in environmental policy and just the environment in general through being in ENACT and working with the nonprofit Clean Allies that we collaborated with. It was nice being in ENACT for those two years and then that was kind of a great gateway into environmental leadership,\u201d Mattiacci recounted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mattiacci is a double major in international relations and environmental studies, and also finds time for her various extracurriculars. The benefits of a double major are that a person can find where their separate passions overlap, but this path comes with a completely different workload.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of knew what I wanted to study through classes in high school and through getting involved in organizations, and I found a lot of interconnectedness between my two majors as well. The topic of my research right now is global environmental governance,\u201d Mattiacci said. \u201cI chose these majors for practicality because they are majors that you can apply to a lot of different things, but it\u2019s also about finding a passion as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mattiacci has found a passion for both her majors, and the opportunities that her college provides help her fulfill those dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in classes with people from all walks of life is really, really important,\u201d Mattiacci emphasized. \u201cYou\u2019ll learn as much about the world through those other people as you will in your classes.\u201d