Fellow Spotlight: 2022 AmeriCorps Alum Segal Fellow Gabyliz Machado
“Because of the Segal Program, I have been able to meet incredible people who are positively impacting their communities every day and who inspire me to keep going and work towards a greater good.”
2022 AmeriCorps Alum Segal Fellow Gabyliz Machado holds a BA in Global Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gaby has worked for a variety of non-profit organizations committed to reducing disparities and advancing equity across Chicago for young people of color and families.
Gabyliz currently works as a Recruiter for City Year, a national service organization and education non-profit, and is also a certified yoga teacher, which is something she is very passionate about. In her role at City Year, she builds school and community partnerships to engage with college students and teach them about our gap-year service opportunity, where they serve as full-time tutors and mentors for youth. Gabyliz shares, “I’m grateful that I have a lot of creative freedom in my role when it comes to recruitment. I have been able to experiment with different virtual and on-campus workshops related to professional and personal development skills, such as resume workshops, interview prep, career exploration activities like career mapping, and teaching breathwork and visualization activities that promote rest, self-compassion, and self-reflection as students contemplate their life after graduation. I have also been able to lead activities like these for currently serving AmeriCorps members who participate in our ‘Recruitment Reserves’ committee at City Year.”
Gabliz is passionate about the eight dimensions of wellness, which include social, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, and occupational wellness. She shares, “I try to tailor my workshops towards topics related to students’ physical, emotional, and occupational wellness. This upcoming school year, I am looking forward to doing even more on-campus workshops for college students that incorporate mindfulness and breathwork activities to help students manage stress and anxiety, especially as it relates to schoolwork, career planning, and life in general. I would love to do these movement, mindfulness, and reflection activities with Chicago Public Schools students that we serve at City Year Chicago.” Overall, Gabyliz hopes to incorporate movement, mindfulness, and breathwork into my daily life and work this year. She shared that she is grateful to be a part of the Segal network because “I get to interact with amazing change agents via social media, in person, and at online gatherings. I am also grateful that I got to co-lead a movement and reflection workshop for Segal Fellows at our 2023 retreat.”
As far as future plans go, Gabyliz hopes to return to graduate school in the near future. She is considering a master’s program in journalism with a focus on storytelling. Gabyliz is exploring graduate programs in her hometown, Chicago, as well as in Arizona. She shares, “I am anticipating a lot of change in the next year or so, which is exciting!”
Fellow in Action Highlights
Learn more about how our Segal Fellows are also making a difference across fields and throughout the COVID pandemic.
Segal Fellow COVID-19 Frontline Workers
Segal Fellows Election Spotlight