Shelby Hoffman
By Victoria Williams
When Shelby Hoffman started her academic career at DePaul, she was confident in her decision to major in International Studies. Little did she know, her first professor would be instrumental in helping discover a new, exciting career path.
“When I started my Discover Chicago class, I met with my professor to talk about an internship, and she encouraged me to look into the Women and Gender Studies Program. Because of that class, I got my first job as a DePaul student four months later. It really set me on the path to who I am today.”
Title IX Compliance Support Assistant at DePaul
BA Political Science 2019
BA Women’s and Gender Studies 2019
Shelby changed her major from International Studies to Political Science and Women and Gender Studies (WGS). At DePaul, the WGS program emphasizes feminist and social justice theory with focuses on agency, social responsibility, advocacy and activism.
Shelby became involved with Take Back the Halls, a relationship violence prevention program, and worked with high school freshmen at DePaul College Prep High School. This experience helped her develop a strong passion for working with survivors of sexual and relationship violence. Take Back the Halls creates a space for students to talk about issues affecting their lives, generate ways to raise public awareness, encourages students to speak out against violence, and advocates for change in their schools and communities.
“When I started my Discover Chicago class, I met with my Professor to talk about an internship, and she encouraged me to look into the Women and Gender Studies Program. Because of that class, I got my first job as a DePaul student four months later. It really set me on a path to discover who I am today.”
“I’m very passionate about reproductive justice, and maternal and infant birth outcomes. I know I want to do this work for the rest of my life.”
During Shelby’s junior year at DePaul, she studied abroad in Ireland and conducted research on political issues during her parliamentary internship. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience both research and politics in a global context.
During her senior year, Shelby worked for Resilience Chicago where she worked directly with sexual assault survivors in the E.R. Shelby is there to give resources, information, and explain legal processes.
