Hi there!

My name is Valentina Cossio and I'm a senior acccounting and finance major at Bona's. These past three+ years participating and engaging with the Warming House have been filled with so many sweet memories and I'm so grateful for the wonderful people I've met and gotten to know much better. What started as a one-time volunteer opportunity because my roommate was going, developed into one of my favorite activities at Bonaventure of all time. The summer after my freshman year is where I dove into the Warming House, during the Farm to Table program held every year wherein I worked at Canticle Farm in the morning and at the Warming House most afternoons. To say that it was a fun a rewarding experience is an understatement. Thanks to the connections I made that summer and the following year, the warming house became my centering place, a light that kept me grounded and continues to help me grow into what I want to be.

Being a coordinator since my Sophomore year is a role that I've treasured thanks to all the wonderful guests and volunteers that make the Warming House a special place to come home to. The guests make the time I spend at the Warming House so incredibly valuable, I look forward to seeing their smiling faces and become engrossed in conversation or stories about their early lives or current happenings. Being able to work with such amazing volunteers and coordinators makes this a learning experience as well as a fun one. I plan on being in this program until the end of my time at Bona's, but something that I've learned over the past few years is that this program isn't confined to the academic year, and it will definitely transcend my time here as a student.