Gabe Casanave-Cohen’s academic journey has had its ups and downs, and one of those dips led to him withdrawing from a prestigious four-year college five years ago. But his recent experience at Great Bay Community
College is ending on a positive note.
He recently graduated with an Associate of Arts in Psychology. “This is a huge personal achievement for me. I am proud of the strides I have taken in embracing my own journey” said Casanave-Cohen, who intends to use his degree to enter the world of public policy and politics. “The support services I have received at GBCC and the professors who have encouraged me have helped me overcome some challenges. I was able to not let them get in the way of achieving what I wanted to achieve.”
Casanave-Cohen grew up in Newmarket and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover. He followed the well-worn path of many of his peers, enrolling in a reputable four-year college in the Midwest with the intention of finding a successful career.
It didn’t go well.
“It seemed like a really great place, but it turned out not to be for me. My mental health suffered, and I discovered I was dealing with major depression. It was time to come home,” he said.
He returned to New Hampshire in January 2020, midway through his sophomore year and at the outset of the pandemic. The coincidence of a personal crisis with a global pandemic compounded emotions of isolation, loneliness, and fear of failure. Uncertain of the future, he struggled “to keep my head up and keep trying.”
Things improved when he found a community of friends and a sense of purpose working at a popular local grocery store. Hoping to stay connected to higher education, he took classes as a non-matriculated student at the University of New Hampshire. That experience reinforced his desire to resume his education more formally, but not at the expense of the working life and social networks he was beginning to rebuild.
“I figured out that I wanted to be doing work or some non-academic related activity while I was in school, and I realized Great Bay gave me the best opportunity to do that,” he said.
He enrolled at Great Bay in spring 2022. This time around, his college experience was much better—but still not without its challenges. Casanave-Cohen struggled during his first semester at Great Bay and depended on academic counseling and other services offered by Center for Academic Planning and Support (CAPS).
He expressed particular appreciation for Jenna Anand, Director of the Academic Planning and Support, who worked with Casanave-Cohen individually to get on track so he could stay in school and complete his degree.
“Coming off my other college experience with the depression and the crippling fear of failure put a dent in my academics at first. I had my ups and downs, but I gradually took the pressure off myself and learned for the sake of learning. That helped keep me grounded and not feel like I had this giant academic monstrosity hanging over me all the time,” he said.
“It is such a supportive environment in so many ways, and the support services I have received here at Great Bay are far superior to the support services I had at the college I attended in the Midwest. Great Bay is able to cater to every student, no matter their path.”
Great Bay’s small class sizes allowed him to make friends and get a better grasp of the material being presented in the classroom. “All the other students I have met are dedicated, interesting people. They are there because they want to be there, like me, and they want to learn and move up in life. I can feel that vibration.”
He’s uncertain of his immediate future, but his plans generally involve working for a public policy organization in New England or in Washington, D.C., a political campaign, or a field office of an elected official. He has experience in the political and policy realms, with statewide campaigns and regional advocacy organizations.
He has considered using his psychology degree to move into the counseling field and may opt to explore a four-year school in the future that would enable him to pursue that career path. For now, though, the opportunity to improve lives across society is more appealing.
“Being able to interact with constituents on a one-on-one basis is inspiring. To hear their stories and then be able to do something to help solve their problems is really gratifying work,” he said. “I want to use what I have learned in my psychology classes to connect people’s mental wellbeing to society’s wellbeing and show how society can lift people up or push people down.”
