Ann Giombetti

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Former Director of MOVE

What involvement did/do you have with MOVE? What program did/do you volunteer with and/or lead? What years?
MOVE Director – a lot of years in the ’90s

What’s your MOVE story?
It’s impossible to pick one story—basically I was and continue to be inspired by the passion, courage, ingenuity and kindness always evidenced by MOVE team leaders and volunteers. Whether in New Orleans cleaning a house filled with debris left by Katrina, or eating Irish soda bread on St. Patrick’s Day in Hartford after working at a shelter for homeless folks, or sleeping in cots in Immokalee, FL, after helping to build a home for Habitat for Humanity, students always demonstrated empathy and a commitment to be of service.

In what ways did/does MOVE impact you?
I was inspired to become a registered nurse after my own personal witness of a nurse I met in Hartford, CT, and the work she was doing with individuals who were homeless at that time. Also, my travels through Calcutta and Haiti only reinforced my ideas of the role that a public health nurse could have on a community. After leaving MOVE I went to nursing school at UVM (even though I was very old at the time) and became a public health nurse. Thank you MOVE for the opportunity to have my eyes opened to the possibility of fulfilling a childhood dream.

Anything else you would like to add?
I am grateful to every student volunteer that I had the opportunity to meet and be inspired by during my time at St. Michael’s. Truly, the work was my calling and I will always hold you deep within my heart.