As Administrative Coordinator for the Graduate Student Center, Callaia (she/her) supports the daily operations of the Center and serves as a first point of contact for Penn's graduate students. She answers questions about graduate student spaces and services, helps students connect with campus resources, and works to ensure that the Grad Center remains a welcoming space for Penn’s graduate community.
Originally from South Jersey, Callaia received her B.A.s in Psychology and Philosophy & Religion from Rowan University, where she served as secretary of Avant Literary Magazine and co-founded the interfaith meditation group OMS. She went on to study Counseling Psychology at Temple University while working full-time as a department manager at Rowan’s Barnes & Noble. After moving to the other side of the river in 2018, Callaia spent several years as an Assistant Manager in the medical cannabis industry before her current transition into higher education. Though the settings have varied, Callaia consistently finds herself drawn to spaces where operational work and human connection are inseparable.
Outside of work, Callaia is actively involved in the city’s dance music community as both a DJ and the organizer of Queer Dance Philly, a project dedicated to helping people discover and connect with queer dance events throughout Philadelphia. In her spare time she enjoys working on her daily crossword, draining threes on the basketball court, and cuddling on the couch with her cat, Sophie.
