GREENFIELD — A diverse group of Greenfield Community College alumni discussed their experiences with liberal arts education and the unique career pathways that can follow during a panel discussion at the college on Thursday afternoon.

GCC Professor Emeritus Anne Wiley co-moderated the panel, “In Our Own Voices: The Unexpected Career Paths of Liberal Arts Alums” with LaWanza Lett-Brewington, Title IX coordinator and affirmative action officer at GCC. Wiley discussed her own experience of receiving a liberal arts education, which she said contributed to her lifelong passion for activism.

“My background in diverse liberal arts courses … enabled me to work for activism and social change,” Wiley said. “We know from scholarly research that a liberal arts curriculum promotes critical thinking, deep analysis, writing and speaking — all skill sets we all need to be successful in our personal and professional relationships. We also need them to be better citizens.”

Lett-Brewington echoed Wiley’s sentiment. A GCC alumna herself, Lett-Brewington said the community college helped her find her voice before she continued her education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, earning a master’s degree in education. She worked in a variety of environments before returning to the college as the Title IX coordinator.

Panelists included Elisha Bonilla, program coordinator for the Weissman Center for Leadership at Mount Holyoke College, and Jennifer Penza, a master’s of social work candidate at Westfield State University. Panelist Sarah Reid shared an essay she wrote about her experience during and after attending GCC because it was there that she discovered her love for writing.

“GCC is where I learned how to write, and that I love to write, where I felt good about my writing,” Reid explained, “and where I felt supported in my writing.”

Reid began studying at GCC in 1996 at the age of 21. A high school dropout with a young child, Reid was concerned she would not succeed in college. However, she said she quickly found her place, concentrating in Gender and Women’s Studies.

After graduating, Reid landed an internship at Ms. Magazine before attending Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar. After what she described as a “weird three-year divergence” where she started The Lady Killigrew Cafe in Montague, Reid decided to become an interior designer.

Reid shared that she believes her liberal arts education enabled her to work in such a wide array of positions.

“Liberal arts is inherently about experiencing a wide berth of ideas, is about having a whole experience as a student,” Reid said. “A GCC liberal arts education, to my mind, is about being uniquely supported as a student. When you feel safe and supported as a student, you can imagine using your voice for others.”

Panelist Jillian Morgan shared a similar gratitude for the array of options available after receiving a liberal arts education.

As a high school student, Morgan planned to become an actress. With limited opportunities for being discovered in southern Vermont, Morgan was unsure of her next step before a guidance counselor recommended GCC.

There, Morgan concentrated in theater before getting her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After that, Morgan held a variety of positions before becoming a production assistant at a nutrition education theater company.

This inspired her to get more involved in helping people access food. While getting her master’s degree in business administration, Morgan worked for Meals on Wheels. She is now the chief development officer at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

“As I reflect more on the liberal arts degree and what its value is,” Morgan said, “I think it’s about flexibility and being adaptable.”

Ada Denenfeld Kelly is currently a student at Greenfield Community College.