CHELSEA C. WILSON
ALUMNI
Graduated May 2017
Chelsea C. Wilson is a recent graduate of the Master’s Degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School. Currently, she works as a Policy Consultant Intern at The Child Welfare Organizing Project and has completed her thesis on child welfare issues affecting parents and families in New York City. Before coming to The New School, Chelsea was a New York City Civic Corp member working at the Fordham Law School Feerick Center for Social Justice. She completed her undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College with a Political Science major and Children’s Studies minor. The goal of her work is to continue working in the non-profit sector to alleviate child welfare and social issues for children and their families. We asked her to reflect at her time at Milano, and how this is shaping her career pathway.
What drew you to Milano and the Urban Policy program?
What drew me to Milano and the Urban Policy Program was the interaction with real clients and organizations who wanted to create social change in New York City. Since my AmeriCorps Service, I have had the passion to generate social change around various issues that affect low-income and moderate income people in New York City. Additionally, various group projects and individual projects enabled me to explore New York City in a different perspective. Being around diverse communities of people allowed me to realize that we all experience the same challenges in different ways. Thus, there are many solutions to one problem and each solution brings a collective experience to an issue.
What has been the best part of your Milano experience?
The best part of my Milano experience I’d say was how much the professors were engaged in the material in practice as well as theory, making each class unique and inspiring. Each professor lends their own practical experience that connects to our political playground. Having classmates who had various job experiences who were willing to work together to complete a task. We were also willing to help each other understand complex ideas. Additionally, I really enjoyed all of the projects I completed while in the Urban Policy Program. These projects opened up my mind about the issues people face in their communities and how to develop creative solutions to these issues. One particular project that highlighted my Milano experience was my professional decision report (PDR). For my PDR, I worked with The Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP) focusing on how to reform the process of indicated cases for families involved with the State Central Registry and the child welfare system. During my time with CWOP, I had the opportunity to interact with parents who were affected by the child welfare system and create creative solutions to address this issue. This project sparked my continued passion and knowledge with the child welfare system and helped me to embrace the opportunity to help families create social change for themselves and other families who will become involved with the child welfare system over time.
What has been the most challenging part of the experience?
The most challenging part of the experience was the transition going back to school after taking a gap year between undergraduate school and graduate school. On the other hand, my professors understood what that transition looked like and guided me to do the best I can in every course I took. If I had an issue understanding a complex idea, I can always go to my professors or faculty advisor for help.
Thanks Chelsea, wishing you the best of luck in the next stage of your life.
