This is part of a collection of reflection essays by graduating 2024 student leaders. View the rest here.
By Amelia Cecchetto
I walked out of Wagner’s new student orientation in September 2022 feeling a sense of hope and optimism that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Our class started at the tail end of the age of COVID restrictions, and many of us had spent the past few years in isolation, working in issue areas that had been hit hard by the extremist politics that took over our country. When I came to Wagner, I learned quickly how deeply each of us needs community to do the hard work of making change.
My classmates and I hit the ground running. While at Wagner, I’ve had the honor of being President of the NYU Reproductive Health Action Network student group. We started a program handing out emergency contraception to students across campus, and continued our outreach and education on sexual and reproductive health. These programs came directly from what I learned at Wagner and have already impacted hundreds of students at NYU. Wagner’s MPA program allowed me to hone in on my interest areas of advocacy and political action, with a special emphasis on strategic communications.
Wagner also encouraged me to look at the world through a policy lens. Why are things the way they are? Who made these decisions? Who holds the power to change those decisions? If there’s a problem, there’s probably a policy creating it—and a policy opportunity to change it.
But Wagner taught me, ultimately, about people. Many people go to grad school to add a section to their resume or fast-track a promotion and a higher salary. While Wagner absolutely provided these opportunities, and earning an MPA is a huge personal accomplishment, most of us aren’t in this for ourselves. We’re called to public service because we believe in a better future, we’ve found something we’re passionate about and there’s nothing else we can see ourselves doing.
Public service isn’t exactly known for glamor or big paychecks, and committing to public service isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. There’s a lot to fix—from health care to housing, immigration policy to voting rights, reproductive rights to the climate crisis, we have our work cut out for us. My colleagues in this program have shown me that our generation has the knowledge, drive, and grit to take on these problems.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m still pretty nervous and fired up about the state of the world. However, so is everyone else in my cohort. We’re all determined to create a better world than the one we walk into as graduates.
Amelia Cecchetto is graduating with a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Advocacy and Political Action. Amelia was the President of the Reproductive Health Action Network for the 2023-24 school year.
