I was the type of child whose strengths were always very clear: while my math skills were average, I had advanced verbal ability and strong interests in history and the humanities. That awareness carried me on to a high school specializing in American History and through to a Philosophy major (and a Psychology minor) at Wellesley. I and my peers assumed that the law or some similar field was necessarily in my future. Despite this assumption, I never actually knew what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up.’ This not knowing has prompted some anxiety, but has also encouraged a good deal of exploration.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student? How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
When I entered Wellesley as a first-year, I enrolled in Chinese language classes in order to broaden my language abilities. I figured, in typical Wendy fashion and since I already spoke Spanish, that I might as well try to be able to speak to as many people on the planet as possible! After two years, I’d had enough of that challenge, but continued to explore other disciplines –studio art, political science, feminist theory (at MIT), economics, sociology, biology….all the while awakening a passion for social justice vis-à-vis my work with Mezcla, the latin@ cultural org on campus, first as its senator in student government, and then as its co-president. It was through a Mezcla senior that during my junior year I was inspired to apply for the Wellesley in Washington summer internship grant offered through the political science department, specifically to pursue an internship with the National Council of la Raza (NCLR). I would encourage any junior to consider applying to this amazing program. During my application process, I was put in touch with a Wellesley alumna at NCLR. That summer, I began working for a colleague of hers (who is herself a graduate of Barnard College and whose sister is another Wellesley alumna). This woman went on to become the person through whom I learned of the Program Associate opening at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where I currently work.
Before I was at OSF, I had a fellowship through Teach for China, during which time I taught English and art in a rural elementary school in Yunnan Province. Thereafter I held a project manager position at a translations provider based in New York; in fact, I applied for this job through a link I found on the CWS website!
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
I currently work as a Program Associate at a large foundation. This foundation has many offices all over the world and does work in many different programmatic areas; I work in US Programs in their Justice Fund, which focuses on reform of the criminal justice system. Grantmakers in this fund grapple with issues of mass incarceration, extreme punishment of youth, disproportionate persecution of people of color, and malignant drug policy, among other issue areas. We attempt to address these problems by strategically funding certain organizations’ general operations or specific projects/ campaigns. In some instances the Fund awards fellowships to individuals or establishes a foundation-led campaign.
In my work specifically, I support the death penalty abolition, indigent defense, collateral consequences (related to barriers to education, voting, and employment for formerly or currently incarcerated people), police accountability, and death penalty abolition portfolios. Though these issue areas intersect with my previous interests –social justice, structural racism, effects of poverty– I had no previous experience with criminal justice work. That means that in a typical week and day I am still learning a lot from a lot of really smart people, and for that I’m so grateful. More concretely, in any given week I assist with several administrative duties, correspond with our grantees on the status of their grants, conduct due diligence on their financial health, and attend many many meetings.
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
I’m not sure that there is a straight path to philanthropy. The people who work here come from all backgrounds and (even within my position) various levels of educational attainment. The unifying factor is a demonstrated interest in the issues advocated for by the foundation, and demonstrated effectiveness at whatever it is they’ve done previously. As for any job, relevant internship and work experience is invaluable! I would also emphasize the value of maintaining personal connections. I know that networking can feel artificial, but it’s important to keep in touch with people with whom you feel a genuine affinity, especially former supervisors.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
Overall I feel that I took good advantage of my time at Wellesley, but I do wish I’d known and understood that college wasn’t the last step—that I had not “arrived” by getting into a great school, but that I needed to use my undergraduate studies as a springboard for continued study and lifelong learning. This is no doubt related to my class background, but I didn’t have a long view of my education, and such a strategic perspective would have propelled me to choose a more practical course of study. I’m grateful to have had the chance to explore, as I mentioned earlier, and I do believe that my meandering has opened many interesting doors, but I also wish I had known that it’s okay to NOT “pursue your passion” (or the thing that you know you’re already good at) in school, and that to choose something more practical (like a STEM major, for example) is not tantamount to ‘selling out.’ There is always time to be politically active and pursue hobbies outside of one’s career, and I didn’t consider this when I was a student.