By Angela Sun
 |
| William Huang, Coro fellow and Tufts '12 alum |
How did your academic and professional experiences at Tufts prepare you for Coro?
I majored in International Relations with an East Asia
sub-concentration . I worked closely with the Asian American community
during my time at Tufts as an Asian American Peer Leader and
also as the Asian American Community Representative in Senate. In my application for Coro, I emphasized my experiences
facilitating the Pan-Asian Council during my senior year. These experiences demonstrated my passion for social justice and community empowerment, which fit into the leadership development
mission of Coro.
As for internship experience, I interned at the West
Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, a housing non-profit
in NYC that focused on building affordable housing for the elderly and ill. This experience was something I talked
about in my Coro essay. My internship there sparked my professional interests in community development and affordable housing.
Why did you decide to apply to the Coro fellowship?
What was the application process like? Who should apply?
To be a Coro fellow, you must have the ability to work with others from different backgrounds than yourself, with regards to gender, race, class, sexuality, political beliefs, etc. You should come in open-minded and agile. Coro has a very fast timeline when it comes to group projects and it can be tricky to stay on top of it all. There will also be unexpected twists on some of the projects so it is important to stay mentally prepared.
How is the fellowship program structured?
One memorable experience (out of many) was seeing
that Mayor Bloomberg's office was just a regular cubicle in the middle
of City Hall. He didn't have a corner office - he just had a cubicle
surrounded by his staff members. He's just like the rest of us, albeit
much richer!
Coro placed me at the NYC Department of Education for my government placement, and now I am at AFSCME, a union for municipal employees. For my Department of Education placement, I was placed with the newly created Division of Equity and Access and tasked with writing the online content for the Empowering Boys website. It is an online resource for educators, students, and parents to access things like SAT prep classes, study habit tips, and a variety of other tools. The Division of Equity and Access and the Empowering Boys website is specifically designed to help narrow the achievement gap in high school graduation and college matriculation rates between Black and Latino male and their white counterparts.
For my campaign placement, I and nine other Coro fellows assisted the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) with the Joseph Addabbo, Jr. re-election campaign. He is a Democrat running for re-election as State Senator in Queens. On a typical day, I would go to the Queen's office, head out to knock on doors and canvas. I would end the day debriefing and phone-banking. Through the combined efforts of UFT, volunteers, and the Coro fellows, Addabbo won re-election!
Coro is about experiencing different sectors in order to draw connections across the board and cultivate effective leadership. Coro runs from September to May, like a one-year grad program. These placements are around a month long each.
Did you get to work with other fellows?
I work with other fellows constantly. The time I devote to the group processes is equal to, if not greater, than my time at placements. We meet on Tuesday evenings and Fridays to do group projects and prepare for leadership breakfasts, in which we interview prominent stakeholders. All of the fellows are very bright, motivated, and driven. About half grew up in NYC, but many of the fellows are from the West Coast, and even other countries (South Korea). It takes time to reach a consensus when we make a decision, but that is part of the group process we're learning to master.
What are some of the challenges as a fellow?
One difficulty is learning how to live on a budget. Coro provides a stipend that varies based on financial need, but nevertheless it can be hard to live on the stipend. I'm fortunate to be living at home, so I can use my stipend on transportation, food, clothing, etc. A lot of the fellows apply for food stamps and Medicaid to stretch their dollar. It's great to have these shared resources.
Another difficulty is managing the work-life balance. Coro is a full-time commitment (60 hours/ week) where Tuesday seminars can last until 11PM and we might have to come in on the weekends. I have a girlfriend and am on the Planning Committee for the Tufts Asian American Alumni Association, so it can be tricky to juggle all my priorities. The best way to resolve this is to communicate clearly--I tell my girlfriend that Tuesdays are hectic so I can't call her. The balance is an ongoing lesson, so I will have more answers as the program continues.
What placements/ projects have your received as part of your fellowship?
For my campaign placement, I and nine other Coro fellows assisted the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) with the Joseph Addabbo, Jr. re-election campaign. He is a Democrat running for re-election as State Senator in Queens. On a typical day, I would go to the Queen's office, head out to knock on doors and canvas. I would end the day debriefing and phone-banking. Through the combined efforts of UFT, volunteers, and the Coro fellows, Addabbo won re-election!
Coro is about experiencing different sectors in order to draw connections across the board and cultivate effective leadership. Coro runs from September to May, like a one-year grad program. These placements are around a month long each.
Did you get to work with other fellows?
I work with other fellows constantly. The time I devote to the group processes is equal to, if not greater, than my time at placements. We meet on Tuesday evenings and Fridays to do group projects and prepare for leadership breakfasts, in which we interview prominent stakeholders. All of the fellows are very bright, motivated, and driven. About half grew up in NYC, but many of the fellows are from the West Coast, and even other countries (South Korea). It takes time to reach a consensus when we make a decision, but that is part of the group process we're learning to master.
What are some of the challenges as a fellow?
One difficulty is learning how to live on a budget. Coro provides a stipend that varies based on financial need, but nevertheless it can be hard to live on the stipend. I'm fortunate to be living at home, so I can use my stipend on transportation, food, clothing, etc. A lot of the fellows apply for food stamps and Medicaid to stretch their dollar. It's great to have these shared resources.
Another difficulty is managing the work-life balance. Coro is a full-time commitment (60 hours/ week) where Tuesday seminars can last until 11PM and we might have to come in on the weekends. I have a girlfriend and am on the Planning Committee for the Tufts Asian American Alumni Association, so it can be tricky to juggle all my priorities. The best way to resolve this is to communicate clearly--I tell my girlfriend that Tuesdays are hectic so I can't call her. The balance is an ongoing lesson, so I will have more answers as the program continues.
What have you learned from the experience so far?
What are your plans for next steps?
In the future, I am interested in working at a housing non-profit for a few years and then getting my Masters in Public Administration to further my career in community development.
If you're interested in applying to Coro, applications are due January 18, 2013. William Huang is also happy to speak with interested Tufts students. You can contact him through the Tufts Career Advisory Network at tuftscan.org. His Coro profile can be found here.
