University graduate student group aiding area’s forgotten

You can’t create public policy without knowing the subjects of that policy, says student founder

By: Hilary Parker
   After spending years volunteering in her community and finally deciding to dedicate her life to public service, Tanya de Mello headed to Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs to earn a master in public affairs degree. When she arrived, she was surprised to find that students were so busy with academics they didn’t spend much time volunteering in the community.
   "We’re going to be creating public policy, often for the more marginalized people in society," Ms. De Mello said. "You won’t be an effective person in creating policies if you don’t know the person for whom you’re creating those policies."
   Having grown up in a low-income area in Toronto, Ms. De Mello wanted to be sure to get outside "the Princeton bubble" and see the "stark realities" of Trenton and Newark — so she founded the Woodrow Wilson Workers Organization.
   For her initiative and dedication, she was recently awarded the 2006 International Service Award by the university’s International Center. Julie Neubauer, a junior at Princeton University, was a co-recipient of the award for her work establishing a home for homeless children in India.
   In establishing the graduate student group, Ms. De Mello relied on her past experiences founding two non-governmental organizations in Toronto in her spare time while she was consulting in the private sector full time. She co-founded both The World Youth Centre to provide young social entrepreneurs with business training and the Toronto Volunteer Bridge to establish connections between young professionals and organizations seeking volunteers.
   The Woodrow Wilson Workers meet twice a month for all-day volunteering projects, many of which bring students to local communities of need. Over 60 students, mainly in the graduate program, have participated in projects volunteering with organizations including SAVE animal shelter in Princeton, Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen and Habitat for Humanity in Trenton, a food bank in Newark and the Hope Organization in New York.
   "We come to school and study for two years," Ms. De Mello said. "It should be more fluid. Something will be lost if students leave that part of their service for two years."
   Ms. De Mello is thrilled with the support she’s received from students and administration at the Woodrow Wilson School — "This place has more opportunity than I’ve ever seen in my entire life," she said — and is grateful that the student union has taken on the organization so that it will continue next year, even in her absence.
   She will be taking a year off, spending six months in Senegal doing emergency relief with the World Food Programme and six months in Peru working on child labor with the International Labor Organization. When she returns in fall 2008, however, she is certain to pick up where she left off with the Woodrow Wilson Workers.
   "If you’re going to do public service, you should do it while you’re in Princeton," Ms. De Mello said. "There’s a really important community here."