Nithya was a part of MNYC’s 2020 fellowship cohort. She applied for the policy track because she knew that she wanted to enter the policy world and wanted to gain skills in that field. “My interest is in public health policy, so it was really encouraging to see that there was an experience that was paid with a really great non-profit in the Twin Cities that would give me policy experience, even if it wasn’t with the government, it was still building skills”. Nithya also appreciated that this opportunity was available to young people like her with little experience in the political realm but lots of drive and interest in pursuing it. “I applied because I felt really accessible, but at the same time seemed like it would be a good challenge,”

The 2020 fellowship divided its fellows into 4 smaller groups with specific focuses; campus organizing, electoral accountability, art, and policy. Each group explored the relationships between their focus and community organizing through different issue-based projects, but all the fellows attended the same weekly trainings and community gatherings. Nithya was a part of the policy track, which focused on efforts to advance equitable housing policy. “We were all really passionate about housing,” she says. “We ended up hosting a conversation series on housing where we did two separate panels. One was on housing policy, and the other was on housing, mutual aid, and direct action in the Twin Cities. We invited different panelists who specialize in those areas to come talk about their work, talk about what they think about housing in Minneapolis, whether that’s the policy side or the more mutual aid, direct action side and ways that the public can plug in. Cause we all kind of talked about how we’re really passionate about it, but we don’t really know how to get involved. The panels were public and held over zoom. It was very public facing like Q and A oriented and it connected a lot of people within the community.” 

Nithya had many takeaways from the fellowship but what was most notable to her was the ability to build community. “The biggest takeaway for me was just the connections I made. All of us within the policy track, we’re just so close”. They created bonds that made them feel less alone in their activism. “I bonded with other people in my cohort over a really deep love of community. Participating in MNYC’s fellowship helped me realize that it’s normal to care about things and it showed me how to plug into what’s happening politically in Minnesota. A lot of people kind of think like, ‘oh, there’s nothing going on in Minnesota. It’s not gonna be a center for change.’ They don’t really know what’s going on because they’re so removed from reality.”

Nithya is currently a student at the University of Minnesota studying Public Health. Since her fellowship with MNYC she has had many internship opportunities with organizations like Capital Pathways, Hennepin Healthcare, and Urban Scholars. We’re so excited to see what Nithya does next!

Minnesota Youth Collective’s organizing fellowship is a three-month program that hires and trains young people as community leaders with the skill, perspective, and imagination to advocate for creative policy solutions for their communities. Fellows leave the program with a depth of organizing knowledge, which can be difficult to obtain by other means, and a community of peers and mentors who are invested in their success. This spring, we’re sharing some of our fellows’ reflections on what this program has meant to them.