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Community Corner

Roxbury, MA Native Serves as 2014 Wheelock College Policy Fellow

Asia Madison is a Psychology and Human Development Major with a focus in Counseling Psychology and is in the Community Based Human Services Certificate program at Wheelock College. This semester she is also one of eight students in the Student Policy Fellow Program working at the Massachusetts State House.  Madison has been placed in the office of Representative Paul Brodeur (D-Melrose). In this role she collaborates on critical mental health legislation and studies policy development.

This work correlates well with Madison’s future plans. “The projects I'm working on relate to my future work because I have an interest in advocating for children who have been diagnosed with mental and behavioral health disorders. I am also interested in adolescent girls’ mental and sexual health.” Two projects which aid her future work include participating in the planning process of a literacy event geared toward young mothers and their children. The goal of the event is to help young mothers contribute to their child’s early childhood education. For example one activity centers on teaching young mothers how to teach their children to read. The second project relates to children’s mental health and how it affects their education. Madison and Representative Brodeur are in the planning stages of this second project, but are addressing such questions as: Does placing a child on medication take away the childhood? How should mental health be treated in schools? What does it mean to have a good teacher? They are also researching the misdiagnosis of mental health disorders in children.

The Policy Fellows program ties directly into Wheelock's mission to improve the lives of children and families. A life-changing experience, the program helps Wheelock students gain the knowledge and skills they need to become effective leaders and advocates who will enact positive, systemic change. Wheelock’s Policy Fellows work side-by-side with legislative aides, Senators, and Representatives to research bills, attend hearings and policy meetings, and provide constituent support. The placements allow students to experience first-hand how laws are enacted on behalf of the citizenry, combined with a bi-weekly seminar, the experience gives students a broad understanding of the social and political issues affecting their chosen careers. In addition, the experience on Beacon Hill exposes the students to networking leadership opportunities as well as to many other issues they might not have considered. The Wheelock Student Policy Fellow program, now in its ninth year, has served 57 students.

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