In the fall of 2021, three weeks into my senior year and the first in-person classes in over a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering experienced a shooting outside our doors in which a stray bullet struck one of our students in the arm. As Tandon’s student body president, I quickly learned how to manage a crisis and lead with empathy. Facts, I found, are most important in times of chaos.
On the day of the shooting, I was in immediate contact with Tandon’s dean, Jelena Kovačević, and administration to develop an on-the-spot action plan. Students were justifiably scared, confused, and angry. I was someone they could lean on to discuss their worries and concerns.
Following the incident, the NYPD increased patrols outside our school, but this left at least some students feeling more frightened, while others felt safer. At this point, Dean Kovačević and I hosted a Tandon Town Hall for students to ask their questions and receive answers and help. I knew we couldn’t stop there, though, so I formed the Campus Safety Task Force to allow students to offer their suggestions on how to improve school safety.
It was an abrupt start to my time as student body president, but one that taught me many life lessons and helped shape who I am now, both as a person and as a professional. I learned how to listen, empathize, and reach consensus among people with divergent opinions.
At the same time, the incident taught me to look to the surrounding community. Tandon was not the only body affected by it. The Brooklyn community around us was as well. I began to focus on what we could do to help local students and residents in our neighborhood.
As a student council, we had never looked outward before, and so I created a new branch of the council to look for ways to help the local community and build relations with our neighbors, an endeavor that continues today.
My time on student council opened my eyes to public health as a profession. At its core, it’s about engaging communities and building public policies to allow all people to live healthier, more productive lives in safer, stronger, more inclusive communities.
Alexandra Brinton 