JESSICA MASON
Silver School of Social Work
Bachelor of Arts, May 2010
Major: Social Work and History
Bio and Resume (.pdf)
Jessica Ann Mason is pursuing a double major in Social Work and History. She aspires to challenge and reform policies to improve the lives of at-risk youth.
During her first year at NYU, Jessica volunteered with Peer Health Exchange, teaching health education to teens in underserved schools. While volunteering in schools, she found many students were curious about college, but lacked access to college resources. She decided to address this need by founding Undergraduate Pathways, a student-led organization to raise college awareness, build mentoring relationships, and promote service-learning. Through Peer Health Exchange and Undergraduate Pathways, she realized her immense passion for working with youth and improving services directed toward this population.
After her freshman year, Jessica worked for Walter R. McDonald & Associates (WRMA), a nationally recognized company that provides high-quality managerial and technical consulting in the education, juvenile justice and human services fields. She focused on a project to evaluate a variety of children's services in Sacramento. This experience was invaluable to Jessica because it allowed her to interact with and understand many different community organizations. She gained practical experience working in a team with leaders in many human service fields. She also witnessed how government and nonprofit organizations can interact to promote child welfare programming.
Jessica holds leadership roles as the President of the Silver School of Social Work Student Government and the director of the NYU Reynolds/ Youth Venture Chapter. In both organizations she works to create communities for those interested in social change. She is currently working as a Co-Director at Baby's First Home (BFH), a supportive housing project she co-founded for teen mothers in New York City. BFH was awarded the grand prize of $10,000 in capital by the 2008 NYU Reynolds/Youth Venture "Be a Changemaker Challenge," and will open its first transitional living facility in 2009. Jessica's role as co-director constantly challenges her and reminds her of how important strong family units are to building stable lives and bright futures for youth.
Jessica is working with the Reciprocity Foundation in the summer of 2009. Reciprocity Foundation is a nonprofit that serves homeless and at-risk youth by connecting them to educational and career opportunities in creative industries like fashion, music, film, photography, and more. Jessica's work with the Reciprocity foundation will provide her with more experience in individualized practice as well as a broader foundation for operating an innovative nonprofit. In the 2009-2010 school year, she will continue her field placement at the Bellevue Hospital Crime Victims Program, where she works with victims of violent crimes and their families.