How can students best immerse themselves in engaging and meaningful work? Magali Stowell Alemán, an accelerated Public Administration Master’s student and graduate of the Community and International Development (CID) program in CDAE says, “Ask for things and go do them!”
In her professional and academic career, Alemán focuses on housing affordability and accessibility. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in CID with a minor in Public Communication, Alemán has served as the Lead Program Intern and Application Specialist for the City of Burlington, conducted research for the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, and worked for the ¶¶Ňő̽̽ Mosaic Center for Students of Color and the ¶¶Ňő̽̽ Center for Rural Studies. Recently, she was also named the Spring 2023 Vermont Housing Fellow for the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA).
Alemán’s focus on housing has roots in her childhood. Alemán grew up in southern Vermont, with her father living right outside of Boston and Somerville. “Growing up, I watched both of those communities get gentrified really quickly. Where I lived in East Boston was an immigrant community, and it was really hard to watch,” she says. As college students moved to her father’s neighborhood in Boston, many of their friends were forced to move out and restructure their lives. In Burlington, Alemán observes the same trend happening, inspiring her pursuit of a career in housing policy.
As the VHFA fellow, she updates the Vermont Housing Data website, which legislators and lawmakers use to inform their understanding of housing in Vermont. Alemán has an integral role in promoting the VHFA’s mission of providing safe, affordable, and decent housing opportunities for low- and middle-income Vermont residents.
Upon arriving at ¶¶Ňő̽̽ with three semesters worth of credits from taking community college classes in high school, she immediately immersed herself in the campus community. Alemán started out by working at the Mosaic Center, and in her words, “As a person of color at ¶¶Ňő̽̽, it can be kind of hard to find your community. So, working at the Mosaic Center was really awesome.”
In her work for the City of Burlington as the Lead Program Intern and Application Specialist, Alemán assists low-income homeowners and tenants in applying for grants and loans from the Burlington Lead Program. If applicants qualify, their project manager will work with a contractor to complete lead-based paint hazard reduction work. Although lead-based paint poses extreme health and environmental risks, it was only banned at the end of the 1970s, meaning that many Burlington houses often still have lead in them. “It’s really rewarding at the end of the day,” Alemán says. She’s helped people participating in the program, “and now their kid doesn’t have an elevated blood level.” In this role, Alemán has gained valuable insight about how to best approach direct outreach and communicate with the public in an effective, supportive manner.
While Alemán has found each of her professional opportunities to be incredibly rewarding, her position with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity sticks out as especially meaningful. Through her research on weatherization programming in mobile home communities, she’s connected with new groups of people and provided them with the feeling that they were being heard. Alemán credits her education in CDAE with offering empowering skills, relationships, and knowledge to do such meaningful work in the VT community.
One course in particular, CDAE 102: Sustainable Community Development, “had a really big impact on me,” Alemán explains. “That class really cemented for me how important housing is and how meaningful and impactful that work can be.”
Alemán is grateful for the close relationship she has formed with her advisor, CID Senior Lecturer Kelly Hamshaw. As one of Alemán’s mentors, Hamshaw’s support has shaped her ¶¶Ňő̽̽ experience. She also mentions that CDAE 120: Strategic Writing for Public Communication, and CDAE 173: Evolving Trends in International Development have provided her with a strong foundation in communication and motivated her to follow her aspirations.
In the future, Alemán is unsure of where she plans to live, but she is certain that she wants to continue seeking ways to inspire positive change in the field of housing policy and accessibility. To current CDAE students hoping to make the most of their educational experiences and engage in impactful work, Alemán says that connecting with your community is key, and “if you want something, try to go and get it.”