Students as Leaders

Our nearly two-dozen student councils, affinity organizations, and interest groups provide students with opportunities to pursue leadership, meet like-minded peers, enhance professional development, engage in community organizing, and take collective action.  

Angie Kim welcoming a new class of the Silver Student Leadership Council

As part of the Student Leadership Council, I was able to deepen my connections within the Silver community with peers who are passionate about not only leading, but also cultivating community as we welcomed a new cohort of Silver graduate students.

Naomi Pharr, MSW ’21

Building Community for BIPOC First Generation Students

As a Mexican-American, first generation college graduate and graduate student passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, Diane Valle, MSW ’23, sought visibility and community for fellow Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) first generation social work students. With support from Silver’s Office of Inclusive Engagement and Student Life, she founded the group First Gen Students of Color, which raises the profile of students like her and connects them to one another as well as resources at the School and wider University.

Diane Valle formal headshot
Diane Valle
MSW ’23
Founder, First Gen Students of Color

Being a student leader at Silver was not only a journey to make the unheard voices heard, but a journey to cultivate communities that support each other and overcome the difficulties together.

Baiyang Li, MSW ’21

A Network of Support During Orientation and Beyond

Meet our 2023-24 MSW Orientation Leaders (OLs), who will welcome more than 300 new members of the NYU Silver Community during our Fall 2023 MSW Orientation. OLs are volunteers with our Office of Inclusive Engagement and Student Life who are each assigned a group of new MSW students that they lead and support during Orientation and remain connected to throughout the year. They open doors to the many professional, academic, and personal growth opportunities afforded by NYU Silver and provide information and resources that foster a smooth transition to graduate student life.

10 MSW students of different ages, sizes, and races stand in two rows on the steps at the entrance to NYU Silver's Washington Square North brownstone
2023-24 MSW Orientation Leaders

The Next Generation of Nonprofit and Public Sector Leadership

Through specialized educational initiatives like our Adaptive Leadership Fellowship and Macro Practice in Organizations Focused Learning Opportunity, we are training students to exercise leadership in their practicum placements and assume leadership positions in their professional careers.

three sets of two adaptive leadership fellows sit at long wooden tables presenting their work to colloquium attendees standing on the other side of their tables.
Spring 2023 Adaptive Leadership Fellowship Colloquium

Helping to build the Trans + Queer = Collective has allowed me to find safety, validation, and support at Silver...Being involved in student groups has been a sustaining and grounding force throughout my MSW program.

Kelly Ancharski, MSW ’20

Fostering Community While Facilitating Professional Growth

As a Graduate Student Association First Year Representative, Ashma Luitel, MSW ’21, helped organize Silver Community Day for her peers. The day-long, student-led professional development event, which was formerly known as "Common Day," was renamed "Community Day" in 2020. "Community brings people together," Ashma explained. "It fosters connection, it facilitates growing together. That was our intention."

Ashma Luitel
Ashma Luitel
MSW ’21