Colin Powell School
Born and raised in Manhattan, Cassidy Drummond completed her bachelor’s degree in Minnesota and then returned to New York City to join the MA Economics program at the Colin Powell School. Sparked by her experience advocating for a minimum wage hike for on-campus workers at the University of Minnesota, Drummond discovered her passion for labor rights and chose CCNY's program because of its public economics concentration. In her first semester as a graduate student, she found a community and a support system in her peers and professors, excelled in the foundational courses that she had struggled with as an undergraduate, and landed a job as a research assistant to support her studies. Drummond is the first in her family to pursue graduate school, and she encourages her peers to take classes that interest them and to be engaged: "Be confident in yourself. It will be stressful, but as long as you study, pay attention in class, take notes, and ask questions, everything will work out."
Where are you from? Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in Manhattan, New York and grew up on the upper west side with my mom and two sisters. When I left for college, my mom moved up to Harlem. I graduated from The Beacon School in 2016 and went to college at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. I was pretty sure I wanted to live in New York, but I felt the need to go explore something different. Minnesota was great for college, but I decided to come back to New York. I now live in Astoria.
I come from a single-parent home, and my mom is from Australia and didn't go to college. So, it was definitely a challenge to navigate the application processes in undergrad and graduate school. Only my older sister has gone to college, but I'm the first in my family to have gone to grad school. Also, it’s new territory to balance family expectations and my full-time job with school.
What brought you to City College?
I graduated in May of 2020 with a BA in Economics & Political Science with minors in Global Studies & Philosophy. After graduation, the job market was not thriving and so I was trying to figure out my next steps. I worked on a congressional campaign in Illinois. I loved my coworkers, including one individual who was getting their Masters in Labor Studies. After hearing more about it, I decided to apply to the MA Labor Studies program at CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies (SLU), which I attended for one semester in fall 2021. While I absolutely loved my professors, I realized throughout the semester that I missed math - something I never would have expected to say - and that to really make an impact within the labor movement or to work in public policy, it would be more helpful to have an economics degree. After doing some research, I chose to apply to the MA Economics program at CCNY because it offers a concentration in public economics.
What motivates you to work for labor rights and to focus on public economics?
In my undergrad, after my sophomore year, I decided to get involved with the University's student government after I became aware that the on-campus minimum wage was less than the city which we resided in (Minneapolis and St. Paul). Given that the University of Minnesota was established before the state, the university has to follow the state minimum wage and not the minimum wage of the city of Minneapolis. Not only was this frustrating for me as an out-of-state student trying to pay their way through college, but I thought it was extremely exploitative of campus workers overall, including many international students who were mostly unable to work off-campus. Our campaign was disrupted by the pandemic, but the passion I felt for economic justice stuck with me and piqued my interest in labor rights.
How have CCNY and the Colin Powell School supported you so far?
In addition to having a public and labor economics focus, the Economics Department has given me the opportunity to work as a research assistant to Professor Yochanan Shachmurove. Professor Shachmurove asked me what my motivations and goals were, and working with him has given me insight into what the academic route looks like and how to submit research papers to journals. Gaining research experience has been a goal of mine for a long time, and CCNY helped me reach it.
Coming from a big school where I did my undergrad in Minnesota, I have been overjoyed to be at CCNY, which feels tighter-knit. I didn’t know anyone at CCNY when I started, but from the very first week of classes, my anxieties were soothed away; all of my professors were understanding, open to questions, and clearly provided steps to succeed in their courses. In addition, a lot of my peers had been in classes previously together, and gladly welcomed and included me in their study groups. So having that community aspect was fantastic. It was something I hadn't experienced in Minnesota, so it was nice to feel so welcomed and supported.
Please share a significant memory or accomplishment from your time at CCNY.
In undergrad, I struggled in my economics courses. I did not do well in the foundational courses and spent a lot of time struggling. During my first semester here at CCNY, through the support of my peers and having great professors, I have done well and gotten As in my foundational courses. In my undergraduate studies, I lacked passionate professors who were really committed to students. Here at the Colin Powell School, Professor Nagler is one of the best professors I've ever had, very inspired and motivated, which helped me learn.
What kind of advice would you give to current or future students?
Pursue classes that interest you. Be open in class. It is definitely nerve wracking to turn to the person next to you and start a conversation. Of course, I felt nervous doing it but I just went for it and it ended up being the best outcome that I expected. Be confident in yourself that things will work out. Economics and math are not easy. It will be stressful but it will work out as long as you study, pay attention in class, take notes and ask questions. When people told me in undergrad, I was like ok but then when I got to grad school, I said to myself that I was going to be that person that I will ask all the questions that I have. And be really engaged, it will make your experience much more rewarding.