Rachel McLaren has found a way to go above and beyond in service of the community surrounding Fordham.
As a McMahon Hall resident assistant, Rachel McLaren, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’25, is familiar with community engagement. Her passion for equity and criminal justice left her wanting to engage in civic service surrounding Fordham. McLaren got her chance as she now sits on one of New York City’s community boards.
Across the five boroughs, there are 59 community boards that advise city agencies with the perspective of their local constituents. McLaren is a member of Community Board 7, representing the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and sits on two committees within the board: health and human services, and parks and environment.
McLaren said she was inspired to apply after Byfield mentioned how young adults were underrepresented.
McLaren’s interest in community boards was piqued when her professor Jeanne Flavin introduced her former student Makeda Byfield who served on one such board.
McLaren said she was inspired to apply after Byfield mentioned how young adults were underrepresented. Her first impression of the board was that the majority of the other members were much older than her.
“It’s about me and one other person that I would suspect is near my age … a lot of people have been on the community board for twenty-plus years,” McLaren said.
16.2 percent of the city’s population is over age 65, a figure that starkly contrasts the voices that are present in community boards. McLaren said she was initially apprehensive as to how this would affect her experience given that the viewpoints of her fellow board members would potentially differ from her own.
“I thought when I would come in I’d be bombarded with opinions that I didn’t necessarily agree with,” McLaren said.
Instead, McLaren said she was among people who were equally concerned about their communities, and that common interest transcended other potential divisions.
“The morals and ethics of people (are) a through line through (the board),” McLaren said. “They want for the community to be better and for people to live good lives here.”
Board meetings allow McLaren to focus on issues that could otherwise be overlooked because of their smaller scale, and give a voice to an otherwise underrepresented group.
Encouraged by the like-minded nature of the board, McLaren focused on one goal: speaking up for college students, an underrepresented demographic.
McLaren said that uplifting her perspective as a student in meetings is important while remembering that she does not speak for a monolith. McClaren prepares for meetings by considering the different perspectives of people in her communities.
“When I’m preparing for a meeting, and we get our meeting agenda, and there’s items on the floor, I’m really thinking about how students like us are in a transitory phase of life,” McLaren said. “Even though we may move on to different areas, we still have an investment in this area because so much of our life is centered here.”
Board meetings allow McLaren to focus on issues that could otherwise be overlooked because of their smaller scale, and give a voice to an otherwise underrepresented group.
McLaren said that with her passion for criminal justice, and desire to pursue a career in law and politics she is excited about her duties as a member of the health and human services committee. This part of the community board addresses an area often plagued by barriers to equal access.
McLaren said that affordable housing is a goal of this board, which is an issue that both Fordham students and long-term New York City residents feel the impact of.
“With health and human services, a lot of our goals in this specific community board are to give affordable housing to people and to ensure that we’re bettering our community as far as what people are able to attain,” McLaren said.
McLaren consistently comes back to the same objective: improving the lives of others and the status of the community at large. In a city as vibrant and diverse as New York, her lead in community-driven efforts is one that many of her peers could follow.
