ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT KATY HARRISON BEASLEY, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
Furman University | South Carolina, United States | Advancing SDG 1 & UNAI 1
" My parents have instilled in me a passion for helping the impoverished members of my community. From a young age, they encouraged me to engage in providing food, shelter, water, and clothing to members of my community who were unable to provide for themselves. I gleaned fields and worked in soup kitchens. I took part in a ministry that utilized my church as a temporary home for impoverished community members. I purchased and packaged necessities bags for those who did not have access to such goods. I donated my clothes and worked with a local organization to disperse clothing to those in need. A few years ago, I raised $4,000 for a local agency that provides the basic healthcare necessities for the impoverished members of my community. Now, I will extend my efforts to people beyond my community. Through the Millennium Fellowship, I intend to assess the ways poverty has changed with COVID-19, and explore ways in which poverty can best be addressed in this new landscape. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Post-Pandemic Poverty
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty rates were not decreasing at a sufficient pace to eradicate poverty by 2030. Post-pandemic, poverty rates have soared. Additionally, the economy, healthcare system, and workforce (among other things) have changed drastically this past year. In combating poverty, not only do we need to act quickly, but we must also revise the former systems and methods of eliminating poverty; it is evident that they did not work prior to COVID-19, and it will quickly become evident that they will not work post- COVID-19. In other words, a reformed approach to eradicating poverty is long overdo, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated that need.
This project explored the changes in poverty post-COVID-19, along with the changes in the economy, healthcare system, and workforce, in order to propose a reformed understanding and solution to tackling poverty post- pandemic.
About the Millennium Fellow
Katy Beasley is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina and a sophomore at Furman University. An intended Politics and International Affairs major and a former Congressional intern, Katy is passionate about spurring positive change in her community.
