Chianne Green '14: Recognizing the Power of Her Potential

by Valerie Mikell

The long-running television franchise Law and Order has provided hours of entertainment. But to Chianne Green ’14, it has meant much more. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, specifically, inspired her to pursue a psychology degree at Adelphi. “It’s that simple,” Ms. Green said. “I watched it every day. I find it so fascinating.”

Like Law & Order, Ms. Green is a product of New York City through and through. A Brooklyn native, Ms. Green will be attending Columbia University School of Social Work in Fall 2014. Her hard work deserves credit, as does the Center for Career Development, for the opportunities and the guidance they provided her along her journey.

Ms. Green began her Adelphi career as a General Studies Learning Community student and, after declaring psychology her major at the end of her sophomore year, she didn’t look back. When it was time to think about life after college, graduate study at Columbia was in her sights. But she had her share of naysayers.

“I was told that I wasn’t going to get in. My GPA was higher than 3.0…I heard that they only accepted people with a 3.8 and higher.” But Ms. Green had to try. During her senior year, she remembers spending hours every week at the Center for Career Development, attending workshops, receiving help with her application, and writing her résumé and personal statement. “They helped me make my personal statement something I could be proud of,” she admits. “They helped me so much.”

And she quieted those who doubted her potential when Columbia accepted her. “My GPA wasn’t the only consideration,” she said. “My personal statement, résumé and cocurricular experiences played a huge role in their evaluation of [my] application as well—things that I had really put a great deal of time and effort into.”

Many of the accomplishments on her résumé that helped to strengthen her application were found by Ms. Green through the Center for Career Development. She held a campus job at University College in Hagedorn Hall from the spring semester of sophomore year until her graduation. She completed an internship at Adelphi’s Institute for Parenting, where she was instrumental in helping to organize the workshop “Raising a Thinking Child.” Through Adelphi’s Community Fellows Program, Ms. Green was also a paid summer intern at Community Counseling & Mediation in Brooklyn. “I enjoyed all of these opportunities,” she said. “They helped give me more direction and understand where I wanted to go in my career.”

The transition she will make from studying psychology to social work should be a smooth one. “Psychology prepares you to keep on your toes and expect the unexpected. I think it’s a good foundation for social work, which is such a broad profession, with many opportunities, as long as you’re open to them.” Being open to new opportunities has brought Ms. Green much success at Adelphi and will serve her well in her graduate studies.