Boston's Mayor-elect Michelle Wu Visited Winsor in 2016, and Twice in 2020

Boston’s Mayor-elect Michelle Wu, the first woman and person of color elected to lead Boston, was invited to speak at The Winsor School three times: in the fall of 2016, the spring of 2020, and again in the fall of 2020. For our community, her story is one of both hope and inspiration. 

As a former Boston city councilwoman, Michelle Wu is no stranger to breaking barriers. In 2013, when Wu was first elected to her position, she was the first Asian-American woman to serve on the council, and from 2016 to January 2018 she served as the council’s first woman of color president. Now Wu, 36, is the first woman and person of color elected to lead Boston, as the city has never had an elected mayor who is not a white male.

In 2016, Mayor Wu spoke to Lower School students about city politics during Community Curriculum Day ahead of the 2016 election. After addressing the entire Lower School, she had a special session with both Upper School and Lower School AsIAm affinity group members, where she reflected on the importance of community and identity throughout her career (pictured). Winsor alum Sophia de Castro ’19 recently recalled that visit: 

“Michelle Wu’s visit to Winsor and her devoted session with the students in AsIAm were incredibly impactful to me as a young Asian American woman, experiencing the empowering effects of representation,” said de Castro. I remember Wu sharing openly about being the first Asian-American woman to serve on the Boston City Council, as well as her listening to students’ stories and cultivating our passions. Her visit and her community-focused approach to leadership continue to inspire me and inform my ideas, and I am eager to follow her continued impact on the Boston community.”

In the spring of 2020, Wu was the featured speaker in Mr. Braxton’s City on a Hill: A Look at Boston’s History, Culture, and Innovation course. The course focuses on the Boston neighborhood’s current challenges and opportunities, exploring topics such as affordable housing, food deserts, transportation, education, and health care. Wu talked about her work as city councilor on these issues. She also spent time listening to the important research and neighborhood profiles conducted by the students in the course.

Wu came to campus for a second time in 2020 to speak at an all-school virtual assembly as part of an First Generation Experience Affinity Group panel discussion. In this forum, our distinguished guests shared stories of how they came to the United States and the challenges and experiences that shaped who they are. Read more about last year’s panel discussion: Celebrating First-Generation Americans.

Anshi Moreno Jimenez ’15, the Director of Fundraising at Michelle Wu for Mayor of Boston recently reflected on on the important contributions of several Winsor students working on the campaign over the past two years:

According to Jimenez, “Winsor students helped to lead our youth organizing team that we fondly call the “Wouth.” They ran meetings, they set agendas, they strategized how to reach new voters, they made phone calls. They were even featured for their work in major news outlets. We needed a few students to step up to bring others into this movement, and we could count on Winsor students to do just that. I didn’t know about local politics or campaigning in high school, and it fills me with so much joy and hope to see these young women be more than ready to take on the politics of our time.”

Wu’s family experience was so set apart from the notion of being in a room where policy was being made. Accustomed to never seeing anyone who looked like her in the room, or on the T.V., she said it was when a family member faced a mental health crisis and needed help that she realized “how big the gaps were. We have so many resources, but we aren’t connecting them to people who need help.”

We all at Winsor wish Mayor-elect Wu well as she takes on this important role leading the City of Boston!