Fellowship to give first-year student a firsthand look at policymaking

When an interest in chemistry didn’t prove to be solvent, Alec Elkin pivoted.

At his Westchester high school, an advanced placement (AP) course in world history opened his eyes to new possibilities, followed by classes in economics and government. Then, before entering Binghamton University, he spent a year interning for his local New York State Assembly member.

“It opened me up to a whole different way of thinking — not just the knowledge of history, but how to analyze it,” Elkin said of that initial AP course. “That pushed me in the direction that I have now.”

Now a first-year student with junior credit standing (thanks to those AP courses), Elkin is double-majoring in philosophy, politics, and law (PPL) and sociology, and pursuing an interest in public policy. He was recently selected by the Roosevelt Institute as a 2026 Roosevelt Network Forge Fellow; the undergraduate fellowship is intended to prepare students for careers as policymakers and public servants. Network students and alumni are also integrated into the Roosevelt Society, a project that connects an intergenerational set of leaders across policy, advocacy, and civic life.

“This is my first foray into not just analyzing progressive policy, but making it,” Elkin said of the fellowship.

Elkin was drawn to Binghamton’s strong humanities programs and the Source Project, which offers first-year students the opportunity to engage in authentic humanities research. He is part of the Source Project’s Debating Basic Income stream, taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of the Humanities William Glovinsky. For his research project, Elkin is focused on the Green New Deal, degrowth, and the impact of energy on wealth redistribution.

It’s a good fit with the Forge Fellowship, which will provide an in-depth look into how public policies are made, how to implement them, and what considerations are taken into account during their formulation, he said.

The fellowship has around two dozen participants, who will be broken into smaller groups to focus on specific policy areas. These groups will then critique an existing policy, showing how it could be made more equitable and effective. At the end of the program, they will then present their critique and feedback to the individuals who made that initial policy, he explained.

Elkin is particularly interested in policies that affect the public welfare, including Medicare for all and wealth redistribution, he said. Long-term, he is considering a career in public interest law, whether for non-profits, unions, or tenant rights organizations.

“This fellowship will give me the opportunity to see not just how policy impacts people, but how it’s constructed in the first place,” he reflected.