The global engagement summit - northwestern university
In 2013 I attended GES at Northwestern University in Illinois as one of the American delegates. We came together to learn from one another and help each other develop our skills in areas like development, leadership, communication, and program-building.. Every day for a week we attended morning workshops, afternoon lectures, and evening dinner discussions with distinguished guests from internationally renown NGO’s. This experience provided an environment for me to apply my international studies knowledge to real-world development problems. We worked in groups with students from all over the United States as well as over 20 countries (Egypt, Mexico, Cambodia, India, Australia, Uganda, and Italy just to name a few) to develop our ideas and passions as well as help others communicate theirs. I applied with my interest in human rights through the Jackson School informing my project, ultimately working on ways to engage students with positive, informative mental health dialogues.
Directing the student health consortium
This year I serve as the Student Health Consortium director, an entity of ASUW
dedicated to promoting student health through student-lead programming. Our
purpose is three-fold:
1. To promote student health and wellbeing through education-based programming.
2. To advocate for student health at both an undergraduate and policy-making level through participation in committees, partnerships with campus health and wellness providers, and programming emphasis on self-care.
3. To serve as a useful resource and connecting entity for health-oriented student groups (RSO’s).
I lead a team of nine interns, along with my deputy director. We recently put on our largest event, the Everybody Every Body Fashion Show. The purpose of the show is to promote healthy body image and celebrate all identities. We drew the largest turn out ever this year, the sixth installation of the annual event, with over 800 people packing the HUB Ballrooms to watch our 200 student models walk the runway.
Organizing the event, along with my staff, took me over three months. We reached out to local retailers and designers to have items loaned to us for the day of the show. We trained models, informed people of the purpose of the show, shot photos and videos of student "supermodels" for our promotional material, covered the campus in posters, and contacted local businesses for items to be given away. It was the single most exhausting and rewarding experience of my time at the UW, and pushed me to become a better leader throughout it all. I had to balance schoolwork and other extracurricular duties in order to create the best show possible, while not falling behind on my other SHC obligations, my academics, or my RSO involvement. Ultimately the show was a success and I can look back on it with pride, knowing that it helped boost people's confidence and feel beautiful in their own skin.
1. To promote student health and wellbeing through education-based programming.
2. To advocate for student health at both an undergraduate and policy-making level through participation in committees, partnerships with campus health and wellness providers, and programming emphasis on self-care.
3. To serve as a useful resource and connecting entity for health-oriented student groups (RSO’s).
I lead a team of nine interns, along with my deputy director. We recently put on our largest event, the Everybody Every Body Fashion Show. The purpose of the show is to promote healthy body image and celebrate all identities. We drew the largest turn out ever this year, the sixth installation of the annual event, with over 800 people packing the HUB Ballrooms to watch our 200 student models walk the runway.
Organizing the event, along with my staff, took me over three months. We reached out to local retailers and designers to have items loaned to us for the day of the show. We trained models, informed people of the purpose of the show, shot photos and videos of student "supermodels" for our promotional material, covered the campus in posters, and contacted local businesses for items to be given away. It was the single most exhausting and rewarding experience of my time at the UW, and pushed me to become a better leader throughout it all. I had to balance schoolwork and other extracurricular duties in order to create the best show possible, while not falling behind on my other SHC obligations, my academics, or my RSO involvement. Ultimately the show was a success and I can look back on it with pride, knowing that it helped boost people's confidence and feel beautiful in their own skin.
The 2014 Everybody Every Body Fashion Show was undoubtedly the highlight of my Husky experience. I am grateful to everyone involved - as a volunteer, a model, a retailer, a designer, an artist, a DJ, a photographer, or an audience member. The event brought together over a thousand people to celebrate bodies and identities, no matter who they are or what they look like, as beautiful and unique works of art. It was the largest show ever produced and drew the biggest crowd of its six year history. I would like to extend special thanks to the incredible SHC intern team for all of their hard work, extra hours, dedication and determination. As we worked together and encouraged one another, I watched us grow from good friends into a true family. I would also like to thank our amazing advisor Sean Ferris and the HUB staff who were so supportive and flexible throughout the many months we worked on this event. There are countless individuals who deserve my gratitude and respect - for now, I hope it is enough to say that I have never loved the people of this university more, and I have never seen such confidence and happiness radiating from every single person who participated in the show. I simply have no words that can sum up how inspired I feel by each and every one of you.