Changes

Connect a network of motivated students interested in innovation to be the student representatives for our USD Changemaker Identity. USD Thread: Our idea is to model a component of the nonprofit organization called Thread at our university. Students would apply to the program both as current student leaders and incoming first year students. 100 students would be selected into the program. Every month a group of 10 students randomly assigned to a different group every month would meet to discuss a specific topic related to social justice, innovation, and the USD sense of community both on campus and off campus. After 10 dinners and discussions with a new group of 10 people, we will have a large dinner with all 100 participants of USD Thread to discuss their ideas and findings with the administration. As a sociology major I know that tackling most social justice issues starts with a conversation and informing people of different perspectives. This idea of Thread is to connect a diverse student body to identify with our changemaker identity. We have prototyped a similar model to Thread with a Changemaker event called "Dinner with Strangers". The discussions have always been very engaging and the students feel very connected after having the space to talk about important issues. I think expanding this event with more structure and purpose would greatly contribute to building connections among a diverse student body.

Through the Changemaker Student Committee, interested students will have the opportunity to learn the ideas behind Human Centered Design through taking action on the exisiting projects within the Chanegmaker Hub (i.e: My Story). Students will build community with other passionate individuals as they go through the process of planning and implementing a project that meets a need on our campus. In addition, the Changemaker Student Committee serves as a space for students who are not familiar with changemaking or social justice issues to come and explore different options to help them discover what they are most passionate about.