Priorities:Converse College Student Priorities

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Project Pitch Video

https://youtu.be/ryI_oSt2uKc

Overview

Converse College was founded on the radical idea that young women deserved a space designed for them to pursue higher education. Since that first year, Converse has continued to help women find their voice, understand their true value, and pursue their vision.  As times change, however, so must we. How might we continue to adapt Converse’s founding principles in order to serve a new generation of women?

We, as students, are entering a post-graduation landscape far different than that of our predecessors. Steeped in technology and connected on a global scale, the tools we need to be successful in the world outside Converse’s campus are ever-changing. It is time for us to foster an innovative, creative ecosystem where failure is nothing but a starting and learning point, and problems are nothing but opportunities. 

Priority 1: Increase awareness of the Social Entrepreneurship minor by adding courses that will spark student interest


The Social Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary minor that caters to all majors to students who are interested in learning how to create and maintain social enterprises in order to contribute to society. The courses offered include general business classes, marketing, economics, english, psychology, philosophy, and theatre, but most of the courses are heavily business based. Due to this reason, many students do not realize that the minor exists. Other students simply are not motivated to start or complete the minor because there are not any courses that  guide students to define social problems and design different approaches to solutions. 


Potential Courses that can be added

Diverse Training: Fighting Hate & Bias and Social Justice are two topics that conveniently overlap. This course is different from courses already offered due to the nature of information and topics that would be discussed and the interdisciplinary aspect. This course would involve between 2-5 professors who teach History, Politics, Women’s Studies, Economics, and Philosophy. Topics that would be taught include analyzing underrepresented groups, exploring and analyzing different forms of hate and bias and how they occur, discuss variations of how to achieve equality, learn how to combat hate and bias inside and outside the workplace, and completing a group or class campaign about a specific social issue agreed upon that will take place in Converse for 1 day- 1 week.
Design Thinking would explore what design thinking is by analyzing case study examples. There will be activities conducted in the beginning of classes in order to ignite curiosity and creativity in order to free the mindset of limited possibilities. There will also be a project that would take place in small groups or as a class effort to showcase what design thinking is and to spark interest to Converse students from various disciplines.


Priority 2: Creating a student council to be the liaison between students and the President regarding the Strategic Plan and its progress from 2018-2023.

Converse’s strategic Plan was created around the framework in our mission and core values. Three themes serve as the pillar for the plan: Vibrant Community, Academic Excellence, and Sustainable Future. The plan was developed in 2018 and the next steps are research to develop actionable plans, budgets, and timelines. 

Having a student council as a liaison between the President and the students will make it easier to communicate student needs and to test the effectiveness of what is being implemented. The SGA President will begin the process of creating the council. The president will report back to PCO (President of Clubs and Organizations) to begin the form of communication. The students that have been chosen are valuable leaders on campus from diverse backgrounds and are dedicated to working diligently to continue the plan evaluation and implementation until its completion in 2023. 

Priority 3: Increase awareness of the Social Entrepreneurship minor by adding courses that will spark student interest

The Social Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary minor that caters to all majors to students who are interested in learning how to create and maintain social enterprises in order to contribute to society. The courses offered include general business classes, marketing, economics, english, psychology, philosophy, and theatre, but most of the courses are heavily business based. Due to this reason, many students do not realize that the minor exists. Other students simply are not motivated to start or complete the minor because there are not any courses that  guide students to define social problems and design different approaches to solutions. Before adding additional courses that are not offered, the minor will be enhanced by changing the course requirements. 

Potential Courses that can be added
Diverse Training: Fighting Hate & Bias and Social Justice are two topics that conveniently overlap. This course is different from courses already offered due to the nature of information and topics that would be discussed and the interdisciplinary aspect. This course would involve between 2-5 professors who teach History, Politics, Women’s Studies, Economics, and Philosophy. Topics that would be taught include analyzing underrepresented groups, exploring and analyzing different forms of hate and bias and how they occur, discuss variations of how to achieve equality, learn how to combat hate and bias inside and outside the workplace, and completing a group or class campaign about a specific social issue agreed upon that will take place in Converse for 1 day- 1 week

Design Thinking would explore what design thinking is by analyzing case study examples. There will be activities conducted in the beginning of classes in order to ignite curiosity and creativity in order to free the mindset of limited possibilities. There will also be a project that would take place in small groups or as a class effort to showcase what design thinking is and to spark interest to Converse students from various disciplines.

Priority 4: Increase student’s networking abilities and entrepreneurial skills by offering more internship and job opportunities through the college.

In this class, professors at Converse would connect students with local businesses, with which partnerships with the college would be made.  This class would allow students to learn how to reach out to businesses, along with getting the hands on experience and networking experience with companies throughout the school year. Students would have the opportunity to intern with a company for a semester, volunteer at events on campus, have an entry level position with a company, and much more. This would allow students to network more with the community, and possibly find future job opportunities after college. 


Related Links

Converse College

Converse College Student Priorities

Business Model Canvas

Converse College Project Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0cd6s6FWAI

University Innovation Fellows

Fall 2019

Aliyah Hancock 

Jhazmin Gomez

Marisa Kawabe

Spring 2016:

Sanuja Goonetiieke

Spring 2015:

Nadia Gathers

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