A group of Clinton School students will travel to San Diego this weekend for the Clinton Global Initiative University on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The annual gathering is hosted by President Clinton to encourage public service among college students across the country.
Each student in attendance will make a public service commitment – a project they will plan and implement during the next year. The Clinton School student commitments are below:
Shenan Boit – Girls’ Referee Club
– Boit will work with local teachers and referee associations in developing countries in order to help young women become certified soccer referees. Qualified girls can then officiate soccer games and use the money they earn to help pay their school fees, uniform costs and food for themselves and their families.
Kate Cawvey and Sophia Said – Building Bridges through Interfaith Dialogue for Youth
– Cawvey and Said will organize a community conversation for high school youth in the Little Rock area to empower them by creating a shared vision of their community that consists of varied religious populations. The dialogue will help the youth acknowledge each other’s faiths by listening to one another, learning from each other and growing together in a diverse community based upon inclusion, in spite of their spiritual differences.
Fernando Cutz, Spencer Lucker and Nicky Hamilton – Degrees for the Delta
– In a county that falls within the poorest one percent in America according to the Census Bureau, Lee High School boasts little opportunity for its graduates. For most students, education ends after high school, with only 54 percent even graduating. In response to this devastating fact, this group of Clinton School students will conduct a series of workshops focused around continuing education programs in an attempt to expose this community to opportunities beyond high school.
Heidi Justice and Hilary Trudell – Straight Talk for Teens
– Justice and Trudell commit to collaborate with Just Communities of Arkansas to promote education and awareness surrounding the issue of sexual orientation in schools. As bullying in schools is a common problem in Arkansas and the United States as a whole, the students hope to combat the issue through developing a panel of young adults who can educate students on the reality of being LGBTQ and dismantling myths surrounding the topic
Julie Meyer and Judy Watts – Key Ingredients
– Meyer and will implement the second phase of a CGIU commitment they made to the community and youth of Little Rock in 2010. The first phase consisted of conducting a feasibility assessment of a nonprofit coffee house aimed at building community for underserved youth. The second phase will to pilot the new coffee house, called Key Ingredients to serve as a community space where youth can gather and engage in their communities.
Ivan Noisette – Vulnerable Children and Mothers Initiative
– Working through the Rwandan NGO “Angel’s Heart,” the vision of the Vulnerable Children and Mothers Initiative is a city (Kigali, Rwanda) free of “street” children and adults. The mission of the initiative is to temporarily service the needs of street children and their families by providing access to sustainable employment, education and job opportunities.
Shamim Okolloh – Future Farmers of Uganda: Creating a pathway to income-generation for youth through agriculture
– Okolloh commits to creating the Future Farmers of Uganda project that will equip 11th and 12th grade high school students on an agriculture track with knowledge, skills and hands-on experience. This will drive employability, productivity, food security and improved livelihoods while reducing poverty and rural-urban migration.
Marc Peters – Masculinity U’s Hip Hop 101: Conceptualizations of Masculinity in Hip Hop Music
– Peters will research conceptualizations of masculinity within Hip Hop music and design a facilitation series to engage college-age males on the topic. He will network with college students and staff at local Arkansas colleges to engage them in the development and implementation of the project. He hopes this will be the start to a larger conversation about redefining masculinity and the role of men in ending gender violence.
David Watterson – Music for the Good
– Watterson commits to unite local musicians from throughout Central Arkansas to put their musical abilities to work for healthier and more vibrant communities. He will recruit musicians from various institutions, including community-based organizations, schools, universities and performance venues in a pilot “Music Day” event at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, in which patients will be given the opportunity to engage with musical instruments and participate in song and expression. The pilot event will be used as a launching pad to organize a Central Arkansas music-driven service community, which will be integrated with a national nonprofit that promotes music as a strategy for social good.
Ryan Williams – Women’s Health
– As it relates to women, citizens from underprivileged, under resourced, and developing countries often lack access to the necessary resources and education required for females to have an opportunity to experience menstrual health free from unclean sanitary conditions or social stigmas and taboos. Williams commits to work towards establishing equitable access to global health care and health education resources for all women to have the right to adequate and equitable menstrual health.