Student Projects
Ashby
For my project, I founded the Socially Responsible Investing Organization, a CIO that focuses on introducing the topic of SRI to the University. SRI essentially revolves around the idea that you can align your money/investments with your personal values and beliefs. Instead of having your investments support companies that destroy the environment and rely on child labor, SRI directs your money to support companies that have a positive impact on the world and your local community.
As my capstone project, I put together SRIO's inaugural spring forum, “Valuing Change: The New Challenges and Opportunities of Socially Responsible Investing.” I was able to bring in professionals from some of the country’s most prominent SRI firms to talk to UVA students about the topic. Fellow LEADers Stephanie Hobart and Nick Jordan helped immensely, and the forum was a huge success. Here is a press release about the event: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=4816
Brandy
I worked with the Dean of Students in the Kaleidoscope Internship Program, leading the interns, with the goal of continuing to bring multiculturalism to the UVA community through events and social gatherings created and produced by the interns and myself. We had events on the political campaign; movie nights focusing on issues such as hurricane relief, strife in Africa, and the Iraqi war; as well as art exhibits of photos and portraits created by UVA students. I organized event reservations, filed paperwork for expenses, led weekly meetings, and reviewed the intern process. During my involvement in this program, I learned a lot about myself and others and what it's going to be like to work with others in the work force.
Amanda
I collaborated with four other UVA students (current and graduated) from the Nicaraguan Orphan Fund spring break trip. After the trip, we brainstormed having an afternoon community concert in Charlottesville similar to an afternoon spent in the city dump of Managua, Nicaragua. The planning committee started organizing an event that would encourage college students to get involved in Charlottesville as well as have an impact in the community. Throughout the spring, we encountered many setbacks, including finding a venue. Slowly, the vision for the afternoon evolved from a large outdoor concert to a smaller-scaled afternoon event specifically involving a low-income neighborhood called Friendship Court, where we established a connection with the community center Urban Vision and its director.
The end result was drastically different than we had originally envisioned but was ultimately better than expected. About 40 college students and adults spent the afternoon at Friendship Court, playing games, eating ice cream, and painting a large school bus. Neighborhood kids came out to play throughout the afternoon, and we concluded with a meal together and live music by a friend of the Nicaraguan Orphan Fund, Brad Corrigan.
Under One Sky intends to continue the relationships established with Friendship Court and Urban Vision by encouraging UVA students to become involved in the greater Charlottesville community. There are several existing programs established in Friendship Court, and we are in the process of helping make students aware of these opportunities. We also are discussing the potential for undergraduate students to continue growing the concert idea and make it their own.
Alberto Ll
As vice president of Towards a Better Latin America (TBLA) in 2007-2008, I have worked on building relationships with new UVA student organizations that share common missions.
TBLA expo: The expo is the largest TBLA event planned in the history of the organization. Through this event, I’ll bring together TBLA members and other UVA students who have traveled to Latin America in a student photo competition. For the first time in TBLA’s history, the expo speaker will be a community leader of low income, Ruby Cangrejo, from Cuidad Bolivar, Bogota, who will talk about her personal experiences as a community leader.
Latin parties: This year I co-sponsored these events with ASB Tanzania and Students Helping Honduras. Both raised funds to help people in need.
TBLA clothing drive: I started this campaign last year, intending to bring clothing to Ecuador. Most clothing collected was sent to Ecuador; some was donated to a local Charlottesville community. The campaign’s success made me realize that this was an opportunity for me to help directly those who need the most, and we collected clothing during spring 2008 to donate to all the ASB trips that were going to Latin America and some in the United States. TBLA’s effort reached Costa Rica, Jamaica, Ecuador, and various U.S. locations. Today, with Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, we will donate what is left to pregnant Latinas in Charlottesville.
Web site: The TBLA Web site is up and running this year (www.towardsabetterlatinamerica.com).
TBLA programs: This year, I have been able to fundraise, with the efforts of the executive board and the members, $4,632 as of today. This money covers the program in Nicaragua, where we gave 15 ladies in Managua sewing machines to start a new business to sustain their families. We also covered the program of a small school in Quito. We are currently working to fundraise for Laudes Infantis in Bogota, Colombia.
Stephanie Hobart
I am working on providing resources and funding for the people in the Charlottesville and surrounding communities who cannot afford them
I am currently giving presentations to senior centers and assisted living facilities, and providing these centers with the information on hearing losses, how it affects them socially, emotionally, and medically, and also providing them with the guidelines for application for each fund as well as the applications themselves
I am also working on developing a similar program for the elementary schools in the area to give a presentation about the benefits of getting hearing tests when kids are young, and the benefits of getting hearing aids at a young age. I will also provide the applications and materials for obtaining resources to get hearing aids for children
My strongest advantage in this project is that I have hearing aids myself, and I wouldn't be where I am today without the intervention of my preschool teachers, and I am very fortunate that my family can afford hearing aids for me.
Angela Johnson
For my LEAD project, I will be heading up the Inter-Sorority Council (ISC) Scholarship Steering Committee. Greek female students at the University of Virginia have, on average, a higher GPA than non-Greek female students and are involved in more organizations around grounds. However, there is currently no Scholarship program in place within ISC to encourage strong academic performance or reward those that excel above and beyond. With the approval of the ISC Executive Board and Greek office, I will get together a Committee of five individuals in the spring semester to develop a Scholarship program and set up an elected position within ISC to continue the Scholarship program into the future.