Have you ever felt powerless as a student? ASU is large, and at times it may feel as though one's voice can get lost amidst the chaos. But there is an organization centered around enabling students to actively change their communities.
Podcaster Haley Armenta sits down with Jacqueline White, community action grant chair for Changemaker Central at ASU. White shares what she does as a changemaker and what she can do to help students achieve their goals.
(Haley Armenta)
Hello everybody, my name is Haley Armenta, and today I am here with Jacqueline White. Jackie is the recipient of the Next Generation Service Corps Scholarship under the Public Service Academy and is a current staff assistant for Congressman Ruben Gallego. Thank you for joining me today.
(Jacqueline White)
Thank you for having me, Haley.
(Haley Armenta)
How are you doing?
(Jacqueline White)
Good!
(Haley Armenta)
That’s good. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
(Jacqueline White)
Yeah, so I’m a first-generation student – I’m the daughter of an immigrant and then also the daughter of someone who comes from the deep south, and they’re from two different cultures. My dad is American, and my mom is Mexican.
(Haley Armenta)
What are you studying, or what is your main focus?
(Jacqueline White)
So, I study public policy and public service in the College of Public Service and Community Solutions.
(Haley Armenta)
Okay, and so how did you get into this area of interest?
(Jacqueline White)
I transferred from a community college – it's Mesa Community College, and I took a program called SPFF (it's Student Public Policy Forum). It was a phenomenal program that exposed students in the community college to public policy on a municipal, statewide and federal level. I learned so much about policy and recognized that real change happens through policy, so I knew that I wanted to be a changemaker and improve things for my community, and policy is where you start.
(Haley Armenta])
What is Changemaker Central?
(Jacqueline White)
So Changemaker Central is a student-led initiative that’s University-wide. They focus on empowering students to recognize that they can be a changemaker, and they have different pillars they prioritize. You can come into Tempe’s Changemaker central office in the MU, and you can go in there, and they will ask you what you’re passionate about, and they would hook you up with different ways to get involved in doing that on campus and how you can create positive, social impact and change through your passions. I’m the community action grant chair, so for ASU students listening, apply because we actually have a grant where students can apply, and they get a different amount of funding depending on what their ideas are. But pretty much it just provides seed funding for student-led initiatives and ventures, so it can be about sustainability, civic engagement, service, non-profit, sexual violence awareness and prevention, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. There are so many opportunities for students to gain funding, and applying for a grant is already a phenomenal experience an organization can have. Students can benefit from this because they will see that they can be a changemaker, and someone believes in their idea, and 'here’s money to go pursue that because this institution has faith in you, and we want to grow your leadership and skills as a changemaker on this campus.'
(Haley Armenta)
I definitely appreciate the close-knit community that ASU has both with the alumni, the undergrad students and the grad students, so did you hear that, ASU freshmen? Go stop by Changemaker Central at the MU. That sounds super beneficial, and I wish I would have known about that when I was a freshman.
(Jacqueline White)
Yeah, we’re on every campus too.
(Haley Armenta)
There you go – all around. Is there a way for any ASU students to contact you if they want to see change on campus, or is there any way you could help out with that?
(Jacqueline White)
Yeah, absolutely! They can contact me via email, or they can even feel free to text me. I’m a pretty open book, so my email is jawhit26@asu.edu, or I feel like I’m not supposed to give my phone number out on public podcasts, but if you email me, you can feel free to ask for my number if you have any concerns and prefer to speak over the phone.
(Haley Armenta)
It’s also in the signature.
(Jacqueline White)
Yeah! It’s in my signature.
(Haley Armenta)
Thank you once again for sitting with me tonight – it’s been lovely.
(Jacqueline White)
Thank you so much. I feel so empowered being here with you tonight.
(Jacqueline White)
Bye!
Reach the reporter at haleyarmenta@gmail.com and on Twitter @HaleyAAndrea.
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