Change will indubitably come; whether it is the right kind of change is another issue altogether.
Ensuring that the change of tomorrow is the change that we envision today requires each of us taking an active role in change-making. If people are passive about the change they hope to see, that change will not happen. One must both want to see change and be willing to catalyze it. There is nothing passive about progress, and there is always progress to be made.
The on-campus organization Innovation Hub strives to be a collaborative space that encourages change from all parties in the Rollins community. Rollins Innovation Hub colleagues have been able to put a definition to the illusive “change-maker” delineation:
“To be a change-maker is to actively, collaboratively, and creatively think about what needs to be changed in the world and society, and to form ideas and solutions that bring those sustainable ideas into action.”
College campuses across the nation serve as centers for change-making educations and liberal philosophies. The youth of our generation are the leaders of tomorrow. In recent years, college students in universities across the United States of America have been some of the most vocal and active change-makers. Patient 9 Foundation, COS Nigeria, and the Food Recovery Network are just a few non-profit organizations founded by American college students.
Rollins students actively lead and plan Immersions around local community-service-centric needs identified in the area. Past students have also co-founded numerous service-centric and change-making organizations, including the Rollins Coalition for Sustainable Investment, which is campaigning for divestment from fuel companies.
If there is a change Rollins students want to see, either on-campus or on a larger scale, the Innovation Hub offers a great platform for students to share ideas. Creating a change-making video as a part of the ongoing Rollins Change-maker Video Competition is just one way to share one’s message and reach out to a larger audience.
“Our goal with the Change-maker Video Competition is to give students a creative platform to share their innovative ideas of how they want to change the world and address a social challenge they are passionate about. We want to spark ideas that will encourage students to continuously participate in change-making events and activities.”
There is also an added incentive being offered to those interested in making a video: the top four videos chosen by a panel of judges will receive gift cards, while the top three videos will be potentially featured by the Rollins Marketing Department as a way to share Rollins student experiences with the incoming Class of 2021.
Several students have already been encouraged to begin preparing their own videos, but the deadline to submit a video is not until Feb. 28. It is definitely not too late for interested parties to get started on their own video project. All individual or team submissions are welcome.
There are a number of upcoming events also being sponsored by the Innovation Hub. The Hub will be hosting a pitch competition, Ideas for Good, on March 23; students can present potential solutions to international issues and compete to win $1,000 to kickstart their project.The deadline to apply for this competition is Feb. 27. A fashion show with student models will be held on March 28 as a part of the Rethinking Fashion Event. Also, the Innovation Hub is giving interested students the opportunity to apply to and attend the Sullivan Retreat, from April 7-9, in North Carolina, where students will be encouraged to develop skills that will better help them become agents of change.
If anyone wants more information about these events or an open space in which to discuss change-making and other ideas, they are encouraged to email changemaker@rollins.edu and introduce themselves.
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