decker ngongang

This post was originally published on The Case Foundation blog.

What can college students do to enact meaningful and sustainable change? How can campus-based initiatives boost civic engagement, personal well-being, and transformative learning? Students, faculty members, administrators, and expert speakers explored these questions at the fourth national Bringing Theory to Practice Conference held in Washington, D.C. on November 13th and 14th.

As a college student, it can be easy to live in the bubble of academia and to ignore what is going on in the outside world. The conference challenged students to step outside of that bubble and view themselves as engaged learners, active citizens, and agents of change.

This paradigm shift is exciting for several reasons. First, it encourages students to become engaged in their own education and to view themselves as more than passive recipients of learning. Second, it empowers students to become involved in bottom-up institutional change that can impact their campus, their society, and the world.

Architects of change
Donald Harward, senior fellow and director of the Bringing Theory to Practice Project, encouraged each student to think about what change really means, how it works on their campus, and how to become involved as an active changemaker. With the increase in popularity of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, the implications of change and the nature of civic engagement have shifted - both on-campus and off. Harward noted that while social networking is valuable for increasing the number of participants involved and for organizing volunteers quickly, it is just one dimension to affecting change. He urged students to become engaged not just horizontally, but also vertically:

The most desirable way to intensify the conditions needed to affect change, perhaps accelerate change, would be to combine social networking on one level - with its somewhat disorganized but widely dispersed appeal that reduces marginality - with more strategic and critically organized apparatus and leadership for change.

According to Harward, vertical participation involves “active, deep, and prolonged involvement... requiring a high level of accountability and action steps that are intentionally demanding.”  This type of engagement might involve organizing and facilitating discussions, holding workshops or seminars, assembling a task force, or spreading your views in writing. Without a strategic and committed element, change remains shallow and unsustainable.

The importance of risk
Harward challenged all students to create change by making deeper commitments and taking risks. Rather than clinging to comfort and familiarity, he urged students to “champion a contrarian voice,” to explore new and different beliefs, and to take on change in a public arena.  Panelist Darin McKeever, senior program officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, echoed some of these sentiments, encouraging students to take risks with “untrampled enthusiasm,” assume leadership roles, and seek new ways to reach common ground with people from different backgrounds.

Responsibility
One of the primary themes at the conference was responsibility - to oneself, to others, and to the community. Taking responsibility involves more than a conscious decision - it is also about taking action. Decker Ngongang, vice president of programs at Mobilize.org, held a workshop that highlighted ways Millennials can promote civic engagement and upgrade democracy. He suggested first finding an issue you are passionate about, then educating yourself about it and defining a mission. The next steps are goal-setting, team-building, and forming partnerships with other individuals and organizations. He also emphasized using social media to raise awareness, increase participation, and build a network. Above all, he stressed the importance of communication and collaboration - spreading the word about your cause or organization, even to people who might seem to be unlikely supporters.

Next steps
As a college student myself, I agree that student-based change requires a shift in perspective. It is crucial that students engage with their education beyond academics; ideally, this is a dynamic process that involves all facets of the institution, extending to faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and trustees. The Bringing Theory to Practice Project definitely represents a big step in the right direction. Next steps might include reviewing examples of how these change models could work - perhaps by examining case studies of successful student initiatives - or continuing the conversation to discuss methods of measuring real impact.

What do you think? How can students become better equipped to enact change?

Guest blogger Lauren Scherr is an intern for the Case Foundation.

This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes ever day. If you see a Social Citizen, we would love to hear about what they're doing too. Just fill out this quick form with their name, affiliation and 150 words or less on what makes them a Social Citizen.

Name: Decker Ngongang