Babson Changemakers at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference
Post by Yulkendy Valdez, Class of 2017
I, along with other Babson students from several classes, had the opportunity to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University conference at Arizona State University during spring break. This conference is sponsored by the Clinton Foundation which supports thousands of diverse changemakers every year to create something good and implement social and economic ventures in the community.
My group’s (Austin Pearl, Krystina Posada, and I) commitment is to advocate for young women in the Dominican Republic through setting up an internship programs for high school girls to connect with business leaders in their local communities and learnthe skills they need to inspire them to create the professional careers they envision. Another commitment was made by Daquan Oliver and Julian Addy, both seniors, to scale the organization Recesspreneurs to help more boys and girls achieve their entrepreneurial aspirations. Another senior Nitaya Walker is using financial literacy to help young African American women succeed in college. Michelene Wilkerson, a sophomore, is using her project to build a platform to talk about race from different perspectives while Irene Laochaisri, a first-year, is using theater to create social change. Savitha Sridharan, a student in the MBA program, is taking solar energy to rural areas in developing countries and Jeremy Cai, a first-year, is introducing a new modern composting bin. Rene del Castillo, along with two other classmates, are working on a venture (H2knO) that sells water bottles with a technology that will help individuals drink more water and become more healthy.
I enjoy getting to know my fellow Babson leaders. I had the opportunity to network with a 1,000 students from all over the globe trying to make an impact in the world. I even got to shake President Bill Clinton’s hand! Thank you to the Lewis Institute for helping make this happen. Apply next year and change the world with us.
More information on Babson’s Lewis Institute
More information on the Clinton Global Initiative