Three St. Cloud State University students and one staff member had the unique opportunity of attending the 15th annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) meetings on March 3-4 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Master of Public Administration student Cynthia Garcia Magallanes, Master of Social Work student Adeshola Adeniji, Master of Business Administration student Pauline Smith and Associate Director of Multicultural Student Services Angie Witte represented SCSU, which is part of the CGIU network, at the annual meetings. The three students had their Commitments to Action proposals selected, which are specific, measurable programs that address a pressing global challenge. Students can apply for this opportunity each year.
The meeting, which returned to an in-person format this year, annually brings together student leaders and global experts in business, public service and social impact to develop innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Through their individual Commitments to Action, students tackled issues including climate change, reproductive rights for girls and women, protecting human rights and health equity.
During the meetings, attendees had the chance to hear from leaders across the business, public service and social impact sectors. Some speakers included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and representatives from Google, Johns Hopkins University and many other companies.
Each year, thousands of undergraduate and graduate students from across the country and around the world apply to participate in CGIU’s year-round community of learning, leadership, and action. CGIU strives to inspire the next generation of leaders to tackle pressing challenges in their communities and beyond.
Below are the Commitment to Action proposals submitted by the three SCSU students:
Cynthia Garcia Magallanes
Master of Public Administration student
Commitment to Action Summary:
Bringing Tocar Pronto to Central Minnesota with accompanying game cards and teaching format, provides an alternative teaching method at little to no cost for children and adults in the Central Minnesota region. By using the Spanish version of Tocar Pronto together with the English version, our students and their parents will learn to play the piano and benefit from this program by removing the language barriers that so often impact many areas of the lives of our non-English speaking communities. Music has the capacity to change lives and enhance the future of children. Our goal is to develop talent within our community and Tocar Pronto makes this a reality to our non-English speaking community with limited or no economic resources.
Adeshola Adeniji
Master of Social Work student
Commitment to Action Summary:
Commitment to creating inclusive, accessible, and sustainable empowerment for people living with disabilities in Nigeria. I am committed to designing and building low-cost and scalable programs that would help improve literacy rates in the disabled community. Providing seamless access to customized and inclusive education, creating an opportunity to develop top-notch entrepreneurial skills, and providing monthly food support for the disabled community in Nigeria. I intend to use my connections in the industry to seek grants and funding for this project.
Pauline Smith
Master of Business Administration student
Commitment to Action Summary:
In 2023, Pauline Smith decided to create a nonprofit organization that will help raise funds and get donations from big companies to support Liberian Americans living in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Pauline will take the funds plus donations and share them with Brooklyn Center Elementary School, and Organization of Liberian Mn. Pauline plans to raise funds and get school supplies donations to help those Liberian students in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota by 2025. Pauline believes with nutritious food and school supplies, students will be healthy to participate in school, which will eventually help their grades.
