Re-Envision Your Future: Welcome All

By: Mark Svensson


“Young people today have more power to change the world for the better than at any time in human history” - William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States


      On an October evening in 2007 at the Apollo Theater in New York City, this single statement would ignite a movement that has come to inspire and empower millions of young people worldwide.
      Since its inception, the Clinton Global Initiative University has served as a forum for students to connect and engage with one another as well as experts in various fields to discuss and develop solutions to many pressing issues. Each passing of the now annual CGIU meeting provides further testament that young people truly do have the power to make a significant impact when we confront pressing challenges.
      Energized by CGIU and President Clinton’s belief that “if we work with other people we can make a difference, and therefore because we can, we should”, today, a group of CGIU 2011 attendees come together in the spirit of true collaboration to launch this blog.
      Who are we? We are students from different backgrounds, regions, and cultures; brought together by our common passion- Empowering and inspiring others. Our mission is to collaborate and engage with young people and fellow students, helping them realize and achieve their potential. By empowering and inspiring others to think big and re-envision their futures, together, we can create a better world for all.
      As we eagerly prepare to engage with young people from all walks of life, and share our personal stories, advice, etc. with you all, it is only fitting that our first blog entry come on the eve of President Clinton’s Birthday. For if it were not for President Clinton’s CGIU initiative, the other students and myself who created this blog, would never have met.
      With that, through our appreciation in the face of his leadership, our awe in the face of his passion, and our gratitude for the meaning he given to our lives through CGIU and his many other initiatives, we dedicate the launch of this blog to President William J. Clinton.

Happy Birthday Mr. President!!


Sincerely,

Myeashea Alexander

Cailey Bronny

Nicole Hutchins

Oly Khowash

Marvin Mathew

Orlando Mendoza

Esther Ngumbi

Steeve Simbert

Mark Svensson

Scevar Swaro

Olivia Wong

How This Blog Works!

by: Myeashea Alexander

We are so excited to be sharing the tears and joy of activism, leadership and innovation with you! For the rest of the month of August, we will be posting articles that allow our readers to get to know us, ask us questions, give us feedback.

Each month we will feature a specific topic, and everyday you will get a different point of view on that topic. We are all different people, with different passions and different ways of getting the job done. So we will share those view points with you.

We will also provide resources to help motivate your social change mojo and support your activism projects.

We want also really want to hear from you! So we will feature loads of opportunities to participate in this blog.

Re-Envision Your Future is meant to be an opportunity to discuss solutions to the issues and concerns that face our global environment today. These topics won’t always be easy to hear and will be challenging to discuss, but we believe in the power of “we” and look forward to the exciting road ahead!

Email us: reenvisionteam@gmail.com

Meet Oly

Oly Khowash is a student of the University of California, San Diego, pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. At nine months old, she began to frequently visit India. Comparing the poverty and struggle faced by people there to her own home made her re-think her duties to the world. Thus, when she reached college, she became involved in many organizations that help people, including EPTEAM [Eliminate Poverty Through Education and Microfinance:[epteam.ucsd.edu] and VOX [Voices for Planned Parenthood]. It was through the second that she went to CGIU [Clinton Global Initiative University: cgiu.org] to give high school students comprehensive sex education. Inspired by being around so many great initiatives, she started her own enterprise: a jewelry store from which all profits go to microfinance and pull people out of poverty. It is hosted at madworldshining.blogspot.com and tinyurl.com/mwshining. She has already made loans to Kiva and hopes to accomplish even more in the future!

Meet Steeve

Steeve Simbert is a sociable young Haitian who recently moved to the United States. Since birth, he has always experienced difficult and almost unbearable life circumstances, which he optimistically utilizes to motivate and make him stronger in all his endeavors. Steeve is very involved in making a difference. He simply adores his freedom and his contributions towards the success of others. His success is simply due to the participation and support with which society has invested in him. He is reciprocating this investment back to local and global communities by directing his efforts to be part of the “change [he wants] to see in the world.” His dream is to be a motivational public speaker and social entrepreneur, while following his passion to do what he loves most.

Currently, he is a sophomore at St. Thomas University, double majoring in Political Science and Global Leadership. He serves as a public speaker, Founder/President of the Ultimate Life Club at STU, Executive Board Officer of the Honors Programs at STU, Senior Advisory Board Officer of the Youth Chamber of Commerce, and Founder/CEO of the Enlightenment Foundation USA.

Meet Scevar

Scevar Swaro is a final year undergraduate student at Maseno University - Kenya studying International Relations and Diplomacy (with IT). Coming from a humble background in Rural Butula District Western Kenya and brought up by a grandmother, Scevar developed a passion to help in putting a smile on the faces of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. With inspiration and encouragement from friends and associates like Esther Ngumbi, he joined the Universities

Fighting World Hunger initiative and founded the Maseno University Chapter and assisting Esther in encouraging other universities in Kenya to join the initiative . He is also the co-founder of Vision

2015: Bringing Clinton Global Universities Meeting to Africa (www.cgiafrica.weebly.com), and the Young Thinkers Kenya Initiative (http://www.facebook.com/groups/ytkenya).

Scevar believes that there is great potential in the youths to make the world a better place for all.

You can catch up more about him on http://www.scevaroswa.blogspot.com

Meet Orlando

Orlando Mendoza is a current undergraduate majoring in Biology (Pre-med). He is interested in public health and infectious diseases (such as HIV, Malaria, and MDRTB). He initially became interested in global health through a course from Paul Farmer, and envisions working for the United Nations World Health Organization as a traveling doctor one day. He is passionate about building a global community through the works of his own research and networking. Orlando resolves to meet each challenge with resilience, passion, and hard work. Although he has overcome several life struggles in life, they have broadened his perspective, taught him essential lessons of loyalty and tenacity, and given him the confidence that he need to surpass whatever awaits him. He never uses the word ‘impossible’, because for him, it only exists for those who believe in it. Orlando will let no obstacle come between him and his dreams

Meet Olivia

Olivia Wong is an undergraduate at the University of California Santa Barbara and is currently studying at the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo, Japan as a Boren NSEP scholar. Her academic disciplines include political science, international relations, and global peace and security. She has specialized knowledge in nuclear weapons non-proliferation and disarmament and is the founder of an emerging international coalition against nuclear weapons, Youth For a Nuclear Weapons Free World. Olivia’s greatest passion is connecting with diverse people around the world and using their individual stories to empower younger generations to respond to the world’s most pressing and urgent problems. She truly believes that our generation will inherit the 21st century’s greatest threats to humanity and thus the youth must unite and respond to these challenges together. Moved by the people she has met during her international journey of self-discovery, she highlights the work of inspirational, passionate, and innovative young individuals through her blog as she travels to various countries.

http://olivearoundtheworld.blogspot.com/

Meet Nicole

Nicole is a researcher at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute and the President and Founder of the Caribbean Education Initiative (CEI). Born and raised on the island of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, Nicole holds a deep pride for her home and her native Caribbean culture and she showcased that pride as a national team swimmer competing worldwide. These travels allowed her to broaden her global perspective and inspired her to become more involved with community development and the protection of human rights worldwide. She holds a BA Humanities Honors degree with concentrations in Economics, Politics and Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin where she also completed an honors thesis that focused on Social Enterprise as a tool for Economic Development in Latin America. Finally, she has been a student advisor for Yele Haiti and the WFP Universities Fighting World Hunger.

Meet Marvin

Marvin Mathew is currently a rising junior at University of Maryland, College Park studying Government& International Relations. A true community leader from New City, NY, Marvin’s interests are on education, health, and human rights. Through his work Marvin seeks to grasp the young minds of tomorrow and by his action he strives to inspire them. One of his most significant achievements was co-chairing an activist organization, the Water Justice Alliance, to raise funds and awareness and ensure clean water for citizens for all people. Marvin also organized a new program in his home county, UPLIFT, designed to encourage high school students to take the next step in their path to higher education. Marvin believes that collaboration can bring the most effective and substantial change.

A strong-minded, inspired, motivated leader, Marvin is easily accessible through social media platforms www.facebook.com/marvinmathew7 and twitter www.twitter.com/marvmadnes

Meet Mark

Mark Svensson is currently a rising senior at Georgetown University studying Government & International Relations. An All-American scholar hailing from Orangeburg, NY, Mark’s interests lie in issues pertaining to education, health, and human rights. A firm believer that our actions today shape the type of world future generations will inherit; Mark’s greatest passion is engaging and empowering people of all ages. His service and leadership in the community has resulted in numerous endeavors including local, state, and federal government awards and recognition. His philosophy is simple, by engaging and working with one another, our potential to make a positive impact in the world greatly increases.

A passionate, energetic, young leader, Mark offers personal accounts of his growth and development along with advice and guidance for those striving to do more and to do better through his personal blog http://mark-svensson.blogspot.com/ Truly an individual who embodies the concept of service for others, Mark aspires to serve in public office one day.

Meet Esther

Esther Ngumbi a native of Kenya, recently graduated with a PhD in Entomology from Auburn University (AU). Esther is passionate about issues of hunger, gender, education, youth activism, and sustainability. Esther is a motivational speaker and has given talks in University of Idaho, AU, North Carolina State, and Texas Tech. Esther’s long term life goal is to work in Kenya and Africa and help establish both a Sustainable Farming Project and a Science and Leadership Center. Esther is involved in several initiatives including Clinton Global University, and Universities Fighting World Hunger. Esther has helped establish several programs including the sustainable campus move-out program, http://www.klewtv.com/news/12607716.html?tab=video , WISE Partnerships in Kenya http://www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/odma/womensinitiatives/wise/Partnerships_in_Kenya.html , Young Thinkers Kenya and Vision 2015: Bringing Clinton Global University Meeting to Africa http://cgiafrica.weebly.com/about-us.html . Esther has held several prestigious fellowships including AAUW International fellowship and Future Leaders Forum Scholarship. Esther’s achievements were recently highlighted by AU http://www.auburn.edu/main/take5/ngumbi.html , http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/comm/agillustrated/ . Esther is a Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellow http://facultyforthefuture.net/sites/all/files/Faculty_for_the_Future_Booklet.pdf and a Board of Directors for Caribbean Education Initiative. Esther is undertaking a post doc at Georgia Tech. Esther believes that everyone has a right to live a dignified life and in education and plans to use her education as a voice for the voiceless, and serve the needs of the hungry and poor.

Meet Cailey

Cailey Bronny is an undergraduate student at Sacramento State University, California. Her past achievements include President of Foundation for Change, Director of Interclub Council, Associated Student Government., and columnist. She has interned for California against Slavery (www.californiaagainstslavery.org) is certified to train caregivers of human trafficking survivors, and has worked with refugee children and their families. She is a mentor to inner city youth, an outspoken advocate on human rights, and is currently being trained as a volunteer homeless youth advocate. In 2011 she was selected to attend the CGIU based on her commitment Safe Haven. A program designed to mobilize the church and faith based community to provide immediate shelter for runaway homeless youth. An advisory committee is being developed. As Coordinator of Training and Education for Forsaken Generation (www.forsakengeneration.com). She educates others on homelessness and sex trafficking, while focusing on the link between these two social issues.

Meet Myeashea

Myeashea Alexander is currently graduate student studying physical and digital anthropology at CUNY Hunter College in New York City. She received her B.A. in Culture and Media Studies with a minor in Digital Media with honors from New School University in 2010. Her thesis was a documentary short about the cultural significance of Hip Hop culture as a social and political phenomenon.

She has an Associate’s degree with a focus in International Relations, Phi Theta Kappa, from Greenville Technical College in Greenville, SC.

In 2009, she founded a program called In Media Resolution as a CGIU participant. It strives to teach leadership and community activism to young women in underserved communities through a media literacy and digital video production skills curriculum.

Welcome to Re-Envision Your Future: A blog for the leaders of the 21st century!

“You are the architect of your owner destiny; you are the master of your own fate; you are behind the steering wheel of your life. There are no limitations to what you can do, have, or be, except the limitations you place on yourself by your own thinking.” - Brian Tracy

This quote defines our generation, and every generation before us. We are how we think, we are what we are willing to do. If you have the determination and motivation, you can reach the stars, and this blog endeavors to help people receive the support and encouragement to kindle their fires and drive themselves to new heights. We hope that, together, we can make the world a better place!