At Envision’s ninth Presidential Inauguration Leadership Summit, middle, high-school, and college students converged at our nation’s capital, not only to witness the historic 58th Inauguration, but also to collaborate on solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Delegations for Change – Solutions for a Bright Future
The Summit’s Delegations for Change workshops tasked students with working in small teams to select an issue they felt passionately about and then apply their unique skills and creativity to formulate real-world solutions. At the culminating Summit Showcase, each team presented their solution to their peers. Today we’re proud to honor the winners from the High School Summit Showcase. Later this month we’ll also announce the middle school and college winners.
Category: Racing Extinction
Winning team: “Aquafy” – Annika Srivastava, Grayson Massenburg, Miles Moore, Valentina Irazabal, and Savannah Nippa.
The issue: The unsanitary water supply in Latin America, which is infected with bacteria, killing up to 2 million people each year.
The team’s three-pronged solution started with education for the residents, focusing on the benefits and techniques for boiling water to eliminate bacteria. In addition, they suggested delivering water purification tablets to the affected countries, as well as building clean water facilities equipped with purifiers. These solutions can be implemented by partnering with groups such as the Charity Water Organization and Global Water Partnerships.
Category: Imagining Peace
Winning team: “Citizens of Peace” – Blake Barclay, Colton Anderson, Konnor Halteman, Hailee Andrews, Isabella Chavez, and Reid Burton.
The issue: The drug trade in Latin America, which propagates violence and damages the economy, severely impacting peace south of the border and here in the U.S. The impact of this crisis is widespread, but was also personal for this team, as one of their members lost a brother to a drug overdose.
The team’s solution focused on enforcing border security, promoting cooperation among Latin American governments and U.S. organizations, and working to decrease economic dependency on the drug trade. The group proposed an aid package to build infrastructure in the region and fund education and rehabilitation. They also proposed inflating the value of legal cash crops, to provide farmers with an alternative income.
Category: Curing the Future
Winning team: “Let’s Talk” – Andrea Venderby, Victoria Wolan, Crystal Raines, Raven Washington, Aman Srivastava, and Ben Richards.
The issue: Mental illness, which affects 1 in 5 people in the U.S., yet is still considered a taboo subject. Many afflicted people stay silent out of fear of judgement by their peers.
The team’s solution was to spread awareness via social media, encouraging open conversation to eliminate the stigma surrounding the disease. The group designed an acorn logo and created the hashtag “#imanut” as part of a wide-reaching social campaign. To popularize their campaign, the group proposed launching a “challenge” website on which the public will post videos of themselves balancing large quantities of nuts. Funds raised from the challenge trend will go toward research on mental disorders, better treatment, and advanced medication.
Category: Creating a Smarter Planet
Winning team “Limitless Minds” – Hannah Mollin, Amber Allen, Lawrence Veyberman, Luis Andrade, Kaylee Kembumbala.
The issue: The restrictive nature of current standardized testing and grading systems, which create a counter-productive impact on a significant percentage of the student population. These systems fail to recognize the strengths of many students, increasing student stress and reducing self-esteem, which in turn hampers learning.
The team’s solution involved addressing the variety of ways in which students absorb and convey information through a Learning Style Survey, designed to identify each student’s style, then customizing tests to match the individuals. To improve the grading system, the team suggested looking to other examples, such as the system in France, in which students rarely achieve the “perfect” 20. This helps students realize that perfection is not imperative to the learning process. The team also proposed that grades be kept private, with feedback instead focusing on students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Category: Pathways to Power
Winning team: “Making $ense” – Tianna Green, Amanda Coy, Faith Limantono, Patricia Ashford, Sadie Hopkins, and Sadie Dominguez.
The issue: Gender inequality, especially as it relates to wages. On the average, women in the U.S. earn approximately 20% less than men, for the same job, and this gap widens with age. This issue is exacerbated by the cost of childcare, and the pressure on females to be home for their children.
The team’s multi-faceted solution: Create a Commissioner for Equal Pay, to conduct employer assessments and enforce fairness, and then lead a national call-to-action, supporting an annual Equal Pay Day event. In addition, the team would foster support for the Paycheck Fairness Act and open volunteer daycare centers for women in low-income categories.
Category: Drones, Clones and Genomes
Winning team: “Fire Flighters” – Annie Podedworny, Arlin Vieira, Kyra Smith, Travell White, Zachary Solomon, and Jonathan Schoolcraft.
The issue: Fire safety in modern buildings. As our infrastructure becomes more advanced, buildings get taller and urban centers become more densely populated. Fires in high-rise buildings result in injury, death, and financial loss.
The team’s solution involved the use of drones—mobile, unmanned, nimble devices that can be positively leveraged in firefighting scenarios to minimize casualties for both firefighters and fire victims. The team proposed investing in technology that outfits drones with ventilation systems or oxygen masks, to be flown into burning buildings, keeping trapped residents alive until help can arrive. Drone teams could also be deployed to deliver a limited supply of water.
Everyone Wins
The Delegation for Change workshops enabled all Summit attendees to hone new skills they’ll need for future success—skills like teamwork, communication, and thought-leadership. The presentations conveyed amazing insight and ingenuity on the part of all the teams. We thank the scholars who came to Washington for this historic event and we encourage you to Carpe Futurum—Seize your Future—and leverage your passion to inspire others and impact positive change in your community.
Check back soon for our article honoring the College Summit Showcase winners!
background-image: a building with the American flag in front of it