Power 100 Wrap: Taking It to the Streets
The final challenge for the Top 10 schools will involve taking over our campuses with ONE: making sure that every Wolverine, Trojan, Gator, etc. knows about the issues and our goals. In my time in Washington D.C., the most meaningful part was seeing that for the weekend, it seemed as though ONE had taken over.
After an inspiring speech by late-night talk show host Jake Sasseville, we took to the streets, many of us still in ONE gear, to see the sites. The chance to meet so many campus leaders, coupled with hysterical group pictures made for an incredible kick-off to the Summit.
At one point, my legs started failing me after a long day of walking in the city, and I fell to the back of the group. Instead of finding my eyes fixated on the monuments or memorials, I couldn’t look away from our group. An overwhelming sense of pride came over me when I realized who I was surrounded by: the Power 100 Summit brought together the nation’s most influential and passionate student leaders, and I was honored to be there.
In this moment, for me, the ONE Campaign become more than just that group that Bono started to fight global poverty. I realized that I was a part of something bigger than myself, bigger than the University of Michigan, and bigger than any of us can ever comprehend.
Walking around Washington D.C. that first night was the event that sparked a fire in me and propelled me through the rest of the weekend. I feel so honored to work with the amazing staff and students of this campaign, and am already looking forward to our next interaction.
Thanks for a great weekend, everyone! A special shout-out to Bridget Blair from DePauw for organizing our night on the town!
-Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan
TAGS: Power 100, Uncategorized