This summer, five of the nation’s top college-level advocates for solutions to global poverty will travel with the ONE Campus Challenge to Rwanda for a week of on-the-ground listening and learning, June 27 through July 2. This experience will make them even better advocates, as they’ll be able to speak first-hand about what works and what doesn’t in disease prevention and treatment, sustainable agriculture development, maternal and child health promotion, and more.
The five students are:
Mike Fazzino
Mike is a recent graduate of Sacred Heart University in CT where he studied Business and Political Science. Mike has been SHU’s Campus Leader since OCC’s launch in 2007, but he recently stepped down to train next year’s leader. Mike hopes to eventually pursue a Master’s in Public Policy.
Meredith Horowski
Meredith is taking over duties as Campus Leader at the University of Michigan next year. She is seeking to not only bring more attention to ONE’s issues on her campus, but also wants to include the larger Ann Arbor community. Meredith sees a career in non-profit work in her future but for now is focusing on her work at UofM’s Ford School of Public Policy.
Sarah Hunter
Sarah is next year’s Campus Leader at Boston University. She’s a rising senior and hopes to continue her work with international development after graduation. Sarah is considering the Peace Corps or non-profit work post-grad, but for now she is focusing her efforts on spreading advocacy and awareness on the BU campus.
Kritter Keirnan
Yes, her name is “Kritter”, and she’s a rising Junior at Webster University in St. Louis, studying Print Journalism. She was instrumental in getting Sen. Kit Bond to appear on Webster’s campus this April and because of Webster’s relationship with Sen. Bond, Kritter has particular interest in global agriculture.
Charlie Kraiger
Charlie is the current Campus Leader at Michigan State University and has worked incredibly hard to pull his campus from #35 to #2 in this year’s Challenge. Like MSU in their final project, Charlie plans to more closely examine educational systems in Rwanda. He will also be interning with Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow’s office this summer.
These five will be traveling all over Rwanda and blogging about their adventures here on the ONE Blog. Stay tuned!
Every year, ONE hosts the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC): a friendly competition to determine which university’s student body has the most effective global poverty-fighting campaign.
College students work together — with others on their campus and across the country — to learn about global poverty and preventable disease, and to achieve change on behalf of the world’s poorest people through advocacy, action and awareness-raising.
During the school year, students earn points and recognition for their schools by participating in different actions and monthly challenges, including advocating for important legislation, educating people on campus about challenges to international development, and raising the visibility of ONE and the issues we champion. The schools accumulating the most points in monthly challenges and throughout the season are eligible for exciting prizes and national recognition for their efforts in the fight against global poverty.
The 2009-2010 ONE Campus Challenge title goes to the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor! ONE at UMich has been hard at work since September – gathering petition signatures, recruiting new members, lobbying their Members of Congress, educating their peers, and mobilizing the entire Ann Arbor community in ONE’s mission.
For their Top 10 advocacy project, ONE at UMich chose to focus on maternal and child health, where they demonstrated some simple programs being implemented on the ground that are saving thousands of lives. In addition to a phenomenal giant Africa map petition, they also successfully logged 78 calls to Congress, 78 handwritten letters to Michigan Senators Levin and Stabenow, and an astounding 789 letters to Congress signed by UMich students.
For their efforts, ONE at UMich will receive $10,000 in their name to give to the ONE Partner Organization of their choice. UMich has chosen Carolina for Kibera, a small nonprofit in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya – the largest slum in East Africa. University of Michigan Campus Leader Stephanie Parrish visited Carolina for Kibera as a student participant in Summer 2009 on the first-ever ONE Campus Challenge Trip to Africa.
The University of Michigan is very deserving of this honor. The ONE Campus Challenge Team would like to thank the U of M group for all of their tireless work advocating for the world’s poorest people; we are very much looking forward to what ONE at UMich will accomplish in next year’s ONE Campus Challenge!
Congrats, Wolverines!!
PS– If you have had a chance yet, be sure to check out UMich’s video:
The leaves are changing. Football rankings are being watched closely. Classes are in session. And you know what that means – the ONE Campus Challenge is back!
The ONE Campus Challenge is a friendly competition between colleges and universities to determine which student body has the most effective poverty fighting campaign in the country. Students can earn points for their campus by taking different actions that contribute to the fight against global poverty.
It’s been a long summer – one that included a trip to Kenya with five of OCC’s most dedicated students, a training session with the regional Campus Outreach Ambassadors, and a whole lot of planning for the 09/10 season. We’ve combined equal parts old and new for this year – we’ll see returning powerhouse campuses, like last year’s winner, Wofford College. And the 3rd annual Power 100 Summit will occur in winter 2010. But new this year, OCC will launch month-long challenges that focus on particular ONE issues, new prizes, and a brand new freshmen class ready to make a difference in the fight against global poverty.
The ONE Campus Challenge is fortunate to be taking five students, who embody the qualities of ONE and the OCC, on a trip to Kenya from July 25 to August 1, 2009. This trip is meant to demonstrate to the five dedicated students how their tireless mobilization and advocacy work in the United States translates to real, positive change on the ground in Africa. Those selected will take what they learn abroad and use it to motivate and mobilize their fellow students in the fight against global poverty and preventable diseases in next year’s ONE Campus Challenge.
We are ecstatic to announce the five students:
-Bryant Shannon, University of Florida
-Tomas Moreno, Wofford College, South Carolina
-Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
-Steven Thai, Luther College, Iowa
-Melissa Boles, Washington State University – Vancouver
On top of their incredible work with the ONE Campus Challenge this year, these students also endured an arduous application process. An initial group of 20 students was announced at the end of March, determined by the number of actions they had taken as individuals (meaning, without the assistance of their campus group). (Actions considered “individual” were those such as making phone calls or writing letters to Congress, signing ONE’s online petitions, submitting letters to the editor of their local newspaper about poverty and global disease, or inviting new members to join ONE.)
These students were then invited to submit both an application and a project illustrating to the judges how they planned to utilize their experience in Kenya to further raise awareness about the issues of extreme poverty in their local communities once back in the US. These projects were then reviewed by two separate judging panels – one consisting of ONE staff and the second consisting of ONE board members, partner organizations, and experts in development and advocacy.
Huge congratulations to these exceptional wanafunzi (students) and we’ll see you in Kenya!
This past Friday, just as the sun started to set, the band Vampire Weekend took the stage in honor of Wofford College’s big win in the ONE Campus Challenge 08/09.
Wofford students, faculty, staff, and members of the Spartanburg community came out to enjoy the perfect weather, hear the band’s first-ever performance in either of the Carolinas, and most importantly, to show support for Wofford’s dedicated ONE Members and their exceptional work in the ONE Campus Challenge this year.
Before the show, Wofford Campus Leader, Tomas Moreno, and the core Wofford-ONE membership had the opportunity to meet the band, snap a few pictures, sign some autographs, and even have the band leave a voicemail for a friend who couldn’t make the show.
While it was evident that the enthusiastic hundreds in the crowd had an amazing time singing along to their favorite V.W. songs, what struck me is how most in attendance knew exactly what Wofford students had achieved in order to get the performance on their campus. While this concert was a celebration of Wofford’s amazing accomplishments, ONE members were still raising awareness about extreme poverty, global disease, and the OCC even as the band was playing.
Once again, thanks and congratulations to ONE-Wofford for their impressive contributions to ONE and the ONE Campus Challenge this year.
*Missed what Wofford did to earn Vampire Weekend at their campus? Check it out here.
Today, we’re announcing the names of the top 20 leading student in ONE’s campus outreach program, The ONE Campus Challenge (OCC).
These 20 students earned hundreds of thousands of “OCC points” for actions including visits to congressional offices to advocate on behalf of ONE, signing petitions, recruiting new members and raising awareness about ONE issues on their campuses.
They are:
1 Nick Stevens, Webster University
2 Justin Kralemann, Baylor University
3 Tomas Moreno, Wofford College
4 Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University
5 Andrea Netti, Southern Methodist University
6 Hassan Barzani, University of Texas at San Antonio
7 Rachel Berman-Vaporis, Brandeis University
8 Kelly Wynveen, Clark University
9 Mike Weidman, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio
10 Jessica Beckner, Indiana University
11 Steven Thai, Luther College
12 Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
13 Eric Mayle, Missouri State University
14 Bryant Shannon, University of Florida
15 Audrey Ruark, Kennesaw State University
16 Erin Burke, Sacred Heart University
17 Harpreet Kaur, Saint John’s University, Jamaica New York
18 Christie Fleming Franciscan, University of Steubenville
19 Caitlin Harrowby, Maui Community College
20 Genevieve Gearity, Emerson College
For the next stage of the competition, the Top 20 will submit applications and creative projects answering the question, “How Will You Bring Africa to the OCC?” These projects will be evaluated by two judging panels, one made up of ONE staff and a second external to the organization. The students have until April 19th to submit their projects, which can be any combination of video, essay, music or other artistic expression.
The 5 students with the best projects, as determined by our judging panels, will be invited on a once-in-a-lifetime, week-long trip to Kenya with ONE staff in July or August (dates TBD).
In the event that anyone in the Top 20 withdraws from the competition or fails to submit a project, the projects of one or more “alternates” will be considered. These students are:
21 Melissa Boles, Washington State University – Vancouver
22 Olivia Durning, Sacred Heart University
23 Victoria Roman, George Washington University
As you know, the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC) has been underway for months now, with colleges and universities all across the country competing to fight global poverty. Today, we finally have our top 10.
These campuses will be receiving a grant from ONE to fund a project on their campus surrounding the issues of extreme poverty and global disease. The projects will be judged by a panel of ONE staff before being opened up to voting by all ONE members.
The winning school, determined by a combination of the panel of judges and the member voting, will receive a concert by VAMPIRE WEEKEND.
So, without further ado, our amazing Top 10:
Wright State University, Dayton, OH
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
Baylor University, Waco, TX
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
University of California – Davis, Davis, CA
Webster University, St. Louis, MO
Curry College, Milton, MA
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI
Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Congratulations for making it this far and good luck on your projects!
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This summer, five of the nation’s top college-level advocates for solutions to global poverty will travel with the 
Every year, ONE hosts the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC): a friendly competition to determine which university’s student body has the most effective global poverty-fighting campaign.
Before the show, Wofford Campus Leader, Tomas Moreno, and the core Wofford-ONE membership had the opportunity to meet the band, snap a few pictures, sign some autographs, and even have the band leave a voicemail for a friend who couldn’t make the show. 
