The heat is getting a bit more bearable, the outdoor water activities are coming to a standstill, and the leaves are starting to change color. This can only mean one thing (well, it can mean a lot of things actually): the first fall semester for freshman students is fast approaching. Or already starting! Among all of the dorm move-ins, awkward icebreakers, late night cram sessions, and spectator sport adventures you are about to embark on, we have one more thing to throw your way. The Compass Fellowship, in association with The Kenneth Cole Foundation, is looking for 180 freshman students across participating campuses to join Compass Community. So what is Compass Community exactly (besides sounding like something out of The Chronicles of Narnia)?

The Compass Community is made up of young, passionate social innovators who will be given opportunities to interact with business leaders locally and nationally. Fellows will work alongside Mentors to encourage adventurous thinking and proactive participation. The peer-driven curriculum will inspire, push and empower Fellows to achieve what they do best.

Not only will being a part of the Compass Fellowship look great for experience and achievements on your resume, but it will open up your social boundaries, where you will meet people who have similar interests as you. In a sea of thousands of other students like you, it is always helpful to join clubs and organizations like this, just to help the friend-making process a little easier. And when college starts, we need all the help we can get!

The Compass Fellowship will be hitting up 10 campuses across the nation, including San Francisco, Boston, and DC, as well as 2 campuses in Sweden, for a grand total of 180 Compass Fellows. Applications can be found here.

Post by Chris Golden, Executive Director

On Sunday, I took a day trip to New York City to speak on a panel on social media and new technology at the bi-annual Millennium Campus Network Conference. For 3 days, about 600 students from around the country, and several from around the world, gathered on the campus of Columbia University to discuss progress made towards the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, and how it will be imperative on our Generation to respond to the urgent problems facing our world. 

The focus of my small contribution to the Conference was how micro-actions, previously confined and singular in nature, can be amplified, magnified and combined using social media to make progress towards large problems. Faced with the challenge of a sleepy audience as I took the stage, I boldly declared that the era of “1:1 was over.” That got some attention. Then I qualified what I meant in the context of how individuals- citizens, volunteers, activisits, advocates- can do extraordinary things, and how new technology can enhance and extend offline action through new online tools.

As the story of myImpact.org comes clearer in focus, this concept- micro actions towards large problems- is one that is defining both our civic mission and our technical purpose. I presented a similar story Wednesday evening as myImpact.org began a fall series of workshop presentations at the National Young Leaders Conference to high school student leaders.