BRI Brings MyImpact Challenge to Oklahoma

Students gathered at Oklahoma State University’s Tulsa campus last week to make their pitch for funding as part of the Bill of Rights Institute’s MyImpact Challenge Civics Fair.

Inspired by Tulsa’s rich history of diverse entrepreneurship, BRI collaborated with Kidvation Global and Tulsa Changemakers for the event, which consisted of students taking part in a “hack-a-thon” session. They worked to develop a solution to a problem in their local communities and made a “pitch” for funding that same day, while using the constitutional principles central to the contest.

The first-place winner at the Oklahoma fair was Harini Senthil, who graduated this year from Jenks High School in Jenks, Okla. She started the Public Health Youth Advocacy Workshop, which teaches students how to effectively advocate for public health issues, including access to diabetes screenings, substance abuse prevention, and mental health screenings, and connects them to local public health stakeholders.

Second place went to Komari Crisp from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. Crisp created the Youth Action Coalition, which seeks new perspectives from young people on issues that affect their local communities. The coalition also provides leadership networking opportunities to young people and teaches them resume-building, public speaking, and other career readiness skills.

Booker T. Washington High students Emilia Nguyen, Leslie Bernal, Grace Duhig, Eva Ross, and Marcus Johnson received third place for developing a workshop to teach their fellow students how to engage in civil discourse. The group was inspired to create the workshop after attending a local school board meeting where they didn’t feel comfortable speaking up about issues affecting them and other students.

Visit BRI’s MyImpact Challenge page for more information on the national civics contest, including previous winners.