BRI Student Fellows ‘Activating’ The Next Generation

The Bill of Rights Institute Student Fellowship program brings together students from all over the country to equip them with the skills to become civic leaders in their local communities.

A recent group of BRI Student Fellows took that message to heart and were inspired by their experience to create ActivateGenZ, an organization that increases awareness and the availability of civic engagement opportunities, particularly in rural communities.

“We discovered that there is no centralized resource for civics opportunities, government internships, or anything else of the sort,” said Samuel Underhill, one of ActivateGenZ’s founders and a junior at the University of Alabama. “Additionally, opportunities that do exist tend to be skewed to urban areas.”

Underhill’s colleagues in ActivateGenZ include students from all over the country, including Illinois, Michigan, and South Carolina. They are currently working to establish partnerships with other civics organizations to increase opportunities for students of all backgrounds. The organization is also holding an essay contest until Sunday, Oct. 22.

“We’re in the process of building resource banks for youth activism, voting, education, and internship searches,” Underhill said. “We also hope to have local presences and chapters across the country to conduct ‘Get Out The Vote’ drives and workshops on how to engage local communities as a student.”

More information on ActivateGenZ and its available opportunities can be found on its website.