Former BRI Student Fellow Featured in National Media

Former Bill of Rights Institute Student Fellow Samuel Underhill is gaining national attention for his efforts to make more young people aware of civic engagement opportunities.

The Associated Press, in coordination with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, recently published an article about students who founded nonprofit organizations. The article, “Stuck at home during COVID-19, Gen Z started charities,” featured Underhill and was published in more than 100 media outlets throughout the United States.

Underhill, who took part in BRI’s 2023 Student Fellowship program and currently attends the University of Alabama, discussed how the Fellowship experience was “transformative” for him. An Indiana native, Underhill learned about the program from one of his teachers—but he soon began to wonder whether other students were aware of such opportunities.

He previously told BRI he and his colleagues “discovered that there is no centralized resource for civics opportunities, government internships, or anything else of the sort” and any opportunities that existed were mainly in urban areas.

This led Underhill, working with other BRI Student Fellows, to found ActivateGenZ, which increases awareness and availability of civic engagement opportunities, particularly in rural communities.

Underhill said the organization now has 28 community volunteers who compile opportunities at the local and state levels.

To learn more about the organization, visit the ActivateGenZ website.