buzz
ACTION PLAN
5 tips Leilah Saint Louis says to launch your project…
// 1. FIND YOUR PASSION //
“You need to ask yourself questions when starting a movement. Two important ones are: What topics are you most passionate about, and what are your skills and talents?”
// 2. PICK THE RIGHT TEAM //
top row: Social Media Manager Kyndal Black, Networking Coordinator Amber Jones and Executive Director Abnerline Macenat bottom row: Founder Leilah Saint Louis and Art Director Patrick Lespinasse
Make a Move
// 3. DO YOUR RESEARCH // “Researching the topic you
by diane sembrot
O
honors and scholarship program cofounded by Claes Nobel and James Lewis pairs the highest-performing students worldwide with high school and college scholarships, events, connections, internships and career opportunities. Stamford students Leilah Saint Louis, Abnerline Macenat and Patrick Lespinasse led the workshop on how to attract the community to one’s issue. Leilah, an NSHSS Ambassador, founded BlackOut Stamford, a community social justice advocacy organization
last May. Working with BlackOut Executive Director Macenat, Art Director Lespinasse, Networking Coordinator Amber Jones, and Social Media Manager Kyndal Black (from chapter member school Enterprise High School in Alabama), she organized a three-part webinar on voting and social and racial justice. Running BlackOut Stamford— their cause—they practice the essentials that anyone can learn and replicate when ready to take action on any issue. (Keep up on Instagram @blackoutstamford.)
want to work on is vital to your brand. Make sure you know the ins and outs of your topic.”
// 4. NETWORK //
“To build a brand and bring awareness to your project, know how to network. We found LinkedIn to be very useful—it’s like Instagram for networking.”
// 5. TAKE BREAKS //
“Starting a passion project is very hard work so maintaining a good mental state is very important. If you need a break, take one. You can’t do your best work when you’re not mentally at your best.”
CONTRIBUTED
Your year to start YOUR OWN MOVEMENT ver the past year especially, social justice has been at the center of many discussions, large and small—across the nation and around the dinner table. Some wanted to move from talk to action—that is, they wanted to do something about injustice. For that reason, the National Society of High School Scholars (nshss.org) hosted a Making a Movement Workshop one month before the national elections to cover how to brand one’s own initiative. The international
“When looking for people to add to your team, assess yourself to see what your strengths and weaknesses are, and compare them with the people you want to work with—and make sure they go hand-in-hand.”
stamfordmag.com
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