Robin Gonzales, a UNLV student and a native of the Philippines, will represent a health education project he and his high school classmates created in southern Philippines at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference (CGI U) at Arizona State University March 21-23. This is the second consecutive year Gonzales and his team have been invited to participate.
CGI U launched in 2007 by President Bill Clinton and brings together students, innovators and leaders in nonprofit, business, and government. More than 1,000 university students from around the nation and 75 countries attend the conference each year to learn innovative approaches to solving global issues. CGI U inspires students to act on issues including education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. CGI U requires students to report back project goals and results.
Gonzales, a political science and English major, along with a former high school classmate who now attends Lone Star College-North Harris in Texas, will represent The Berchmans Initiative. Named after the Jesuit St. John Berchmans, who preached philanthropy and good deeds, the initiative started when Gonzales and his high school classmates saw a need to bring health education and medical attention to impoverished areas of southern Philippines.
Gonzales’s tight-knit group of 20 to 50 classmates founded the group in 2012, recruited volunteers and sought partnerships with medical professionals and health agencies in the Philippines. Their almost-quarterly projects have included health seminars, hygiene packet distributions, medical treatment and disbursement of nutritious food for more than 200 women and children in the towns of Lunzuran, San Jose Gusu and Mercedes of Zamboanga City.
“Our goal is to improve child mortality rates, maternal health, and the quality of life for mothers and children in the southern Philippines region. CGI U has been extremely helpful in providing our group access to a wide network of decision-makers and inspiring leaders and students from across the world to learn from and exchange ideas,” said Gonzales, a UNLV senior and president of The Berchman’s Initiative. “We’re excited to be a part of CGI U to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.”
While Gonzales and his former classmates attend college in the U.S. and around the world including the Philippines, each use their expertise in nonprofit work, community organization, medicine, information technology and business to keep their work and fundraising going.
Read the full story on UNLV's News Center Website
CGI U launched in 2007 by President Bill Clinton and brings together students, innovators and leaders in nonprofit, business, and government. More than 1,000 university students from around the nation and 75 countries attend the conference each year to learn innovative approaches to solving global issues. CGI U inspires students to act on issues including education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. CGI U requires students to report back project goals and results.
Gonzales, a political science and English major, along with a former high school classmate who now attends Lone Star College-North Harris in Texas, will represent The Berchmans Initiative. Named after the Jesuit St. John Berchmans, who preached philanthropy and good deeds, the initiative started when Gonzales and his high school classmates saw a need to bring health education and medical attention to impoverished areas of southern Philippines.
Gonzales’s tight-knit group of 20 to 50 classmates founded the group in 2012, recruited volunteers and sought partnerships with medical professionals and health agencies in the Philippines. Their almost-quarterly projects have included health seminars, hygiene packet distributions, medical treatment and disbursement of nutritious food for more than 200 women and children in the towns of Lunzuran, San Jose Gusu and Mercedes of Zamboanga City.
“Our goal is to improve child mortality rates, maternal health, and the quality of life for mothers and children in the southern Philippines region. CGI U has been extremely helpful in providing our group access to a wide network of decision-makers and inspiring leaders and students from across the world to learn from and exchange ideas,” said Gonzales, a UNLV senior and president of The Berchman’s Initiative. “We’re excited to be a part of CGI U to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.”
While Gonzales and his former classmates attend college in the U.S. and around the world including the Philippines, each use their expertise in nonprofit work, community organization, medicine, information technology and business to keep their work and fundraising going.
Read the full story on UNLV's News Center Website
Student selected to attend Clinton Global Initiative
Lone Star College-North Harris student Tara Alcera, recently attended the prestigious Clinton Global Initiative University Conference (CGI U) at Arizona State University, where she represented a health education project that she and her high school classmates created in the southern Philippines.
The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a program of the Clinton Global Initiative, brings together college students to address global challenges with practical, creative solutions.
CGI U participants do more than simply discuss problems – they take concrete steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships, participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they complete their projects. Since 2008, students have made more than 4,000 Commitments to Action.
Alcera represented The Berchmans Initiative. Named after the Jesuit St. John Berchmans, who preached philanthropy and good deeds, the initiative started when Alcera and her high school classmates saw a need to bring health education and medical attention to impoverished areas of southern Philippines.
“Our project, The Berchmans Initiative, is important to me because through it, in my own little way, I am able to be of service to others, said Alcera. “I am able to impart what I know, and what I have, to others who, sadly, might never even have such things. When you help someone, you get this great sense of accomplishment. I've never felt anything like it. It's a wonderful feeling.”
Alcera and her classmates founded the group in 2012, recruited volunteers and sought partnerships with medical professionals and health agencies in the Philippines. Their almost-quarterly projects have included health seminars, hygiene packet distributions, medical treatment and disbursement of nutritious food for more than 200 women and children in the towns of Lunzuran, San Jose Gusu and Mercedes of Zamboanga City.
“This project was something my high school classmates and I came up with, said Alcera. “Basically, we all grew up in the Philippines and have seen first-hand the desperate situation of impoverished areas in our city. The lack of access to opportunities for impoverished areas was our main motivation to pursue this project as we had better opportunities to succeed. We wanted to use our education as a means of giving back to our local community in the Philippines and eventually make an impact in the world.”
Alcera one day hopes to be able to establish a sustainable initiative to provide impoverished communities with access to health, education and other opportunities.
With her goals set high, Alcera is looking forward to finishing her college education, and if given the opportunity, would like to pursue graduate school and earn a master’s or doctorate degree.
Read more on The Observer
The Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), a program of the Clinton Global Initiative, brings together college students to address global challenges with practical, creative solutions.
CGI U participants do more than simply discuss problems – they take concrete steps to solve them by creating action plans, building relationships, participating in hands-on workshops, and following up with CGI U as they complete their projects. Since 2008, students have made more than 4,000 Commitments to Action.
Alcera represented The Berchmans Initiative. Named after the Jesuit St. John Berchmans, who preached philanthropy and good deeds, the initiative started when Alcera and her high school classmates saw a need to bring health education and medical attention to impoverished areas of southern Philippines.
“Our project, The Berchmans Initiative, is important to me because through it, in my own little way, I am able to be of service to others, said Alcera. “I am able to impart what I know, and what I have, to others who, sadly, might never even have such things. When you help someone, you get this great sense of accomplishment. I've never felt anything like it. It's a wonderful feeling.”
Alcera and her classmates founded the group in 2012, recruited volunteers and sought partnerships with medical professionals and health agencies in the Philippines. Their almost-quarterly projects have included health seminars, hygiene packet distributions, medical treatment and disbursement of nutritious food for more than 200 women and children in the towns of Lunzuran, San Jose Gusu and Mercedes of Zamboanga City.
“This project was something my high school classmates and I came up with, said Alcera. “Basically, we all grew up in the Philippines and have seen first-hand the desperate situation of impoverished areas in our city. The lack of access to opportunities for impoverished areas was our main motivation to pursue this project as we had better opportunities to succeed. We wanted to use our education as a means of giving back to our local community in the Philippines and eventually make an impact in the world.”
Alcera one day hopes to be able to establish a sustainable initiative to provide impoverished communities with access to health, education and other opportunities.
With her goals set high, Alcera is looking forward to finishing her college education, and if given the opportunity, would like to pursue graduate school and earn a master’s or doctorate degree.
Read more on The Observer
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