Voices United hosted their first Civic Engagement Panel on Jan. 31 in the Northern Center, with the goal of motivating students to be active in their community.
Voices United is a new group on campus that focuses on creating a safe space for students to voice their opinions.
“We are dedicated to educating our community on tough topics, which we hope bridges the gaps between each thought process and allows for a more unified understanding on the issues that are sweeping the nation,” said Hailey Elms, NMU student and member of Voices United. “Our goal, as always, is to educate and to unify.”
The purpose of the Civic Engagement Panel was to educate students on opportunities to become more engaged in their communities.
“I hope that students were able to learn how to get involved and why they should [through this event],” said Abby Martin, also student and member of Voices United.
Elms agreed that the goal of the event was to leave students feeling motivated and inspired.
“Discipline is personal, but motivation is the driving action that spurs people forward. It can be hard to come by,” Elms said. “We talked on a wide variety of topics at this panel, but there were a few takeaways that stuck throughout each question: think, look and act. Think about what you see missing in your community. Look at what could be done, or why it hasn’t been done yet. Once you find the answers to these, then act on [them].”
Each panel member was carefully selected due to the impact they have on their community. The panelists were Victoria Leonhardt, Dave Bonsall and Kevin Corkin.
“We had a wonderful group of panelists, each from different walks of life that brought a unique perspective to civic engagement not only in Marquette but in the country. All of them are NMU alumni, allowing for a special connection with the students that attended,” Elms said.
Martin noted the impact the panelists had on those present and within their communities.
“As a student who’s pretty involved in both NMU and Marquette itself, I care a lot about the people here along with getting involved to help make good changes,” Martin said. “There is always progress to be made. The panelists themselves inspired me as well because [they] are some of the most kind, intelligent and hardworking people I’ve met.”
Elms pointed out the importance of reflecting on the past experiences of people who have been involved in their communities for years.
“While it is so extremely important to hear from students and like-minded individuals, I have found that many people don’t start something because they simply don’t know how,” Elms said. “Bringing in some more seasoned professionals on topics like civic engagement opened the floor for students to think more on what they feel driven to do in their community, and perhaps why they haven’t acted on these ideas yet.”
Months of hard work from the members of Voices United went into making this event possible.
“I started preparing for this event in November,” Martin said. “I then did some research on civic engagement to start thinking about questions to ask. In mid-December I sent out emails to five people in the community asking them to participate, and three of them happily got on board. In January, I made my list of questions by researching all of the involvements of each panelist.”
Members of Voices United expressed their eagerness to see what the future holds for the group.
“I hope that this can become an annual thing,” Martin said. “It’s always great to have conversations about civic engagement and getting involved where you are.”
