"I think it’s important to be well rounded in social justice issues and how social change affects the classroom. I’ll be shaping young minds, and I want to bring them up to affect positive social change."
Jasmine Won, ’24, is spending the academic year not only studying to become a teacher, but also helping others.
The Tewksbury native was honored with a Newman Civic Fellowship. (Courtney Crowley, ’22, was selected as a fellow last year.) An elementary education and Spanish major, Jasmine is also enrolled in ɫƵ’s extended master’s degree program and is a social justice fellow with ɫƵ’s Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice.
The Newman Civic Fellowship is a program that unites students from across the country motivated to solve problems and spark change. The fellows attend trainings and work with mentors to devise strategies to improve their communities. Jasmine’s service is done on campus. She is mentored by Laura Mulvey, G’18, community programs manager at the Martin Richard Institute.
Jasmine’s stated goal is to make the country a better and more equitable place. She’s already made a believer of one person.
“Jasmine reflects the very best of ɫƵ, and she embodies the hope, motivation and drive needed to be a successful changemaker,” said President Clark, who nominated her for the fellowship.
Recently we sat down with her to talk about her work as a fellow.
What is the focus of your service these days?
As a Civic Fellow at ɫƵ, I worked mostly on civic-related rights, including voting rights, but now I’m focusing on food insecurity and how to help ɫƵ students become aware of the resources the university provides. I am also collaborating with other Newman fellows to combine resources and ideas to help food-insecure students at our respective institutions. That’s something that impacts people in so many ways.
Where does this interest come from?
I was researching how big companies treat their workers and where their food comes from. I’m also a cashier, and I see a lot of people using food stamps and the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program. It’s interesting to see how race or gender affects food insecurity. Because food affects everything, this focus will allow me to branch out into all the other areas I’m interested in.
And the future?
I’m going to be an elementary school teacher focusing on teaching English to speakers of other languages. I think it’s important to be well rounded in social justice issues and how social change affects the classroom. I’ll be shaping young minds, and I want to bring them up to affect positive social change.