In the summer of 2015, student leader Dava Donaldson from Defiance College, Ohio, joined Millennium Campus Network (MCN) at its seventh annual Millennium Campus Conference (MCC)—MCC15—at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City. MCC15 was the most comprehensive MCC yet and connected over 450 student leaders and change-makers from over 50 countries. A grant from The Jenzabar Foundation enabled Donaldson and 94 other student leaders to partake in the five-day conference.
“As a senior International Studies major at Defiance College, I have had various opportunities to travel; conduct community-based research; and present my research to professionals in governmental, non-profit, and political science fields,” says Donaldson. “However, not until MCC15 have I had a true opportunity to network with students from all over the world with the same mission: to positively impact the world and be a catalyst for change.”
Founded in 2007 by student leaders Sam Vaghar and Seth Werfel, MCN’s mission is to “train the next generation of global development leaders to rethink the paradigms that perpetuate inequality, promote a human-centric and collaborative approach, and transform dialogue into action.” MCN created MCC to bring together hundreds of these global development leaders in a spirit of learning and collaboration.
“In addition to meeting like-minded students, I was exposed to various organizations, even ones with on-campus chapters,” says Donaldson. “I also gained a better understanding of what the United Nations is doing to ensure a sustainable future through the Sustainable Development Goals that were recently adopted.”
For over six years, The Jenzabar Foundation has had the honor of supporting MCN, and students like Dava are the reason why. “This opportunity would not have been possible without the financial assistance of the Jenzabar Foundation,” says Donaldson. “It is incredible to see that there are generous organizations and corporations that are committed to seeing the goals and dreams of our generation come to life. By attending MCC15, I have gained new insight of the world and social justice causes that have been started by college students, and reaffirmed my commitment to helping the world thrive.”
To learn about MCC16 at the Howard University in Washington D.C., taking place August 1st-5th, please visit http://www.mcc16.org. To learn more about MCC15 at the UN and other MCN programs, visit the MCN’s webpage at http://www.mcnpartners.org/.