MDC To Host College-Wide Changemaker Week, Sept. 18-24

Miami Dade College is hosting its first-ever Changemaker Week, a college-wide initiative to equip and inspire students and faculty to take action in their communities.

Programming will run from Sept. 18 through Sept. 24 and feature student-led workshops, presentations, speaker series, community engagement expositions, film screenings and service opportunities.

More than 90 activities will be held. They will concentrate on six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—health and wellbeing, quality education, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, climate action and peace, justice and strong institutions. 

“The purpose of Changemaker week, is to provide the MDC community [with] a chance to learn, grow and connect around issues they are passionate about…making sure that we are collectively working toward a more positive future for all,” said Maria Leal Villalobos, the director of the Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy at North Campus. 

The idea for the seven-day event dates back to last fall, when Executive Vice President and Provost Malou C. Harrison challenged Sandra LaFleur, the director of social change initiatives at MDC, to launch a college-wide celebration of community engagement.

During the spring, the office of Changemaking and social innovation began brainstorming the logistics of the event and presenting ideas to campus presidents, faculty and students. 

Then Changemaking committees—comprising faculty that facilitate changemaking education at each campus—and college organizations that implement changemaking initiatives, including iCED, the Earth Ethics Institute and the Jaffer Institute, began coordinating the events.

“We believe every student has the potential and the responsibility to be a changemaker, regardless of what they study [or] what profession they want to follow,” Lafleur said. “All of us can do something to make the world, our communities, our environment, a better place.” 

Desmond Meade, a MDC alumnus, who overcame imprisonment and homelessness to lead a campaign to restore voting rights for convicted felons as the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, will kick-off the week at the Lehman Theater at North Campus at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18. The event will be live-streamed and broadcast to each campus.

Tuesday, which is National Voter Registration Day, will provide opportunities  for students to register to vote on campus and learn about civic literacy and participating in local elections. 

Wednesday and Thursday will feature activities promoting physical, mental and spiritual wellness, as well as environmental sustainability, through garden tours, outdoor games, films and interfaith discussions

Wolfson Campus students Selene Ulloa and Arquimedes “Archie” Rivero will moderate a discussion panel about financial literacy and sustainable marketing, at the downtown campus, on Sept. 20 in Room 8525 at 1 p.m.

“Changemaking goes beyond mere wishful thinking,” Ulloa said. “It’s about recognizing the potential for further change within ourselves and in others, and working together to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.”

Friday will be dedicated to service opportunities, including the Hialeah and Padrón campuses’ neighborhood cleanups, a North Campus food drive and the Kendall Campus Environmental Center cleanup. 

Saturday will feature a citizenship drive at Wolfson Campus in Room 1216 with the Florida Immigrant Coalition to help immigrants fill out U.S. citizenship paperwork from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees must make an appointment.

The week will close on Sept. 24 at 7 a.m. at North Campus with the MDC Pink Walk, a college-wide 5K to support breast cancer awareness. 

Virtual opportunities such as the online Pelican Harbor Operation Rescue and Release Wildlife Rescue volunteer training and the Coral Restoration and Ocean Stewardship workshop will also be available throughout the week.

“Life is not a spectator sport,” said Kiki Mutis, the director of the iCED department at Wolfson Campus. “You have to step forward and you have to take action in your community, be it whatever you define your community to be.”

To register for events, volunteer or see the full agenda, visit the MDC Changemaker Hub.

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