Dollars for Ideas

I’m learning in Sustainability class not to value money. Money is outdated, our readings explain; it fosters a dependence on something of no concrete value while ignoring the immense value of a shade-providing tree or a network of life-giving streams. I buy into this, having almost worshipped the regal maple outside my window growing up. But sometimes money is pretty darn useful, especially when I plan to use it through an Innovation Grant to better my St. Lawrence community.

Volunteering at Kick it for Krissy, a campus-wide Zumba event last weekend for a child with lukemia

The point of an Innovation Grant, as explained by Jasmine Wallace ’13 in her Hill News article, is to divide a $100,000 Mellon Foundation grant into small projects that “improve student life on campus,” vaguely. Past recipients have used their $2,500 to $5,000 award to fund a school Spirit Week, buy a portable student ID scanner, build a trail network and an arboretum on the St. Lawrence campus—these grants fund all kinds of nifty little ideas.

Moonlight hiking to Take Back the Night with the Women's Resource center last week

Someone drew contour lines on the sunny lawn near my dorm for a permaculture garden, funded by the last round of Innovation Grants, and I fill my Camelback bottle every day at our “Hydration Station” in the Student Center also thanks to Innovation dollars. We’re not a tech school, like my brother’s, where every publication screams INNOVATION in bright capitals. At St. Lawrence we’re always looking to improve our school just the same, in ways more thought-provoking (I like to think) than a snazzy computer program.

I collaborated with Career Services, Athletics and Doug Geraghty '12 for my proposal, and we struggled to keep our approval under wraps until the official unveiling last Monday. “Marketing the Student-Athlete Experience,” we’re calling our event, tentatively, based on our conviction that athletics are a valuable pursuit but almost always conflict with networking and career development on campus. We plan to bring 4 or 5 former athletes to SLU, possibly coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Title IX this year, for food and career-related fun with athletes looking to capitalize in the job search on the skills we’ve learned through a lifetime’s dedication to sport.

    An athlete friend who would come to my event if he wasn't graduating! Who does that, anyway?

This sounds complicated. But really I think it will be fun: planning an event, trying to involve my extended teammates, reaching out to graduates who may not have made it to Canton in years. Our event won’t happen till the fall but I’ll keep the blog updated on our progress; if you’re a former athlete looking to connect with current students on our gorgeous campus, shoot me an email too!