Three FAMU students will travel to Washington, D.C. Thursday for Young People For’s National Summit for Progressive Leaders.
Asia McFarland, Vincent Evans and Tiffanie Cash, will be among the few YP4 Fellows that will represent students from an HBCU at the summit.
YP4 is a strategic, long-term initiative program derived from its father program, People For the American Way Foundation, which guides and invests in the next generation of progressive leaders.
Students, who are called Fellows, will join other aspiring leaders countrywide to learn strategic and innovative tactics for acceptable social change.
Asia McFarland, 19, a sophomore professional MBA student from Raleigh, N.C., and the Elections and Appointments Chair in the 37th Senate plans to come back to FAMU an improved leader.
“(I) plan to create a blueprint with different ideas, which will help me look outside myself and help me build relationships with the community,” McFarland said.
McFarland and her two counterparts were nominated by Mario Henderson, a 2007 Fellow and former director of student lobbying, who also shares the experience with Student Body President Monique Gillum and Senate President Mellori Lumpkin.
In order to be a YP4 Fellow, the student must be in college, submit three essays and participate in an over-the-phone interview, McFarland said.
Students who are chosen to represent their university are nominated, but not limited to only nominations in order to become a candidate for the program.
“This opportunity will be another affiliation to add to the resume, especially since it’s one of the largest organizations in the country,” Evans, 19, a sophomore political science student from Jacksonville said. “It will also provide internship opportunities afterwards.”
While one student plans to build his resume from his experience, another wants to share her experience with the campus.
“I plan to bring something back to the campus and better it,” Cash, 19, a junior criminal justice and biology student from St. Louis said.
Next year Cash plans to nominate another deserving student for the YP4 program and remain active in it.
Upon the student’s arrival back to the University, YP4 will allocate up to $3,000 among the three fellows. These dollars will help fund the fellows’ ‘blueprint for change,’ which was implemented by the students and approved during the summit by the advisors.
The summit will begin at 4 p.m. on Jan. 17 and adjourn at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21. The Fellows’ meals, travel and accommodations will be covered by YP4.