Towson University students Oumou Diallo and Jacqueline Bell pose with former President Bill Clinton after winning the CGI U Commitment Challenge.
A group of Towson University students won the fundraising challenge at the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Network conference in Miami, Florida, over the weekend by raising over $7,000 for the “Hope of Guinea” commitment.
Students involved in this commitment are: Oumou Diallo, a sophomore business administration, finance major; Jacqueline Bell, a sophomore molecular biology major; and Luis Alvarado, a senior currently specializing in the areas of international affairs and French literature.
In the CGI U Commitments Challenge, student teams square off to fund their social innovation, enterprise and sustainability commitments. “A Hope for Guinea” won, competing against 42 other commitments from different universities and colleges throughout the country.
“Hope of Guinea” is commitment to provide a safe community center for academic success and civic engagement in Ratoma, Guinea. The community center would provide residents with access to tutoring programs, resources to a community garden, physical education programs and opportunities for community service. The center will provide much-needed opportunities for growth and economic development for the region’s impoverished population that otherwise has little access to such resources.
The CGI U conference is a gathering of more than 1,000 student leaders convened by former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton who present “Commitments to Action:” new, specific and measurable initiatives that address global challenges across CGI U’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health.
The 2015 conference encouraged students to take action on some of the Millennial generation’s biggest concerns: the future of energy, the power of big data to address global challenges, and peace-building in the Middle East and North Africa.
Diallo and Bell were in attendance at the conference and received recognition from former President Clinton. The Towson students attended presentations regarding planetary discussion with individuals such as “Ugly Betty” actress America Ferrera, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate founder Tawakkol Karman, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The panels were facilitated by the former president.
For more information about CGI U, please visit the Clinton Global Initiative website. More information about the “Hope of Guinea” commitment can be found on its Facebook page.
