Why You Should Apply for the 2011-2012 STAND MC
Name: Alice Bosley
School: Stanford Class of 2011
How and why did you get involved in STAND?
I got involved in STAND five years ago when a friend of mine told me about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and about the student group in Pittsburgh she was part of. I looked up STAND online, started a chapter at my high school, and haven’t looked back since. The community that STAND has created across the country of inspiring, motivated and seriously impressive students is what has kept me so involved throughout the years.
Why did you apply to be on the STAND MC?
I had been on the Student Leadership Team two years earlier as a State Outreach Coordinator for California and wanted to take on a bigger role in the national movement. I saw how incredible the students on the Managing Committee were when I was on the Leadership Team, and I knew I’d be working with equally great people if I got the position. There’s nothing better than being able to create national campaigns and focus on larger national issues while also getting to talk to all of the amazing chapters on the West Coast. It’s the best of both worlds.
What were you hoping to accomplish in your position?
I really wanted to improve the way that chapters connected with STAND national, so that they felt like their suggestions were actually being listened to and implemented. I wanted to empower my chapters to think big and to feel like they were part of something that spanned the whole country. This movement has done such revolutionary things, and everyone should feel proud of the accomplishments we’ve made together!
What was the most fun experience you’ve had as an MC member?
We had one Managing Committee conference call on a Sunday night when everyone was tired and a little crazy, and then something happened with the phone line and we all heard this insane screeching noise that wouldn’t stop no matter what we did. It went on for long enough that we were all dying laughing while trying to carry on a normal conversation. We finally had to hang up and call back, and then things got more ridiculous from there. Our lovely grassroots coordinator had lost her voice and sounded slightly like a toad, everyone was giddy… We started trying to plan fun events for the nights during the National Conference, and you can imagine what sorts of things we were coming up with. I was laughing on and off the rest of the night and no one knew why. The beauty of a national network: ridiculous conference calls.
How has being on the MC changed you? How has it prepared you for your next step in life?
I’ve learned so much through my time on the MC… about the conflicts, about current events, about how to create national movements, about how to train people, how to lobby, etc. I ran a workshop at the national Amnesty conference in San Francisco this year and had a great time, but two years ago I would have been terrified to stand up in front of a big group of students. Being on the MC has made me more confident in my abilities and has trained me to tackle any organizational challenge in the real world. I’m a much better problem solver. All of these skills will be hugely useful for whatever I end up doing next in life (probably the Peace Corps? We’ll see). It has left me with a sense of justice and confidence in the ability of groups of people to make real change. If that’s not a life lesson, I don’t know what is.
Why should someone apply to be on the STAND MC?
There are so many reasons. You’ll grow as a person, you’ll learn how to run a national organization, and you’ll have SO much fun doing it. The group of people you’ll work with on the MC will be great, and the chapters and leaders around the country that you’ll become connected to will change you forever. I know I’ll have a STAND network with me for the rest of my life… It’s a pretty powerful thing to know. Apply- you won’t regret it.