Last weekend, I attended a retreat meant to train me to be a well-equipped State Outreach Coordinator for Texas! I met some of the funniest, most intelligent people that you will ever meet. But as fellow STANDERs you know we are all pretty much the epitome of kick ass! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to kick the year off! Being around so many people as passionate about establishing a constituency of individuals that will no longer allow genocide to take place anywhere in the world is extremely inspirational.
Being able to go to the retreat last weekend allowed me to meet some really awesome people that chapters everywhere will hopefully utilize. We have advocacy, media, education, basically you name what you need and I can most likely find a STAND leader that will help you make everything you do even more amazing. What is really remarkable is the fact that this intricate network of people was established by a few dedicated students in 2004 who realized they had an opportunity to change the world and haven’t slowed down since.
We, the students, are the ones that make the difference! Each student and each chapter are the ones that make STAND such an amazing organization. Students have never been able to organize in such a way, and trying to reach such an extraordinary goal—creating a PERMANENT anti-genocide constituency! I believe more than ever that our goal is a tangible goal. Students are the most creative, innovative, dedicated people in the world in my opinion, and we are equipped with the tools we need to make it happen.
-Katie Malaspina, Texas College State Outreach Coordinator